C&C 27 Association Forum

I am considering buying a 1971 C&C27 and after reading about all the potential problems rotten deck cores, I'm worried about what I might be getting into. I will have a survey done if I move ahead, but I can anyone give me some advice about how to interpret the deck cracks I saw on the boat?

For the most part, the deck looked to be in pretty good shape. The color was faded and it looked like it was repainted at some point. The cockpit floor was cracked and the owner said he would have that repaired. He was planning on spending about $200 for a fiberglass repair under the floor. Does the cockpit floor have wood core?

I was most worried about some cracking around legs of the pulpit and a couple of the stanchions. It seems to be pretty localized. One crack runs about 2 inches from the rear port pulpit flange to fitting just forward of it. Assuming the core is wet here, is this an area where I could clean out the core around the fittings and add epoxy or is it likely to be much more severe?

I also saw some water droplets on bolts just above the dinette -- not sure what fitting this was and the owner said the windows leaked. If I just need to seal up leaking fittings and windows, I'm thinking it is not as bad as having a lot of rotten wood in the deck. Are these types of leaks common and not necessarily signs of a bad deck core?

One other detail--my daughter (age 10) said the ice box smelled terrible. Are these cleanable or am I possibly looking at a major job if I want to get the box functional?

Thanks for any guidance you can provide. I've learned a ton by reading other posts on this site.

Mark Gilpatric

Milwaukee