[Public-List] Surveying older boats? Determining if they are seaworthy...

[Randy Katz]

Greetings, Fellow A-30 Owners,

I've written recently because an interested party is having an
insurance person inspect the bottom of my 1967 A-30 next Wednesday to
determine if it's insurable. If not, no sale.

Someone during the insurance discussion mentioned being sure the inspector
has experience with older boats. What about that? What difference, I
wonder, would one allow for a boat being older?

I know of two methods of hull assessment. One is tapping the entire surface
with a plastic hammer to listen to the sound and being sure there are no
"soft spots." The other method could be the dreaded moisture meter, which
seems to offer wildly varying outcomes depending on the type of instrument
and experience of the user.

While the boat had around 10 blisters 20 years ago, since ground out and
epoxied, I know the hull to be sound and the survey back then confirmed it.
I guess no one knows this for sure, but what will be the ultimate fate of
50+ yr. old fiberglass? Does it eventually develop soft spots & at some
point fail? Does that make it wise to check each year in order to avoid
surprises? Or does the stuff simply last and last and last?

Alberg owners, who possess some of the oldest fiberglass hulls around, are
among the pioneers with regard to this experience. I suppose some of us
will be around to witness and learn from the final outcome.

Thanks,

Randy Katz
#249 Simple Gifts
Bellingham/Seattle