Hello all, After another 4 months of boat searching, I am once again considering the 35-2 "Callisto" which began this old thread from January. I have been thinking about it, and when I saw it at the dock while looking at another boat (Crown 28, yes I am getting desperate...), I realized I had forgotten how nice looking the boat is. It still has a for sale sign, and I am waiting to hear back from the owner. I think at 34K he was asking far too much, but at 20K I could overlook some of the not quite up to my standards work done on it. I will get a survey for sure if he gets back to me, and we can agree on a price. Since looking at this boat, I started getting interested in Ericsons, and really liked the idea of the encapsulated keels on their 70s models. We almost bought a 29. But I am realizing that my fear of keel bolts is probably unwarranted, and even Ericson went with bolt on keels by the 80s, and none of them fell off. I hear people talk about replacing keel bolts, but I assume they mean just the nuts, which doesn't seem to make a lot of sense, since the crevice corrosion is likely to a problem with the bolt/stud. Are the bolts J bolts like concrete anchors, or just threaded rod set into lead? I imagine replacing a J bolt would be a huge job. Is replacing them ever actually done? Could you just drill, tap, and thread in new stainless rod in between the original bolts for extra safety? Or am I worrying too much about a mostly non-issue? It's just that most bolt on keel boats I've looked at have water in the bilge meaning the bolts/nuts will stay wet most of the time (probably mainly rainwater/condensation I guess), so it seems like I should be concerned.
It's interesting also that after a lot of discussion with the Ericson guys (also a great group of owners, like this group), one of the features of the newer Ericson designs which improves comfort is the flared bow (the 80s models), something which the C&C 35-2 also has. Walking up to this 35-2 a few days ago just reminded me why I was so attracted to it originally. Yes, there are a few things I would do differently, but it's basically ready to sail, as is.
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