Up to Prout Escale Catamaran Anchor Locker Repair Index Forward one Prout Escale Catamaran Anchor Locker Repair

Structural Longevity Issues in Front Locker

So here you have a picture from our fender locker that shows our new drainage system and how Prout elected to save a few dollars. Note the lack of fiberglass on the wall and the minimal tabbing (about one inch wide, edges highlighted by the arrow-heads). How this tabbing is supposed to hold the underlying plywood is a mystery to me. Tabs this short cannot be depended upon to add structural strength - so if something else weakened the hull, these could pop right off.

The cost to put down at least one layer of fiberglass across the entire plywood structure would have been minimal. In any case, the tabbing should have been much wider and tapered, not come to a common stop as it does here. At some point we'll remove the paint and fiberglass the locker in it's entirety. Right now we have more pressing issues to fix.

Rear Wall of Fender Locker on our Prout Catamaran

Also note the drain hole placement 2 inches away from the wall near the hose exit. Naturally, drilling a hole "uphill" from the bulkhead wall will cause water to pool and stagnate there. On the other hand, drilling a hole accurately close to the wall would have required the type of skill I no longer expect from Prout Catamaran employees.

Rear Wall of Anchor Locker on our Prout Catamaran

The back of our anchor well. Braided rope and galvanized anchor chain share a deep space in the nacelle. The minimal tabbing continues. Our current stop-gap in lieu of real fiberglass is white epoxy paint. I have highlighted the edges of the tabbing in this photo to show the extent of it. For comparison, the anchor rope is about 1.25" in diameter.

So, how many boat builders elect not to fiberglass the entire anchor locker? Also, why weren't all penetrations sealed with epoxy? After all, once the balsa/plywood goes, it gets really expensive to fix! Better yet, don't have any penetrations through cored material and create solid sections of fiberglass for fasteners and other hull penetrations since, as an OEM, you should know where everything goes. The added cost is minimal, yet it would elevate the boat into another league of quality and durability.