J/30 Class Association Forums J/30 Forum The Boat, Sails and Equipment Hull #83

Does anyone know how to get in touch with the owners of Hull #83?

I see on the fleet directory that the boat is in Michigan. I want to find out how they went about drying out their hull when they discovered the core was wet on the starboard side.

My boat has the same issue.

Try Frank K Rubright
4959 Dusk Drive
Shelby Township, MI 48316-1518
248-652-3391

Thanks

Phil,

When you find out, could you post the info here? I have the same problem and would like to hear what others have done.

Thanks

Scott -

My boat is wet just below the water line on the starboard side from about 3ft aft of the bow all the way to the stern and about half way up the transom. I've done 4-5 test borings and the core is moist but not so wet that I can squeeze and water out of the drilled material. Also the core is still very light in color, so I don't think I have a rot problem yet.

So far I've received varying opinions on how to handle the problem. There is a yard just outside of Philadelphia, Custom Offshore, that has a machine that they say will dry out a core using heat and a vacuum - but they want about $10M for the job, much more than I'm willing to spend on a 25 year old boat. A number of people have told me to drill holes from the inside into the core apply heat and dry using a dehumidifier. Still others have recommended some type of vacuum bagging.

I called West System and asked their opinion. The Technical Assitance guy I talked to said that they used to sell a kit to vacuum bag and dry cores, but that it wasn't all that effective. he also stated that the amount of holes I would need to drill to dry out the core with a dehumidifier, would significantly weaken the structural integrity and stiffness of the hull. He recommends sealing the hull to prevent any air from penetrating and causing rot damage. He says that I should pull every fitting to check the condition of the core, dig out any rotted material and seal with thickened epoxy. He also recommends barrier coating the bottom. At the moment this is the direction I'm leaning towards, but I'd like to get the benefit of someone else's experience before I procede if possible.

What's the condition of your hull?

There's not much on the stbd side that can cause this. As I've said before, it sounds a lot like an exhaust tube problem. I know you said the tube feels solid, but if you've already started drilling test holes from the inside, I'd suggest sampling the core around the exhaust tube.

The only other through-hulls to stbd that I can remember are:

Engine cooling water intake
Anchor locker drain
Cockpit drain
Diesel tank vent (but I'd think it's too high to be a problem)

Taking core samples near these might be helpful if it turns out that the exhaust isn't the problem.

Another trick I've seen in assessing core moisture is using a stud finder. Evidently moist core registers higher than dry core. I saw a boat owner at the yard with one, and he demonstrated how he was able to draw a moisture contour around a poorly installed deck hatch, and the contour matched the core samples he took.

If you're located up north, I'd seriously consider checking this now. Once the water in the core freezes, it's going to be difficult to differentiate between wet and dry core.

I spoke with the former owner of hull #83 today. Unfortunately he told me that he had to scrap the boat. Apparently the water in the core froze and expanded, cracking the outer hull all the way up the starboard side.

I've already started the process of taking off all of the tru hull fittings both above and below the water line, I'll certainly be checking the exhaust tube area closely, my boat looks like it may also have had problems around the anchor well drain so that's another area I plan to investigate thoroughly.

Thanks for the tip about the stud finder, I'll give that a try. The moisture meter apparently pegs at a low level, which hopefully means the problem isn't beyond hope.

Here is another tip - talk to a couple surveyors about your issues. See what they say. I would hope you could find a surveyor to come in, do a survey, and give you the tips, procedures & product recommendations in order to achieve a complete & proper fix.

It would be like getting a survey done on a boat you are thinking of buying, but in a more specific way.

I had an anchor locker problem, too, but fortunately it wasn't severe.

My problem was that the plastic hose connecting the through-hull and the drain in the bottom of the locker got brittle and cracked over time. So water getting in the (admittedly not well cleaned) anchor locker made nasty stains on the inside of the hull in the hanging locker. After replacing the hose, I dumped gallons of water in the anchor locker, and everything stayed dry inside.