1992 Aquasport 230 Osprey - "New" Owner

[nondem]

As I mentioned in another post – I’m a “new” Aquasport” owner having just purchased a 1992 Aquasport 230 Osprey(center console).
Here are the pics I took when I got it home before I had a chance to fix or closely inspect anything on it. I would ask that I not be blamed for any of the “less-than-ideal” stuff these pictures might reveal has been done to the boats wiring, plumbing, fittings and electronics ? .
http://www.linearrow.com/personal/Aquasport230/

I've been searching/reading the forum a bit to learn and continue to do so but, I’ve got some basic questions and also would like to ask for any tips, wisdom and knowledge about this boat in general.
Will this boat sink? …I know all boats will sink but the real question is does it have foam or whatever that will make it float even if totally swamped for hours?
Is there any structural wood, including deck cores etc? I read in the 1992 brochure found here that they use SprayCore(or similar). I’m hoping that means there isn’t any(more on this later).
Is the Aquasport name dead for good?

[Capt. Bob]

Have you seen this?
http://www.classicaquasport.com/gallery ... -3&cat=575

My 91 WAC has wood in the deck, the cabin, transom and under the gunnels.

I see no foam between the stringers or anywhere else except in the huge stringers/bulkheads themselves. I don't think mine would float long but I haven't had the nerve to find out. I'm guessing that your hull is like the WAC (2 additional feet in the stern) with a different cap. Rick K has the 230 Explorer model and has a combo transom of poured below and wood above. I would think you have wood core in the deck and gunnel and some in your CC.

Edit: See you hang your hat in Tally.

[nondem]

I had seen that which is kinda what led to my questions....This page: http://www.classicaquasport.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=2876&title=as-all-mods-1992-5&cat=575
mentions they were the first to put positive flotation in smaller boats. No mention of what 'smaller' means.

Also, it mentions: "our decks are cored with SprayCore..." so that would SEEM to indicate it doesn't have wood....but thats why I'm asking :)

Hello to a fellow Tallahassee resident :)

Have you seen this?
http://www.classicaquasport.com/gallery ... -3&cat=575

My 91 WAC has wood in the deck, the cabin, transom and under the gunnels.

I see no foam between the stringers or anywhere else except in the huge stringers/bulkheads themselves. I don't think mine would float long but I haven't had the nerve to find out. I'm guessing that your hull is like the WAC (2 additional feet in the stern) with a different cap. Rick K has the 230 Explorer model and has a combo transom of poured below and wood above. I would think you have wood core in the deck and gunnel and some in your CC.

Edit: See you hang your hat in Tally.

[Capt. Bob]

Also, it mentions: "our decks are cored with SprayCore..." so that would SEEM to indicate it doesn't have wood....but thats why I'm asking :)

I'm not a boat builder but at first glance that statement would lead me to believe that the hull itself has a "core of material" sandwiched between the inner and outer faces of the hull. I freely admit I don't know what "SprayCore" is but logic would indicate it ain't wood so IMHO it's safe to say your hull itself contains no wood but the other areas I indicated do. My deck is balsa "scraps" sandwiched between the the glass and resin.

Hello to a fellow Tallahassee resident :)

Hello back. I usually fish out of St. Marks.

[wingtime]

Welcome aboard!  Looks like you have a really nice boat there!  The early 90' boats were transition models.  Meaning they made a bunch of changes leading up to the Osprey/Explorer 225/245 models.  Also it was the first few years after Aquasport was bought out by Genmar and the production had moved from Hialeah to Sarasota.   That is a nice set up with the twin Zukes mounted on the bracket.  

As for the wood question you probably have a mix of stuff going on there...  Like I said it is a transition model boat.  The stringers are without a doubt foam filled with no wood.  The cap has wood in if for sure.  The deck could be plywood or end grain balsa.  I haven't heard of the spray core stuff before.  The transom... who knows whats in there but I would bet it is wood or wood and composite.  My hull is seven years newer and it has a poured transom but the deck is end grain balsa.  There is nothing wrong with wood since it is a very traditional way of building boats.  The problem comes from improperly drilled and sealed mounting screws and bolts that allow water intrusion into the core.  So if you don't have soft spots the best thing you can do is start checking ALL your mounting screws.  Make sure they are properly beaded and sealed with 5200 etc.

