Creaking Teak and Holly Floor

Hi:

I just purchased a 1988 Ericson 38-200 and love the boat. I have found that the Teak and Holly Sole creaks underway. I suspect a couple of things:

1. The screws below the bungs need to be tightened
2. The solid teak trim around the fall flexes against the teak furniture modules

Has anyone else had this problem? How did you fix it?

David

would you believe ?

Sorry I can't help directly but it reminds me of a fellow I recently met who wasn't happy with the hard sailing creaks of his Morgan 40-something. So he had the local yard add 3 layers of glass to the outside of the hull and the noise went away. She squats down another inch in the water now too.

Our boat creaks at times but I isolated it to the area where the galley cabinetry is slightly higher than the sole after launching. Are you sure it's the sole itself ?

Sole... Satisfaction (?)

David,
Welcome to the group! The E-38 is a great sailing yacht.

There is a lot of information about renovating cabin soles on your series of Ericson, if it needs that...
You need to use the "Search" function, above these messages. Put in a word or phrase... like: cabin sole, and click on "go", or hit the return key.

Here is a link to one of the threads on this subject --
http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?t=1526&referrerid=28

There are quite a few others.

Cheers,
Loren

My E38 floor creaks a bit too but I don't see it as a big deal. I sorta expect a boat to creak, like a holdover from the wooden hull days! My sole was recently redone, but its original and has "character". When I redo it I plan on using these http://www.pyiinc.com/index.php?section=panel_anchor&action=floor-anchors&sn=5 to fasten it down. They look pretty neat and allow the floor to be pulled up when needed. I suppose the contact points on the underside will need a thin layer of rubber/foam to keep the creaks at bay though. RT

rwthomas1 said:

... When I redo it I plan on using these http://www.pyiinc.com/index.php?section=panel_anchor&action=floor-anchors&sn=5 to fasten it down. They look pretty neat and allow the floor to be pulled up when needed. ...

Click to expand...

Rob that does look like a good idea. I wish they had a brass version...

Welcome...

Hi David, I see you decided to get the Ericson after all!
Congrats, welcome to the club and the board.
Pictures- or it didn't happen...
Chris

dfharris02 said:

...
2. The solid teak trim around the fall flexes against the teak furniture modules

Has anyone else had this problem? How did you fix it?

David

Click to expand...

Now that you mention that I think I'll try a little silicone spray behind the trim the next time it creaks.

I notice the same thing on my 1989 38-200. It happens when sailing hard on the wind, walking on it in the galley area, or even adjusting the backstay tension. It has kept me awake in rolling anchorages. The rest of the sole is as tight and solid as concrete, all except the galley area, at the seam between both aft sections of cabin sole.

Anyone else???

There was quite a bit of discussion awhile ago about the settling that some of the Ericsons experience, especially the 38-200 models. A fair number of us have seen the cabin sole drop from 1/4 to 3/4 inch after launching in the region of the galley over the aft edge of the keel.

We had this settling, and we also had the creaking of the cabin sole in the galley, especially right forward of the ladder. The creaking was not noticeable when the boat was on the hard. In our case I was therefore convinced that the creaking was caused by the grid below the floor dropping away from the floor, leaving a bit of a gap. I never did figure out how to do it, but I thought about adding shims in a couple of places after the boat settled after launching. You could also add extra screws to hold the floor down to the grid, but that would be difficult to cover up.

Steve,

Thats kind of what I had figured was happening. I took out the bungs and screws a few years ago on the assumption they were loose, but they were not. I figured the only way to stop the creak was to pull up the sole (not my first choice of projects) and seal them to the grid with lots of 4200 to form a cushion. I then learned that Ericson did that anyway so I figured that was a waste of time. It certainly is annoying, but I'm glad I'm not alone with the difficulty.

It certainly is disconcerting.

After reading Ted's recent postings about his backstay tensioner and mast bend I figured I would play with mine a little. When tensioning the backstay at the dock I could hear the cabin sole creaking with application and removal of pressure on the mast. I had never noticed that before but I never really messed with the tension at the dock. That is certainly grid flex occuring. I just hope it was designed that way.

Thanks for the info.

Not to worry too much

The later series of E-boat (with the TAFG) are very rigid and stiff boats. A little flexing of the furniture attach points when the boat is loaded (and they ALL load up!) is nothing to be concerned about. I have heard this on Swans, Valiants, Peterson 44's etc. From what you describe-even if you hear some of it from using the BS adjuster, this is not a concern.

Here is something you CAN be concerned about if you encounter it (but I doubt you will). If you notice that the steering becomes tighter when you apply BS tension, then you KNOW the boat is really bending, and you need to monitor this. I have sailed many offshore miles on boats whose "autopilot" is the BS adjuster!!!!:0305_alar (all at once!) Put some pounds on the BS, and the boat will track well because it is working like a friction lock on the wheel (or rudder post to be more accurate).

The point is that even a small amount of bending under load-even if the rudder post binds some in the rudder tube as a result-does not condemn a boat, but it IS something to be aware of and be careful with. Your boats are much stiffer than this, and my advice is to use the hydraulics to maximize speed and sail shape, and enjoy yourselves and your boats!!!! They ROCK!

Seeya!

S