PT 38 Question

I am considering purchasing a 1981 Cheeman PT38 Europa with a single Lehman engine and the boat appears to have been been extremely well maintained. It has teak covered decks but the owner does not know what the actual deck construction is and I can't find any info on the web. Does anyone know if it is glass over plywood, foam core or???
Do they pote
ntialy have the same leaky fuel tank issues as other Taiwan boats or do the covered walkways minimize the chances?
Are there any other problems inherent with these boats
Thanks in advance for your help

stanfromhell said:

I am considering purchasing a 1981 Cheeman PT38 Europa with a single Lehman engine and the boat appears to have been been extremely well maintained. It has teak covered decks but the owner does not know what the actual deck construction is and I can't find any info on the web. Does anyone know if it is glass over plywood, foam core or???
Do they pote
ntialy have the same leaky fuel tank issues as other Taiwan boats or do the covered walkways minimize the chances?
Are there any other problems inherent with these boats
Thanks in advance for your help

Click to expand...

Email sent..........

rochepoint said:

Email sent..........

Click to expand...

Hi Mike, am new here. Looking at the PT38 in Oak Bay and am hoping you can flip me some tips on what to look for. Such as teak decks etc. thanks much. Bill

Welcome aboard! Bet you it is the same boat that was talked about a few weeks back in another thread here.

i bought the boat mentioned in the original post. The foredeck definetly has a leakage problem but I won't know how bad it is until ths fall when pull up the teak and cut away the fiberglass. At least the foredeck isn't spongy yet.
Still hoping someone on the forum can tell me what the core material might be.
My wife and I love the interior layout and I think the covered side decks and aft deck will be ideal for PNW boating.
Check all the headliners, inner window sill for water stains. Open the anchor locker and with a good flashlight look for wetness around the samson post and anchor chain pipe, mine was soaking wet and discoloured. In the engine room have a good look at the side of the hull for signs of water leaks as well as rust on top of the fuel tanks. Jump up and down all over the foredeck to see if it feels spongy. then take a small ball peen hammer and tap fairly hard all over every teak strip. You will hear sharp rings from well fastened teak and a dead dull ring from teak where water has leaked past the caulking and lifted the adhesive underneath. Thats where water will get past the screw holes and into the core.
To get a feel for how a good deck should sound I suggest starting at the aft deck where it is covered from all but wind driven rain and most likely to be in good condition. Batterys are expensive to replace, find out how old they are. Is the windlass functioning correctly. Is the fibreglass on the mast solid or delaminated?
Taps with the hammer will tell the tale there as well. Look for cracks in the uper deck under the walkways and fiberglass delamination on the posts between the upperdeck and the hull.
Hope this helps and also hope the boat is in great shape 'cause it would be nice to see another happy PT 38 owner. I am at Crescent Beach near White Rock BC

Yes this is the one you offered to have a look at. It looks very good inside with just cosmetics outside. With the advice form Stan and perhaps others I will check out the decks etc again. Hoping it pans out.

Tx much Stan for the useful advice. Will let you know how it goes.

If it doesn't pan out you might keep a lookout for the ad I will be posting shortly. I am 1/2 owner in a 1977 PT. We have spent 18 months going thru everything you can imagine on the boat. But the priorities of my wife and I have changed so I am looking to see my 1/2. boat will be moving the the LaConner area ( near Anacortes, wa) in April. My 1/2 goes for $42,500. also ck out the anchor windlass and the chain. we found that the anchor chain was just regular 3/8 chain....NOT anchor chain. the dimensions are different. our original chain kept slipping/jumping since it was not the correct type. also they make a BBB anchor chain and an HT anchor chain. some windlass' will only accept one type of chain. others will accept both. lesson learned the hard way.

re the topside deck construction: ours and many others were built using balsa as the core material. overlayed top and bottom with fiberglass. the balsa has cells which will allow water to migrate up and down but it does a pretty good job of not soaking east and west. but your boat may be a different construction.

Outside/behind-mast furling of mainsail on a motor boat:

stanfromhell said:

I am considering purchasing a 1981 Cheeman PT38 Europa with a single Lehman engine and the boat appears to have been been extremely well maintained. It has teak covered decks but the owner does not know what the actual deck construction is and I can't find any info on the web. Does anyone know if it is glass over plywood, foam core or???
Do they pote
ntialy have the same leaky fuel tank issues as other Taiwan boats or do the covered walkways minimize the chances?
Are there any other problems inherent with these boats
Thanks in advance for your help

Click to expand...

We also recently bought a 1981 PT38. The prior owner left aboard a plug of the deck from when he cut a hole for something. It is a plywood core if I recall correctly. I will be down at the marine later today and can snap a pic of the sample.

I got a couple pics, but will wait till I have my laptop instead of trying to upload them with my phone.
I was not quite right about my samples. One is a section of teak, the other seems to be a section of the hull from above the waterline.