Will, I re-did the straight edge test (vertical on the salon side of the
bulkhead) and my boat failed it. There is deflection of about ¾ inch at the
worst spot. I’m not sure it was ever 100% straight given Ericson’s build
reputation, but it was enough to convince me to take remedial action. I am
going to through bolt a stainless steel plate onto the salon side—I’m hoping
for something pre-made so I don’t have to fabricate it—and carry it down to
the hull, where I will glass in some G10 as a stop block. Rather than flat
plate I want something with an angle for rigidity. Once it’s installed I
will cover it with teak and hope it disappears.
I would be interested to learn from you and the other owners how much deflection is common on our boats. Mine is one of the very first Ericson built 911s and it has been actively raced and sailed for all of its 21 years. While I always thought it was strange to have the port and starboard chainplates so differently attached, the design worked pretty darn well all these years.
Best,
Bob
Robert E. Izmirian
rizmirian@comcast.net
From: owner-olson911@sailpix.com [mailto:owner-olson911@sailpix.com] On
Behalf Of Robert Izmirian
Sent: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 8:56 PM
To: 'William Hardy'
Cc: olson911@SailPix.com
Subject: RE: Do I have a unique problem?
Will, the jury is still out on Jane Doe. I have one rigger’s opinion of “OMG, the boat is going to fall apart” and another’s “what’s the big deal?” The cracks are more than hairline, but when I use a straightedge on the salon side of the bulkhead I don’t see a lot of deflection and the head door still opens easily. Given the close tolerances on the head door, it’s pretty tempting to believe that nothing major is going on.
What is clear is that I’ve had a leak on the starboard side chainplate for a while that I need to address. If that’s the only issue I will consider myself very lucky.
Best to you. Hope all is well.
Bob
Robert E. Izmirian
rizmirian@comcast.net
From: owner-olson911@sailpix.com [mailto:owner-olson911@sailpix.com] On
Behalf Of William Hardy
Sent: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 3:59 PM
To: olson911@SailPix.com
Subject: RE: Do I have a unique problem?
I have similar surface hairline cracks in my melamine finish within the head of my 1988 Ericson 911. I have been keeping an eye on it, but haven’t taken any action on it since it doesn’t appear serious at this point. Let me know how your fix works out.
Cheers,
Will Received on Sun Sep 27 22:41:01 2009