Balsa Core Delamination

I had my 22 cruiser for 11 years and loved her dearly. I was always haunted however by the delamination and core rot stories that other’s told of back there in 2004. It was always a concern, it spoiled the fun like my prostate and colon at age mid 60’s. Well, I sold her 4 years ago and she’s still doing fine and I’m still reading about all the fears and worries many of you have. If I could offer a bit of advice it would be to relax, enjoy all the reasons you chose her, continue vigilance and precautions but dial back the fear and enjoy this boat that will probably greatly outlast your need for it. Best wishes for the New Year!
 
Gary,

In most cases I would agree with you. In my case I'm stuck with a boat that is unusable to enjoy until I complete my repair. She was well cared for and gave me no initial reason to suspect issues. Until she did. I'm mechanical, there for, I can make my own repairs. If my situation was different, say young family of four who scraped together enough to buy the boat of there dreams. Not mechanical in nature, was in the same situation. The cost of repair, ***IF*** you can find someone to take it on would easily reach 1/3 of the boats price in my case. If you're reading this and wondering, I paid $42,500. That's $15,000 for any of my public math folks struggling right now.

You have two boats right now on this site repairing significate core damage. I didn't start my videos or this thread to instill fear, and I truly love my boat and can't wait to get back on the water.

BUT

***The truth is without bedding hardware(which appears at this moment to be the cause of my issues, along with some lackluster layup issues by previous builder) you're risking being in my shoes.***

I also believe a many captain has no idea the true shape of their hull. Even the vigilante ones. We service motors, check wiring, through hulls, safety equipment etc.. I've know few who have owned a moisture meter until it was needed.

So just like every other risk we discuss here, the choice is yours. Run offshore with your boat on a small craft advisory day, don't pack a ditch bag or don't wear a mask. Or do...

Just be informed, which is the point of reading along on my tale. Even if it's learning something not to do..

With this post, it'll be a few month hiatus returning back to my project. One more video will drop within the next week then that's it for a bit, so don't get concerned that I've thrown in the towel when you don't see any updates!

Thanks for all the comments and help along the way.

R/
John
Scallywag
 
John, I agree with you 100%. If I knew what I know now when I bought the boat, I wouldn't have bought it. I know the guy I bought it from wouldn't believe it had these issues. And I know he wouldn't have come down on price even if I explained the facts to him. I also feel that he would have sold the boat for asking price very quickly, because most people do not really know what to look for. And I think you are spot on about most people not knowing the true condition of their boat.

I thought I knew what to look for. I crawled all around and under it, tapping and pounding. I am not a boat surveyor, but there were no soft spots on my boat anywhere. And everything looked good. I also have the attitude that if something is broke or needs repair, then I will fix it. That is good most of the time, but you can see how it gets me into trouble, too.

Sorry to hear you will be away from the boat for awhile.
 
John, this is great stuff you are sharing on this thread. Even though our CD22 sits covered on a trailer in dry air Wyoming for 6 months of the year, I still have had some concern about water penetration into the core. So far, I’ve only had to dig out wet balsa from around the port lazaret & repair. I’ve done the tap tap thunka thing with a small brass hammer along the whole bottom & transom without being able to notice any difference in sound, but I’m still going to purchase a moisture meter & check all again even more thoroughly, after reading your sad tale. My brother & his father-in-law came very close to not surviving when fishing out of Noyo Harbor, Fort Bragg, California in a 16 foot plywood runabout in the early 70’s. Unknown to him the bottom had rotted & gave way in choppy water several miles from the harbor on the way back in. They weren’t wearing life jackets, but fortunately the boat didn’t sink completely & though in cold water, they were able to hang onto a small section barely off the water surface, at least until the older father-in-law passed out, then my brother held on to him until the Coastguard arrived, which was, as said, just in the Nick of Time. I wouldn’t want to be out in many places we have cruised & have similar happen.

Jay
 
I did finally buy a moisture meter, and haven't used it yet. But I live in Wisconsin and it's kind of cold out right now, and maybe I'm a little nervous what I'll find. Even though everything I've seen so far seems reasonable. That being said, after having the same worries earlier, I think I've come more to a calmness with the same thoughts Gary shares above. I mean, after cruising through some of the remote marinas in Alaska, and a few other places, I've come to the conclusion that if many of the boats I've seen along the way are still floating, it would take a lot of core rot to sink a C-Dory. And boats that are in the water, are very likely going to get water in them. That doesn't mean to ignore proper techniques in cutting or drilling holes in the hull, or repairing what you know about as you can. It does mean that the boats would probably need more than a wet core to lose it's seaworthyness. Colby
 
Colby,

I probably could've ran my boat for years. But that's not maintaining a boat. I've been aviation my whole career. Retired military,
now contractor electrician. My mind can't wrap around the idea of leaving rot. It's just not in me.....

