Chrysler Sailors Forum

Hi all,

New to the forum and looking at possibly purchasing a 1978 C26. Boat appears to be in good shape, not many frills or extras but well maintained and hull and deck appear in good shape. Is the deck cored with balsa or some other material? Are soft decks common with the C26? I did not find any soft spots when examining this one but was curious about the construction. I believe the hulls are all glass, and no core material used?

Also, I have read that the deck / hull joint is not so well designed on this boat, did they use bolts or screws? Have others beefed up the joints on their boats.

Thanks,

Kyle

I'm pretty sure it is plywood. I took off my stanchions and had to route some of it out. The hull to deck is not very good but not any worse than most production boats. It has screws hull to deck then the railing and that also is screwed hull to deck. What I did was went inside and used some plywood strips and screwed through everything. The reason they leak is because the rail is supposed to drain but over time it gets clogged up. These boats are well above most boats. You will not be disappointed with it. It is a joy to sail. My advice would be to remove the lifelines and stanchions really everything pulpits and all. I removed the engine well also and glassed it over. The rails are easy to remove reseal and replace. Get some help and replace with bolts and nuts rather than screws. I am going to modify my chainplates this year and just go alongside the hull exterior. Get rid of anything attached to the deck. the windows are of some concern. They have a cardboard type of corrugated material. Remove everything, route it out about 1" deep, then fill it in with fiberglass or epoxy. then butyl and screw plexiglas right to the hull using oversized holes in the plexiglas.

Thanks for the reply and good information Dan. I am looking at a few other boats, including some Catalina 25's. One positive about the C26 is the interior, my first mate really liked the space and standing room in the C26, much better than the Catalina.

You will find that you will like the 3/4 keel with the swing keel. You can sail it with the keel up most of the time which gets you more speed. This boat is super stable. A few have sailed to the Bahamas.