What they don't tell you about production boats

I am pretty certain that some years ago an owner of a new Halberg Rassey had an extra skin fitting placed below the waterline of his 38. It was found to be a cored section & delaminated. I am sure the construction was cored. As I understand it the resulting legal case ended with HR paying considerable compensation. If I have that correct it would suggest that some craft do have cored detail below the waterline. Perhaps some HR owners know about the case.

Think this is a HR 40 and that looks suspiciously like core well below the waterline. Surprised tbh but maybe the outer laminate is much thicker (to avoid puncture) for the area under water?
 

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Rasseys sure have a perception of quality and some lovely wood. But it is, in my opinion, just perception.
A few years ago my crew and I were invited aboard a big HR near us in the marina. My crew got involved in a game of hide and seek with the HR youngsters, as a result of which I saw a lot of the insides and undersides of wooden bits. It really was not very impressive at all. Out of sight, out of mind, it seems.
 
Think this is a HR 40 and that looks suspiciously like core well below the waterline. Surprised tbh but maybe the outer laminate is much thicker (to avoid puncture) for the area under water?

It's holes in the inner laminate you want to worry about as much as the outer.

People fit bilge pumps, screw in p clips for wires and drop things in the bilge. Any core that can rot is a bad thing.
 
I am pretty certain that some years ago an owner of a new Halberg Rassey had an extra skin fitting placed below the waterline of his 38. It was found to be a cored section & delaminated. I am sure the construction was cored. As I understand it the resulting legal case ended with HR paying considerable compensation. If I have that correct it would suggest that some craft do have cored detail below the waterline. Perhaps some HR owners know about the case.
I was referring to Bavaria.
 
...says a proud owner...


The inherent strength and high build quality is why we own one.

Our previous boat was 16 years old. The great team at the Gosport Sealift had just antifouled and polished the hull.

While I was in the office paying the polisher took first mate to a fender rub and said he could not remove it for fear of going through the gelcoat.

She told him not to beat himself up, after all, the boat was 16 years old and had done a tranatlantic the wrong way and had spent several years in the Caribean.

The guy was gobsmacked. He said " No way - I thought it was a nearly new boat! "

Island Packet offered a ten year osmosis warranty.

Not many other manufacturers do that..................................
 
Island Packet offered a ten year osmosis warranty.
Not many other manufacturers do that..................................
But you do not have to if your boats do not suffer from it. One only has to do it if the brand is perceived as suffering from such a problem & you need to scotch it.
My boat is 17 years old & there is no sign of osmosis. I would expect very few 10 year old Hanse yachts have suffered from it . or many other mass produced modern AWBs for that matter
 
The Oyster was shoddily built by a tiny subcontracting company working out of a rented shed in darkest Norfolk. Faced with a multi-million pound claim for damages, the subcontracting company declared voluntary liquidation. And, guess what, two of its directors then bought the company's assets for £7500 and are still in business under a different name.
Still sold under the Oyster brand though so "Shoddy" sticks.
 
But you do not have to if your boats do not suffer from it. One only has to do it if the brand is perceived as suffering from such a problem & you need to scotch it.
My boat is 17 years old & there is no sign of osmosis. I would expect very few 10 year old Hanse yachts have suffered from it . or many other mass produced modern AWBs for that matter

Exactly, modern resins and state-of-the-art production lines have made today's boats much less prone to osmosis, so offering a warranty against it happening shouldn't cause the finance director to have sleepless nights! Incidentally, the Island Packet 10-year osmosis warranty is described as a "limited, pro-rated warranty" so it may come with lots of caveats.
 
Pack it in guys.

Island Packets are well regarded as solid cruising boats.

Why does every thread have to turn into a mud-slinging session.
 
Pack it in guys.

Island Packets are well regarded as solid cruising boats.

Why does every thread have to turn into a mud-slinging session.

As are Barvaria's, Hanse, Moodys, Westerlys* etc. None the less we get folk going "My boats the best boat and I wouldn't sail your boat across Loch Lomond as we'll all be killed to DEATH by the rudder falling off/ keel falling off/sinking due to osmosis" or similar nonsense.


* Of course none of these are a good as the venerable A22.
 
Do any mobo,s have cored hulls or decks ? I'm just curious as I don't know.
Was the proud owner of 37 foot hull moulded in the 1970s by Aquafibre.
It had a hand laidup hull and balsa cored decks.It was in a remarkable condition 50 years later .

Worth a look. The subject has been commented on in some depth.
Boat Hulls - Cores and Structural Issues: Online Articles by David Pascoe, Marine Surveyor

Nothing much to do on a wet afternoon ? Check out the Boat Reviews section .
Watch him rip into quite few boat builders, no advertising income to lose !
Doubt you will find such candid comments about build quality in the latest issue of MB&Y.


Quote from the website.
"While one might be able to live with the bad fiberglass work and a bottom that's errupting like the bubonic plague, no one should put up with handling faults as serious as this.
Once again, all that sweetness of appearance and a nice, low price that hides a world of hurt. ".
 
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So I guess what we can conclude from this thread is:-

1./ So called "quality boats" such as HR and IP are probably no more "heavily built" than most "production boats".

2./ No boats are designed to be driven into rocks, and if you drive any make of boat into the rocks at full chat, you're going to make a mess of it.

3./ All makes and model of boat are quite frankly "fit for purpose". Some specialist boats that are designed and built for particular conditions or cruising grounds will be better suited, but none are so dreadful that they just fall apart.

4./ 95% of boats don't ever get more than about 100 miles offshore, so not everyone needs a globe-trotter.

5./ Bavaria hulls are not see-through
 
2./ No boats are designed to be driven into rocks, and if you drive any make of boat into the rocks at full chat, you're going to make a mess of it.
Well in my irresponsible early 20s ( oh! they were the days!!:cool:) I sailed my Stella up the concrete sea wall just to the east of Burnham. It went 3/4 of the way up the wall at 5 kts. stopped, looked around , decided it did not like it up there & slide gently back into the water; where by we carried on racing.I think that the people walking along the path were quite impressed, although nobody clapped. Tucker Brown just applied more red racing copper antifoul a couple of weeks later. So some boats manage it Ok
Later, when in the Crouch YC, we were asked "Why?" we said that we wanted to have a look over the top. :oops:
Do not think I would try it with my current boat though.:eek:
 
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