Cracked floors

[John Gardner]

I'm looking forward to becoming a member of this busy C34 community.  I have just had a survey report on a C34 I hope to purchase - 1988 #695 - and this has raised two questions for me.  I'll keep them as separate subjects.
There are a couple of floors - athwartship supports under the cabin sole, bridging the bilge aft of the mast.  One of these has a vertical crack in the center, and the other has cracks on either side where the floor joins the hull.  The surveyor thought these areas were non-structural, and therefore that the cracks were inconsequential.
Can anyone offer further information on this?

[SteveLyle]

I bought #75 last year.  The bilge pump was installed, wired, but not plumbed (i.e., no exhaust hose - for 16 years!).  I talked to Customer Service (Dave Graas, I believe) about how to run the hose.  During our conversation I mentioned that I didn't feel good about drilling through that support you mentioned to feed the hose - his reaction was "DON'T DO THAT!".

If I had cracks in the areas you mentioned, I'd be concerned.  If there's not a structural load at those points, why the cracks?  The question I'd ask is - are the cracks superficial, or deeper?

How do you feel about the qualifications of your surveyor?

[Tom P, IMPULSE #233, '86]

I agree with the previous post about talking to the people at Catalina...They have probably seen this before...

My big concern with these cracks would be  whether water is trapped in them, which could lead towards delamination of the surrounding area; which will cause a major weak spot...I'm guessing that's why Catalina didn't recommend drilling for bilge pump screws; creates an area where water could penetrate and not escape...

I'm guessing if there was a major structural problem (big loads), you would see a lot of damage and not just a crack or two...Unless of course they are pretty big and deep...

I think the only way to determine how bad the cracks really are is to grind them out...This should reveal if there is deeper water damage.  Once you've opened the cracks to good dry glass, fill them in with West System or some other epoxy resin...If the cracks reoccur, then you know they are taking a good load and a larger area must be cleared so cloth can be added with the resin for strength...

Hope This Helps,
Tom

[John Gardner]

I'm glad I asked.  You are right that these items are structural.  I took your advice and called Catalina and spoke to Kent.  He told me that they are wood beams encased in fiberglass spreading loads from the keel out into the hull.  His concern was that the wood might have rotted if they had been much exposed to water.  He suggested I prod around and if the wood seems sound, not much harm done - allow to dry and apply new fiber glass.  If it's damaged......?  One would need to get inventive.  (He mentioned that the block under the mast serves the same purpose, as well as supporting the mast.)

Thanks for your help.