Looking For Information

[juliank]

I am currently looking to purchase a sailboat in the 30’ range. My budget permits me to consider boats built in the late 80’s but I have a concern here.

In the 70’s when fiberglass boatbuilding was still in its fledgling stage, manufacturers tended to overbuild them usually resulting in heavy solidly built hulls. However the 80’s saw an economic boom and some manufacturers tended to spit out boats at a high rate that were under built. Now I know that this statement might be generalizing and not totally accurate but I would hate to be stuck with a substandard hull. For example, Columbia Yachts built excellent hulls up to 1979 but the Hughes-Columbia’s constructed in the early 80’s had a poorly built hull (my apologies to any H-C owners)

Does anyone know of a source that compares manufacturers and the quality of their work throughout the last 20-30 years? Of course I do plan on surveying any potential purchase but I would like to at least focus on a quality product in order to minimize the risks.

Any assistance would be appreciated

[Eric Sponberg]

About the only book that would come close to what you want is "Heart of Glass" by Dan Spurr, a good friend of mine. It covers the entire history of fiberglass boat building. It has an appendix called "Milestones in Chemistry, Fiberglass, and Composite Boatbuiding", and another of "Selected Company Profiles" which gives capsule histories of over 150 boatbuilders.

Eric

[juliank]

Thanks for your reply Eric. I actually found it at a decent price on Amazon and picked it up. Should be an interesting read.