Need Opinions from Experienced Sailors / Sanders...

[DangerCell]

Hi again...the search continues for a boat suitable for world cruising; much has been learned, gas has been burned, budgets have been raised, and a short list has gotten shorter.

We have found one boat of particular interest: A beautifully done (almost) Corbin 39. It needs a bit more to be completed but what has been done is simply gorgeous.

It is a real gem (first launched in 04 with all new spars/rigging/sails, 200 hrs on motor, only 2 great lakes seasons under her belt, yadda yadda) but for one major concern....

She is covered with gel coat crazing. I mean really covered. The paint on topsides and hull still has quite a shine (4-6 yrs old?) but it looks like a Boston road map with the cracks. It is a bloody shame.

Looking at it closely I believe (as the owner claimed) that the crazing is due to over-thick gelcoat, not from flexing (the boat is a brick $#@t house). Then the weather up north, big temp swings, and super cold in winter, it just cracks the hell out of it.

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS SEVERE CRAZING????

Info:
Hull produced in '81
Sat till 99 before building it out began
In ccccold north

I am in love with this boat...a few months of hard work and I could have her finished to very high standards with fresh everything within what I feel is a reasonable budget to end up with a well done well equipped Corbin 39.

BUT am I going to spend umpteen hours sanding, priming, and painting only to have it craze again every couple years? Will I be sentenced to sand/prime/paint every 2 years as she continues to craze over her natural life (and mine)?

Anyone familiar with this phenomenon on these boats?

Saw a few typical Corbins (cruised hard and then neglected) but none of them were crazed like this "new" one....what gives?

[SailFastTri]

Keep looking. Could be structural, could be a bad batch of fiberglass/gelcoat resin or improper curing (you'd need expert analysis). A little crazing here and there at stress/flex points is not major, but from what you described, that boat has wide-spread problems that are built into it. Regardless it is NOT the weather. Weather would just cause chalking. Run away, IMHO.

[GordMay]

I recommend reading, at least these 3 earlier discussions, which will be informative

➥ http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...t-1-a-944.html
cruisersforum.com/forums/f55/gelcoat-crazing-part-1-a-944.html

➥ http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ction-619.html
cruisersforum.com/forums/f55/a-primer-on-fiberglass-construction-619.html

➥ http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...azing-948.html
cruisersforum.com/forums/f55/interior-crazing-948.html

[DangerCell]

Originally Posted by GordMay

I recommend reading, at least these 3 earlier discussions, which will be informative

➥ http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...t-1-a-944.html
cruisersforum.com/forums/f55/gelcoat-crazing-part-1-a-944.html

➥ http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ction-619.html
cruisersforum.com/forums/f55/a-primer-on-fiberglass-construction-619.html

➥ http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...azing-948.html
cruisersforum.com/forums/f55/interior-crazing-948.html

Yeah Gordy thanks, I read those, and more.

I have scoured the net in search of still more before posting up, as nothing is definitive. They speak to some aspects of this particular case but as yet, I have not found anything definitive that explains what I am in for with this particular boat. Lots on how to "fix" it (basically: sand, clean, fill/prime, paint). Some backed up my assumption that too thick gel-coat is the cause....but none really speak to how long a "sand, clean, fill/prime, paint" job will last before new crazing emerges. Guess I would really like to find someone that knows these particular boats intimately.

200+ of these boats out there and aside from variations in interior finish quality I have found nothing but rave comments on their durability, safety, sea-kindliness, and over all toughness of the hulls.

If it is a terminal "illness" to a particularly unlucky one of the 200 that just was effed up during production as sailfasttri alluded to then so be it....the search will continue, but if it is something tolerated and dealt with by many Corbin owners then maybe painting twice as often as most is worth her many other benefits.

Is this just a "bad" one or is this a Corbin thing?
Yes, found one Corbin owners site....but NO forum AND no way to contact "members"...

If this is just a "bad" boat it is a crying shame....the poor guy put some serious serious work into her...his craftsmanship is absolutely stunning. Lots lots lots of love, time and skill must have been poured into her. Then the rig, absolutely top notch spars rigging etc...what a waste if the hull and deck is no good.

[MarkJ]

Without knowing one tad of what you are talking about let me pass this thought by you: If you are worried about it then anytime you try and sell the boat a buyer will be worried about it too. i.e. you will find it difficult to sell.

Boats are like oranges. Theres boxes full of them everywhere! In each price range there are LOTS of boats. Just go through weeding them out.

In a supermarket would you buy a badly skin damaged orange even though the greengrocer is telling you its fine inside?

The seller will tell you anything.

You get home and everone laughs at your orange and you are forever wondering yourself is it was just skin deep....

Move on man!


Mark

[Intentional Drifter]

It sure sounds like a bad lay up from the beginning. However, with so much else sounding so good about this boat, maybe it would be worth the investment to have a pro look it over. Maybe not a formal survey but paying one for a couple hours to look it over with you.

ID

[DangerCell]

MarkJ: Good point m8

Drifter: Indeed...

[Richard Jordan]

This sounds like an absolute disaster. You have boat buying fever. Snap out of it. You are on the verge of making the worst choice of your life. Step away and clear your mind.

If after the fever subsides, you still want to go forward definately get a survey and seatrial. Do not believe a word the seller says. I respectfully disagree with Intentional Drifter. You do not just need a regular survey, you need a forensic survey. Hire the toughest, most thorough, ornary, nit-picking surveyor you can find. Get a haul-out. This is not a place to cut corners. An investment in a surveyor almost always pays dividends (a larger reduction in the purchase price than the surveyor fee) and especially will here.

Then it is a matter if the price matches with value. There are plenty of other Corbin's available. I count 11 on Yachtworld mostly in the $80k to $120k range. And post 1982 ones too with the better deck mold. And finally Mark J makes an excellent point. This is an issue that will make the boat difficult to resell even in Bristol condition. Do not underestimate this barrier.

[DangerCell]

Thanks guys...some sobering input....yeah, the boat is downright seductive compared to the other corbins (which I have viewed all under 100k)....far superior in all respects but this chronic crazing.

That said, resale and the prospect of marathon sanding painting sessions from here to eternity have finally killed this one for us...it is now firmly crossed off the list, albeit reluctantly.

It is a shame though...

[Intentional Drifter]

I think you made a wise decision. This is a problem that you would live with every day you owned that boat.

ID