grady white sailfish 252g

[lonewolf.4]

I have a question about a grady white I recently looked at and thinking of buying. The boat is a late 80s model 252 with the grady bracket. There feels like a soft spot in the floor in the cabin between the bunks I was wondering if there should be any flex or if the wood underneath has rotted out and if it is the wood that has rotted is this a big deal or something I should not worry about, also the gas tank lid screws in front of the cockpit looked like they have been forced out not sure what is going on underneath but the floor is a little warped not much just a small area right in front of the cockpit. Thanks for the help Im also new to the site and hoping to own my first grady white soon !

 

[richie rich]

That entire boat has a deck and cabin built using glass over plywood core.......if its soft near the helm, you would have to replace the wood core from underneath and behind the steps leading down into the V berth.....how soft or springy is up to you if it doesn't bother you......if its the fuel tank covers and surrounding area, you would have to remove them and re-core them....the screws hold the covers by directly fastening them into the tops of the wood stringers.....this usually means water getting in the tops of the stringers and rotting out the wood....so the screws don't hold anymore and back out.....given the age of the boat, I'd suspect the fuel tanks are at their end as well.....same with the transom....you are looking at a good amount of work, whether you do it yourself or have someone else do it....if you buy it for $5k or less...maybe add another $5k into it, you'll have a good hull...