Story by Andrew Holland / August 10, 2018
One potential issue that may arise in a survey is called a cracked bulkhead. When this happens there is some confusion as to what this means for buyers and sellers alike, so our clients often ask this featured “Question of the Week.”
A bulkhead is a layer inserted into the hulls of a catamaran in order to prevent the hulls from cracking or compressing and are added after the hulls are molded to increase stability. Regardless of the material or build quality, all hulls are subjected to the forces of water working against them.
Waves and water under sail apply pressure to the hulls that may eventually cause cracking and require a bulkhead to be repaired so if the topic arises in survey, pay attention to the details a surveyor has to say. This is often a costly repair job because the veneer of the hulls must be removed, the bulkheads need to be re-laminated, and sometimes the ends of the hulls have to be re-banded.
However, a cracked bulkhead does not mean that the boat’s condition is too disastrous to sail or defines the boat as having a structural problem. It only means that over time this particular bulkhead has been under enough stress to be in need of repair, and that is cause for a conversation post-survey.
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It’s been a few weeks now and the dust has settled. We had a great experience with the Multihull Company and in particular our broker, Caroline Laviolette. Caroline was happy to share her knowledge of the market and the catamarans we were interested in purchasing. She was patient and thorough as we looked at several boats in SE Florida, helped us narrow our search and eventually purchase a beautiful 2017 Lagoon 42. Many thanks to the team at The Multihull Company!
We had a great experience purchasing our boat with Will Miller as a buyers agent. Purchasing our first large Cat is a daunting experience and Will was able to walk us through the process with ease. Will was very straight forward and constantly gave us honest feedback as well as finding and pointing out details on all the boats that we may not have noticed or thought about.
We had a great experience and would use them again.
I would specifically recommend a buyers agent when purchasing to help weed through a lot of problems and misrepresented boats on the market.
We have had great experiences with the Multihull company. We both sold our old boat through them, and bought our new boat through them. I have to say that Will Miller is top-notch, and Riley was great as our broker for selling our O day 39. when you buy a Salt or Boat through them, I feel like you are not only clients, but you are friends. The lines of communication were always open and we were always informed of everything going on.
Riley, and the entire staff at The Multihull Company, were incredibly helpful and responsive in helping me find and purchase my catamaran. I was a first time purchaser and had many questions about the process and Riley was very responsive in answering those questions. I would recommend The Multihull Company to anyone in the market to purchase or sell their boat.
Successful relationships cannot exist without it. At The Multihull Company we base every relationship on a firm commitment to earning and retaining our client’s trust.
Advice of any kind is valuable only when grounded in hard-won expertise. It too, must be trustworthy. Trust and expertise define the heart and soul of The Multihull Company. We are a team of skilled professionals who thrive on providing expert, trustworthy advice and service to catamaran and trimaran sailors around the globe.
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