C&C 27 Association Forum

mgilpatric

Member

Deck cracks around pulpit flanges

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

davidww1

Member

Re: Deck cracks around pulpit flanges

You are dancing around the reasons that our buying advice hammers on the point that you need a skilled surveyor - it's very difficult to evaluate the state of a laminate based on external signs. A crack could just be cosmetic - or it could be the outward sign of failed core. The wet fitting over the dinette could be a simple leak, or it could be water leaking from a sodden core. The cockpit sole could have been cracked by people jumping on it - or it could have been cracked because the balsa core has failed. Good surveyors have a variety of means of telling one from the other; they're not infallible but they're not groping in the dark quite the way the rest of us are.

Keep in mind that should you pay for a survey and decide not to proceed, the survey still belongs to you and you can sell it to someone else who is interested in the boat.

Our icebox takes about 15 seconds to start smelling awful if not kept scrupulously clean. That may be the only issue here. Many people forget to clean the underside of the box's top.

David Weatherston
Towser, Toronto
C&C 27 Mk IV

Last edited by (2009-08-24 00:44:01)

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David Weatherston
Towser, Toronto
C&C 27 Mk IV