Rot in Catalina27

[Stephen]

I am thinking of purchasing a 1974 Catalina 27 for $3500.00. It sounds like a very good price, but I wonder. I noticed a soft spot on the forward deck and it seems to be caused from a leak around the forward stanction. I hope I spelled that right. In addition, I noticed the cabin top is kind of wavy on the inside. The outside looks fine, but this will be my 1st boat so I am ignorant of what to look for. I have been told it is probably rot & there is no way to tell how bad it is until the repair is started. Any advice? I would like to do the work myself, for financial reasons, but I do not want to try and re core an entire boat. Does this price sound too good to be true. If not sold the owner is donating it to charity.

 

[Brian Short]

Inspection

I just bought a 1978 Catalina 27 and had a marine inspector go over. The boat had been well treated, and looked in excellent shape, but it sure gave me piece of mind to have aprofessional look over it. In BC, it is a requirement in order to get insurance. My cost was $11/ft.

 

[Moebetta]

Go for it

Aloha I have a 1974 Catalina 27 also. The deck was a little soft. It is caused by rot of the plywood core between the two layers of fiberglass.It can be fixed by drilling small holes in the core and with a suringe of epoxy.There is a book on the market that tells how to do it.For the price you can't go wrong.If you want to contact me at jl.shipyard@verizon.net I will be happy to send you the book title Joe McNichols