Marc from Wefings wrote,

"You need not worry too much, Stop the H2O intrusion and you can use this advice;

It depends on your I.R.W.O.M.B . ratio or "index", as compared to your I. R. B. B.Index
I like the word index mixed with acronyms ..
I'd rather Work on my Boat.
I'd rather Be Boating ."
Click to expand...

I'd rather be boating, but I want a solid vessel, not something that's only going to worsen over time. That is no slight on C-Dory, they are solid vessels, just with some minor chinks in the armour that need to get addressed. On more than one occasion Bob has mentioned water hydraulics. If the water and moisture stay, the boat will degrade.

Let's pose a hypothetical question. What would you do if you found out your core was saturated? Would you still be planning an inside passage trip?

Maybe the perfect answer is, "ignorance is bliss". For many that's their reality. My reality surfaced as a small soft spot just inside the door. I honestly thought I had a couple days worth of work to repair it.....

R/
John
Scallywag
 
Colby, I don't think you are the only one who is a little nervous to check their boat with a moisture meter. I was discussing my core issues with my sister, who lives aboard with her family on an early 70s Fuji 40. I've heard them complain about leaking hatches and soft spots on the deck, and she said she "probably should get one of those".

I have a four week trip to the keys planned for july, already paid for a house on a canal, and I thought I was just going to pull the gas tank screws and seal them before I exposed the boat to those Florida downpours. Thought it would be a quick repair like John. But once I was in there, I just want to fix it all and not go back later to finish. I feel that I could have put it off for years and probably not had any problems, and the repair may not have been more extensive than it already is. But if I don't do it now, I'd be rushing to do it before some other trip.

Besides, I plan to keep this boat for a long while.
 
Let's pose a hypothetical question. What would you do if you found out your core was saturated? Would you still be planning an inside passage trip?
Click to expand...

Maybe, maybe not. All depends on how much I found or knew about. Also depends on if the boat was staying dry on the inside. I have a commercial aviation background, but much more driven by my perfectionist attitude and mechanical ability/mentality. But I think what I'm saying is that I believe there is much more worry about the wet cores than necessary. I suspect with boats that spend a lot of time on the water, or that are stored uncovered, there is a very good chance they will have some wet or rotten core. The question is, how much of it's wet, and how much before it effects the boats seaworthiness? Right now, I'd much rather spend my time using the boat, than working on the boat. I live in Wisconsin, and our summers are short and our winters cold. And I don't have a heated shop large enough to put the boat in. Hopefully I made a good purchase, but then as we all know, things can show up later that were not recognized before. So for me, I think it is a balancing act. If I find a problem, I'll try to fix it. But I'll stop there as long as I'm comfortable with using the boat in the waters I'm using it. Colby
 
Colby, I think that is a good philosophy. I would not cancel a trip in order to make a repair unless I thought it was a safety concern. I would still want to get it fixed as soon as practical. I can tell you it takes about a lot of effort to cut and chisel out one square foot of the skin and core. Even with how wet the core was, and rotten in a few areas, the boat was definitely not about to fall apart.
 
This thread is getting a lot of feedback, and many boat owners are concerned.
The truth is a boat sits in a wet enviroment.
I have dismounted many, many outboard motors. Having seen what I have seen regarding sealing around the mounting bolts, I would NEVER allow a dealer to mount my motor.
The drain hole fitting is drilled through the wood transom, from what I have seen from experience very few factories will seal the raw wood . But rather just use some sealant around the fitting.
I have removed bow rails that had NO sealant under the mounting plate.
I have owned Olympic boats ( all have balsa core bottoms) that had NO hull penetrations, that the balsa core was wet. And the factory President told me don't worry water will NOT migrate across the end grains. Maybe true, but it certainly runs thru the core kerfs.
I have owned a yacht that had Volvo diesels in it, only to discover that the turbo blades were literally 4" above the static waterline. You expect the $4000 dollar plus turbine to survive this enviroment ? Saltwater that close. No way !
Maintain the best you can, enjoy the boat experience, do not worry to much, none of the boats I have owned have fallen apart under my feet.
Aluminum is not the answer, it does have problems in saltwater.
In the end, maintain, and enjoy the on water times. The C-dory is a strong little boat.
 
John,
Enjoyed watching your latest videos on installing the v berth hatches.
Your attention to detail is inspirational!
Glad you found a source for balsa core. Your boat will be stronger than new when you are finished.
Really like your positive, can-do attitude!
Patrick
 
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