With a little elbow grease and undoing 20 years of PO installs and mods you should have one heck of a boat.

[RickK]

Hey nondem - welcome aboard.  
You have a pretty rare boat there, as do I in the Explorer model - they only made about 264 of the Explorer model, I would expect the same for yours. I saw one the same as yours at a ramp here (in Sarasota) and it was very nice with the higher sides and after the casting deck, it had the CCP gunnels.  Definitely a transition model.
The Explorer model didn't change much although they made a "wellcraft" version for a few years.  The Osprey that you have was the forerunner of the current (even up to the end in 2005); high gunnels, different deadrise and they kept fine tuning the Osprey after that.
One pic I don't see (unless I missed it) is the HIN  on the starboard rear of the transom.  Can you take a pic of that?

[nondem]

Thanks to all for the info about this boat. I noticed there isn't a lot of info specific to the 230 - it being somewhat rare explains it.


Here is a pic of the hull number...I couldn't find the Coast Guard Plate anywhere(yet)...


http://www.linearrow.com/porch/hullnum.jpg

[RickK]

Here's mine - a little tough to read though.

And a couple links to help decipher the HIN.
http://www.classicaquasport.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2527

Looks like mine came off the line in Apr - yours in Nov.

[nondem]

Nice to "meet" someone else with this exact boat. Thanks for the pointer to the hull number info.

How is your boat holding up overall? Have any soft spots developed on the deck? Mine is in overall good shape I believe from what I've seen so far. There is one area of the deck to the front/right of the console that is a little "springy-er" than the rest of the deck. Looking in the hatch that is right in front of the console it looks like nothing really supports that area directly. IOW I can get my hands to pretty much the whole underside of the area that has the extra spring. and it appear not to be rotten - just somewhat less supported than the deck on the opposite side.

From what I can see, I can pretty easily add some wood directly under the area and make is stiff again....We will see.
The only non-engine issue I've had to address on the boat was one of the two fuel pickups. Unlike any I've seen in my limited experience - the fuel pickups are larger than 1/4" NPT and they are brass tubes soldered onto the fitting the screws into the top of the tank. The solder/braze joint had cracked and it was leaking air into the line...I believe it burned up one of my HP fuel pumps because that was one of the engine problems I delt with -and it was on that fuel line.

[RickK]

My deck has a soft spot  where the PO didn't seal some screw holes but hasn't worsened since I got it.  I really like the boat, it's a great camper.  Remember that my boat has the Explorer cap on it, yours has the Osprey.  Same hull though.

[Capt. Bob]

Also, it mentions: "our hulls are cored with SprayCore..."

(Mod Edit: I changed the original post from "decks" to "hulls" to reflect the actual ad)

I'm resurrecting this thread from a year ago because I really missed something that has been out there for a while.

I've always assumed that Aqua hulls were not cored but all hand laid fiberglass. The quote above comes from a 1992 catalog and clearly states otherwise. I'm at a loss why I didn't follow up on what "SprayCore" actually was but as the old saying goes..."it's never too late" so.....

Two new sprayable polyester syntactic-foam core materials were introduced at the show. One is a companion product to SprayCore 2000, introduced in 1989 by Omega Chemical, Wildwood, Fla. (see PT, March '89, p. 85). The latter is used largely as a print-through barrier and sandwich core material in marine laminates. Newer SprayCore 9000 No-Roll contains a variety of sizes of silica microspheres, and is said to give lower cost and better surface quality than chopped-glass laminates as a backup for baths, showers, pools, pickup caps, van tops, and architectural facades.

This was gleaned from a writeup of a Composites Institute annual show in Washington D.C. circa 1991.

So what
Well to me it means we owners of at least some of the 90 era Aquas do indeed have "cored" hulls. Does it really matter?
Only to an old guy like me trying to learn more about the brand.

[nondem]

Glad you resurrected it :) I didn't find any info on what "spray core" meant at the time.

-Randy