Introduction with questions....water in battery and oil compartments

[Nomad]

so sad.....survey found a saturated core......floor, structure..etc
Dodged a bullet but no boat
and the search goes on

[nipper]

Sorry to hear that Nomad. Don't give up on the V20/21. There are lots of good ones out there. Glad you spent a few bucks for the survey and found the problem before you shelled out premium dollars for it. Heck, owner probably did not know about it.

[Nomad]

Yeah...the owner is a very nice guy and I really feel bad for him...the boat is off the market while he has it gone over to determine if it can be saved. Class act to take it back, pull the ads, ad receive it back from his broker.....gave me my deposit back too

[Curious]

Just out of curiosity, do any of you guys know what it means when a survey finds a "saturated core" and what that entails as far a repair?
Thanks.

[RWilson2526]

Good question, I was wondering the same thing. Is that the transom or the hull or the floor or what?

[peiserma]

This refers to how the part in question was built. Generically, it refers to a layer of fiberglass, the core material in the middle, then another layer of fiberglass. The layers of fiberglass are often called the inner skin and outer skin. The core may be foam or wood, there are hundreds of different materials used for the core. Cored construction is used to add strength/rigidity without as much weight (compared to using all fiberglass). When water gets into the core material, the condition is known as a saturated core.

The transom on the V20 is a cored construction. The deck isn't a true cored construction since there is only a top layer of fiberglass (I am pretty sure that is a true statement, but I am going to find out on mine pretty soon). However, you don't hear the term saturated core used with transoms very often. Usually a saturated core on a transom is called "rotted transom". The term saturated core is commonly used with the deck, even if its not a true core construction. Another common place to find cored construction is on the deck above cabins. And lots of sailboats have a cored hull. Don't know if the hull on a V20 is cored.

[Curious]

Thanks, Peiserma. My next question is how does it happen as it pertains to this particular survey/boat? I understand how an improperly sealed fastener screwed through the deck, for example, can allow water intrusion around the area of the fastener, but that is typically isolated to a small area around the fastener. I guess what I'm asking is, was this boat swamped or sunk for a period of time and never dried out? I see that it has a newer motor so maybe that's a sign that it sunk sometime shortly before 2004.

Thanks for the reply- this is a good lesson in "let the buyer beware" in this current market of reasonabley priced used boats.