what to look for when surveying a F25

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SVBAGATELLE
Posts: 48
Joined: Mon Feb 23, 2009 10:08 am
Location: Niagara on the Lake, Ontario

what to look for when surveying a F25

Post by SVBAGATELLE »

can anyone share their experience with what to look for with a round mast F25? I have consulted the posts on this site, but I guess like any boat from the 1980s the issues will be water ingress into the hull and deck, leaks around ports, gelcoat cracks, etc. I wonder if the 1 cylinder Yanmar is up to the task of motoring into a headwind, and I know several owners complain that the boat is down at the stern so that some rebalancing of the weight would be desirable. I have not seen any mention of blisters in the hull. There doesn't seem to be any worries about the durability of the carbon mast, though the goose neck can fail like on any other boat of this vintage.

unfetteredalexandria
Posts: 128
Joined: Sun Feb 22, 2009 1:57 pm

Re: what to look for when surveying a F25

Post by unfetteredalexandria »

Regarding hull blisters: I'm the 3rd owner of my '84 F25 (hull #206). At sale, PO indicated he had to do some blister mitigation when he bought it in '95. After fixing the blisters, he applied an epoxy barrier coat. I bought it in 2007, and after 3 years I had the entire bottom soda blasted and applied a new epoxy barrier coat. I didn't do this because there was new blistering, so it's possible the the '95 barrier coat would have lasted even longer.

Mine is outboard, so no problems sitting low at the stern. Used to have 10hp Honda four-stroke which was way more than needed, even in 25+ knots headwind with 3-4' waves.

Water gets into the cabin top through every single one of the deck hardware fittings; over time I have rebedded most.
1984 round-mast Freedom 25
Western Shore of the Chesapeake

SVBAGATELLE
Posts: 48
Joined: Mon Feb 23, 2009 10:08 am
Location: Niagara on the Lake, Ontario

Re: what to look for when surveying a F25

Post by SVBAGATELLE »

Did you have to repair the cabin top? Did water get into the core? I am not sure how easy it would be to repair, if it was saturated. The problem of course is freezing, which can split the fibreglass surrounding the core. I saw a F25 with that problem a few years ago, and quickly walked away.

unfetteredalexandria
Posts: 128
Joined: Sun Feb 22, 2009 1:57 pm

Re: what to look for when surveying a F25

Post by unfetteredalexandria »

When I've re-bedded the fittings, I've cleared out an inch or so of core around the hole. I haul the boat every winter and cover it. This allows for the area I've opened to dry out for 2-3 months, before refilling with epoxy, and re-drilling the hole.
1984 round-mast Freedom 25
Western Shore of the Chesapeake

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