> Those boats were very well built and core wetness can be easily misread and > misreported.<
I have looked closely at balsa core that was damp, wet, and rotten (failed). I would not be concerned with a racer/cruiser C&C with damp core here and there. For me, damp means the balsa still looks tan in color and smells like balsa or polyester resin. (It is easy to assess the color and smell of the balsa by pulling some hardware mounting bolts in the area of concern.) Unless heading out on a adventurous offshore voyage I would not recommend making repairs beyond re-bedding the deck hardware. Tapping around with a hammer, mildly damp core will sound much like dry core unless delamination has occurred. IIRC Baltek’s study of wet core failures found 80% of the structure’s strength is retained up to 30% water gain. If the balsa core is wet enough for the tea colored stain to be visible around fittings and mounting bolts, especially near high load areas I would investigate enough to be confident on how wet the balsa is and the limits or the wet area. If the wet core area is in the immediate area of a fitting, for example under a halyard block, I would make a limited repair in that area. When tapping with a hammer, wet to very wet core will start to sound slightly dull when compared to a known dry area. If fully failed core is found, extensive repairs may be called for. On Calypso the fully failed core we found stank like a swamp polluted with polyester resin which looked black and was often completely broken down by some sort of acidic chemical reaction. When tapped with a hammer the fully rotted/failed areas will sound hollow and dull. Often there will be signs or failure like the dark tea colored stains, corroded aluminum backing plates, and distorted inner skin. For those boat owners with good DIY skills repairing limited core issues is messy but not difficult. Over on Sailing Anarchy – Fixit Forum there is a great topic underway titled “Ericson 32 mast step repair” that covers, with pictures, replacing a failed plywood area under a deck stepped mast. The process discussed would work great for balsa repairs and is similar in concept to what I have done repairing failed plywood and balsa around Calypso’s mast collar. I chose to work from below as the inner skin is significantly thinner than the outer skin. As Calypso’s race oriented interior is “stick” built we have good access to most of the damaged areas. Based on a quick look at the listing, if I was in the market for a LF 38 I would not be frightened off by a moderate amount of wet core but I would do my own inspection and tapping about with a hammer. Martin DeYoung Calypso 1971 C&C 43 Seattle [Description: Description: Description: cid:D1BF9853-22F7-47FB-86F2-4115CE0BAF2F] From: CnC-List [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] On Behalf Of Knowles Rich via CnC-List Sent: Monday, August 31, 2015 11:53 AM To: cnc-list Cnc-List Cc: Knowles Rich Subject: Re: Stus-List wet core LF 38 I’d want a second opinion on the degree of water intrusion. I suggest most 1980’s Landfalls and other cored boats have some areas of less than perfect lamination and core wetness but soldier on just fine, thank you. Rich Knowles Nanaimo, BC Boatless ex Landfall 38 owner. On Aug 31, 2015, at 10:20, Della Barba, Joe via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com<mailto:cnc-list@cnc-list.com>> wrote: http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1984/C%26C-Landfall-38-2756734/Portsmouth/VA/United-States#.VeSK4YeFN9M I have no clue if this is a good deal or $19,000 too much. I am guessing the owner got a big surprise at sale time. Joe Della Barba Coquina C&C 35 MK I
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