Moody 333 thinking of buying moody333

[Douwe Kuiling]

Hello,
I am from holland, my English is a bit rusty.
I am thinking of buying a moody 333 1983.
The deck area right behind te mast is a bit wobbley if I stand on it. What could be wrong?
Could there be any rotten balsa in the deck?
Is it a big problem? of do all moodys have this.

also, the headliner hangs down, could it be repaired wirh injecting glue or is there any soft, "pulfered" foam inside?

Thank you for your advice!

Douwe

 

[Paul Coley]

Hi Douwe,

I think your guess is probably correct. Repairs are possible, but likely to be fairly extensive and best carried out by a professional.

It does sound very likely that water has got into the core and it is now rotting. The most likely cause is a deck fitting around the mast which is not properly sealed and has let water in.

The mast step itself is probably fitted with a plywood core, but the deck around it is most likely balsa core. If the core is rotten or has de-bonded from the grp skin then most of the strength will have been lost. The unknown factor will be the full extent of damage. You can estimate it by tapping with a small hammer all around and you should be able to hear the difference between a clear solid and a dull sounding rotten area.

If you are still considering purchase, I would recommend a survey by an experienced yacht surveyor.

A repair would involve removing the upper grp skin and removing all the rotten balsa. If the inner skin is sound, then layup new balsa, and laminate the new outer GRP layers. Getting a good acceptable finish is likely to need a professional.

Paul

 

[Douwe Kuiling]

Thank you Paul for your advice!

Today the owner showed me around the boat.
There is room to tension the stays so the mast has not "sunck" in the deck.
We have removed a ceiling light to look from the inside to the deck. and i could see some wooden beems that were laminated in the grp but i also could see some light (it was a very sunny day) shinig through the gpr.
if everything was sandwiched with balsa, i would have seen a different thing i think.

Does anyone who owns a 333, removed the ceiling and looked at the deck fom below?

or is the somewhere documentation about how these deck are exactly build?

thank for all your respons and advice. exept for the bit wobbley deck, we saw a great and well maintanined boat today!

kind regards,
Douwe