Larry had this link buried down in a reply to a long thread. It's one
of the most disturbing things I've read about boats in a long time.
It deserves much wider exposure.

http://yachtsurvey.com/Fiberglass_Boats.htm

Boy, do I love my 1980 Endeavor 32 with 3/4 inches of solid glass
between me and the ocean. I cut some holes for new through hulls and
there is enough glass in there to build about ten boats today.

--

Roger Long

On Thu, 02 Feb 2006 14:56:22 GMT, "Roger Long"
wrote:

Larry had this link buried down in a reply to a long thread. It's one
of the most disturbing things I've read about boats in a long time.
It deserves much wider exposure.

http://yachtsurvey.com/Fiberglass_Boats.htm

Boy, do I love my 1980 Endeavor 32 with 3/4 inches of solid glass
between me and the ocean. I cut some holes for new through hulls and
there is enough glass in there to build about ten boats today.

This has been around for a few years, Roger, and I am quite skeptical
about certain building techniques today also. I realize on an
intellectual level that cored hulls can be stronger and that many
things remain to be learned from Open 60s and America's Cup designs
for production boats, but when I ran aground last fall, I was damn
glad my family and I were in a 30 year old solid glass hull, 7/8"
thick at the bilges, and with freshly retabbed bulkheads and reseated
thru-hulls. We rectified the situation soon enough, but if I'd been
in, say, a Hunter 33, I would have added fear of major destruction to
what was merely a passing inconvenience.

R.

Hi:

Pasco: Love him or hate him? Just another opinion to consider.

Personnaly I am sitting in a 27 year old boat. It has 1 1/2" of hand
layed glass at the turn of the bilge. Its 39 LOA. That 1 1/2" came in
real handy when a Tidewater tug bounced off me two years ago. Still
have the green pant on the hull as a reminder.
The Captain was reall appolgetic. Invited me over for a tour and even
gave me a free soda. Pretty good deal. Nice guy too. Although, he
seemed a bit woried about somthing. Go figure.
Bob

I had a 1963 35' Chris Craft Sailyacht end up on the rocks (causeway) after
being dismasted and having the cabintop ripped off in hurricane "Floyd". The
boat had spent hours on battering against the rocks during the storm and
came away with dings and gouges, but the hull was still sound and the only
water inside was rain water.
A cored hull is stronger? I don't believe in Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy
either.

"Bob" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi:

Pasco: Love him or hate him? Just another opinion to consider.

Personnaly I am sitting in a 27 year old boat. It has 1 1/2" of hand
layed glass at the turn of the bilge. Its 39 LOA. That 1 1/2" came in
real handy when a Tidewater tug bounced off me two years ago. Still
have the green pant on the hull as a reminder.
The Captain was reall appolgetic. Invited me over for a tour and even
gave me a free soda. Pretty good deal. Nice guy too. Although, he
seemed a bit woried about somthing. Go figure.
Bob

On 2 Feb 2006 12:46:13 -0800, "Bob" wrote:

Hi:

Pasco: Love him or hate him? Just another opinion to consider.

Personnaly I am sitting in a 27 year old boat. It has 1 1/2" of hand
layed glass at the turn of the bilge. Its 39 LOA. That 1 1/2" came in
real handy when a Tidewater tug bounced off me two years ago. Still
have the green pant on the hull as a reminder.
The Captain was reall appolgetic. Invited me over for a tour and even
gave me a free soda. Pretty good deal. Nice guy too. Although, he
seemed a bit woried about somthing. Go figure.
Bob

A master of understatement!

I had at one point a J/29 to the east, me, a Viking 33 from '73, a
Chriscraft 33 foot 1965 sailboat (yes, they made 'em), and a Hunter 33
under three years old.

Kinda like having four approaches to boating just sitting there.

The J/29 was a nice boat, all right, but seemed skittish in a strong
blow. My boat is solid glass in the hull and has a old school raked
fin keel holding about 50% of the weight. It's stiff, but fast, but
modern conveniences and even 10 feet of beam ain't happening.

The ChrisCraft is about four inches shorter LOA than me, 19,000 lbs.
(twice me) and has about 15 inches more freeboard. The mast height
looks about the same, and it has a load of painted wood below and a
center cockpit and the smallest aft cabin you could imagine. It's
comfortable for two who aren't in a hurry, and I bet it's got way over
an inch of solid glass at the bilges. I know it's a bugger for the old
feller who owns it to dock, because it turns poorly and wants to keep
going. When it was being blown into its slip, it took two on the boat
and two on dock and three tries to get it in, and this hulk had to be
fended off my boat.

The Hunter 33? It's a plastic condo with loads of fixed portlights and
hatches, the most freeboard of all of us, and a boom eight feet off
the water. I get the heebies looking at the thing, frankly, but I can
tell you that every year, there's less of what I sail and more of
them.

R.