Wood coring in Hulls??

[bigcrunch]

Hi, what year did Sea Ray add wood coring to hulls?

 

[480ces]

It completely depends on the model and year, sometimes even the plant of manufacture.

 

[BryanOnTheBay]

It completely depends on the model and year, sometimes even the plant of manufacture.

It also depends upon the size of the boat. The larger the boat, the more likely to have a cored hull. It is an engineering necessity to have a strong enough hull without making it too heavy.

My boat does not have a cored hull and only has coring where through hulls go.

Why are you asking the question? We may be able to give you more help/assistance.

Bryan

 

[bigcrunch]

I am considering looking at a 1990 310 DA and do not want wood cored hull.

 

[fwebster]

I've posted this about several times, but here goes again...............

Everyone gets in a lather about cored hulls, but the deck on every Sea Ray cruiser from 24 ft up has wood coring. Honestly, you have a greater risk of moisture problems with your deck than with a fully cored hull. The reason is the number of holes that are drilled, sawn or routed in the deck assemblies where windlasses, windshields, stanchions, canvas, handrails etc. are mounted and the types of bedding compound used above the waterline.

An additional factor is the cost of repairs. On a deck, you always have non-skid gelcoat to try to match and only about 1 in 100 fiberglass technicians can do a non-skid repair where you cannot find it. Most will want to cut the deck back to a smooth gelcoated area and remove the entire skin to avoid trying to match non-skid patterns. That means a 1' X 1' repair around a hatch can turn into removing a 5' X 8' hunk of decking. The only other repair option is repairing from inside the boat. That entails removing the interior, cabinets, bedding, headliner etc, and the mess after grinding, sanding and dripping resin from overhead is a disaster.......leaving you to spend years trying to vacuum up all the dust from every nook and cranny.

As far as cored hulls go, Sea Ray does an excellent job in designing their hulls. A cored hull boat has solid areas in the layup where seawater intakes and transducers are positioned. They are easily identified in the bilge and any transducer or hole anywhere but in those solid pads is a big red flag because someone who didn't understand boat construction or what he was doing installed it. Prior physical damage perforating the core is also a red flag.

So in summary, a solid hull doesn't give you a pass on core problems. Any wet core is fairly easy for a competent surveyor to spot, whether it is a deck or a hull, so PLEASE have any boat you buy surveyed.

 

[bigcrunch]

Frank,

I understand what you are saying and appreciate you sharing it. I also know that SR (others also) decks are cored and transoms have a sheet of plywood in them. Just my preference to have least amount of cored structure. I had read previously and can't find it that Brunswick re-introduced wood cored hulls on SRs for a number of years and did away with it in the late 90's, accurate?

thanks,
Tom

 

[KC_Sundancer]

Frank,

I understand what you are saying and appreciate you sharing it. I also know that SR (others also) decks are cored and transoms have a sheet of plywood in them. Just my preference to have least amount of cored structure. I had read previously and can't find it that Brunswick re-introduced wood cored hulls on SRs for a number of years and did away with it in the late 90's, accurate?

thanks,
Tom

Here's a surveyor article about coring worth reading: http://www.yachtsurvey.com/cored_hull_bottoms.htm
Here's another regarding Sea Ray in particular: http://www.yachtsurvey.com/searay_balsa_core_bottoms.htm

 

[fwebster]

Frank,

I understand what you are saying and appreciate you sharing it. I also know that SR (others also) decks are cored and transoms have a sheet of plywood in them. Just my preference to have least amount of cored structure. I had read previously and can't find it that Brunswick re-introduced wood cored hulls on SRs for a number of years and did away with it in the late 90's, accurate?

thanks,
Tom

The hull layup Sea Ray uses is model specific, can vary by the factory that produced the boat and can change from year to year, so there is no correct answer to this question. To generalize, in the over 45 ft range, all hulls are cored, however in the under 34 ft range, none of them are, so if you are shopping for a 310DA, that model was probably produced in Tennessee and the Tennessee factories only cored the decks. The hull is solid. Any wood in the transom is plywood laid in the lamination not for strength but to provide something to attach things like trim pumps, wire looms, etc. to.

If you accept all of the yachtsurvey.com articles at face value, you need to re-consider what you are shopping for.......we'll wave at you in your aluminum canoe as you paddle down the lake.

 

[KC_Sundancer]

Any wood in the transom is plywood laid in the lamination not for strength but to provide something to attach things like trim pumps, wire looms, etc. to.

I have to disagree.
Your statement may apply to inboard boats but the forces applied to the transom by outboards and inboard-outboards is tremendous. Plywood is one of the strongest materials for it's weight to take those forces and reduce flexing. I have heard vibrating engine alignment changes with I/O's having rotted transoms in rough conditions, the plywood is obviously doing something structurally.

 

[fwebster]

I was answering the original posters question re: wood in construction. He is looking for a 310DA and I believe my answer is correct for his application.

 

[KC_Sundancer]

I was answering the original posters question re: wood in construction. He is looking for a 310DA and I believe my answer is correct for his application.

:thumbsup:

 

[mwph]

Here's a surveyor article about coring worth reading: http://www.yachtsurvey.com/cored_hull_bottoms.htm
Here's another regarding Sea Ray in particular: http://www.yachtsurvey.com/searay_balsa_core_bottoms.htm

I have read quite a bit written by Mr. Pascoe. I began reading about hull construction just to learn and his writings are plentiful. It seems to me however that although he has been in the boating & surveying business most of his life, a few things have to be taken into consideration. One of which is that fiberglass, cruiser style boats were never his specialty. The next might be that most of his survey work was done 2 decades ago. He has retired now but I'm guessing he will continue to "write".

In my reading he seldom passes up a chance to bring the Sea Ray name into a failed coring story. He doesn't go into detail about what caused the issue and seldom mentions other manufactures. I guess, in his opinion, Sea Ray is the only builder that has ever had a corred hull that had an issue.

I am by no means an expert or even well educated on the subject of wood coring. Just passing on my opinions of the writer.

 

[KC_Sundancer]

I have read quite a bit written by Mr. Pascoe. I began reading about hull construction just to learn and his writings are plentiful. It seems to me however that although he has been in the boating & surveying business most of his life, a few things have to be taken into consideration. One of which is that fiberglass, cruiser style boats were never his specialty. The next might be that most of his survey work was done 2 decades ago. He has retired now but I'm guessing he will continue to "write".

In my reading he seldom passes up a chance to bring the Sea Ray name into a failed coring story. He doesn't go into detail about what caused the issue and seldom mentions other manufactures. I guess, in his opinion, Sea Ray is the only builder that has ever had a corred hull that had an issue.

I am by no means an expert or even well educated on the subject of wood coring. Just passing on my opinions of the writer.

I think along the same lines regarding his posts but, specialized and bias or not, there are many items pointed out that would apply to any manufacturer. :huh:

 

[mwph]

I agree KC. If nothing else, I learned a lot about hull construction in general reading his stuff.