Looking at buying a late 70"s model. Nice boat. One question on construction, are the stringers built with encapsulated wood or are they 100% glass? Another question, the aft deck....balsa core? Any particular problem areas to investigate before I jump into this? Thanks John
42 Post Question the boat is a 1978 model with diesels. 1200 hrs. Reported to have a soft spot in the rear deck at the base of the ladder. Not sure how extensive. Possible to repair from below without disturbing the glass deck?
We had the same issue. Also had a little rot near one of the floor hatches. In the end we had the entire deck re-done. Where the through bolts for the ladder were located, we inserted solid glass rather than relying on bedding compound to seal the balsa. Diesels are a good thing. Some of them had gassers but I think anything over 40 feet oughta be diesel. The poor gas engines get whupped pushing a 42.
I'll look the rear deck areas over carefully. Thanks foer the tip. Can you comment on the hull stringer construction? Any wood to rot there?
unless totally beat to death as a charter boat or badly neglected, a 42 Post with Detroits is a very good value in todays market. Any older boat is going to have some issues. If you find one that is too tired or priced too high, just keep looking. My current boat is a 46 Post and my only complaint is that is not a 50 Post.
As far as I know, the main 4 stringers running fore and aft are all glass with no wood. The cross supports to these main stringers are glassed over wood. Not sure if plywood or mahogany. There is always a possibility for rot in these if water was able to get in past the glass. All compartments are able to drain through the main stringers to the forward bilge pump. So the only water you should see is under the bow floor. Because of this, rotting in the stringer system is not that common.
RT46, I am looking at a 1984 Post 43' w/6-71 DD. It appears from the pictures to be very clean and well maintained. It has 2103 hours on each engine and a new Westerbeke generator. Asking price is $95,000. Given a good survey and engine survey do you think it would be a good buy?