Howdy Tubbed!
Indeed, I do own a Zeta-19/cuddy and I love it. Due to a 'family' situation I was considering selling her but circumstances have changed and I'm looking at a different tack that might enable me to keep her. I do hope so; it's been over 25-yrs since I've owned a salt-chuck boat.
When I moved to the Island from North Van back in 82' I was a second-term apprentice marine mechanic. I worked the previous summer at Mosquito Creek marina in North Van. At that marina was a boat brokerage and they were selling, among others, brand new Zeta's; primarily 19 and 24 footers. I remember distinctly walking past a shiny new 19 on day and vowing to myself that one day I would own one.
I am not an expert on glass-boats but I have learned a thing or two along the way. You can rest assured if you are looking at a Zeta that the hull is built like a 'brick-sh*thouse'.
Before I bought my 19 I did a little research and managed to track down the original builder. Here's some history for you.
Zeta Boats (Vancouver BC) was started in 1972 by Mike Hutcheson. Mike worked for years for Sangster Boats and in fact married Sangster's daughter. (Sangster sold the company in 72' and it's generally excepted that post 72' Sangster's are of inferior quality.)
Hutcheson built about 150 Zeta/19's and over 400/Zeta 24's from the mid 70's well into the 80's.
After a lengthy phone conversation with Mike, I learned that they built all Zeta hulls using a 3-stage hand laid process that produced a hull of extraordinary strength. Back then, fiberglass was dirt-cheap and I can attest that they certainly didn't skimp on using it liberally. The hull on mine is at least 5/8" thick at the thru-hulls as well as at the top of the free-board where I drilled in an additional bilge outlet.
In my conversation with Mike - after asking him about the likelihood of a rotten-transom or stringers in the 1980 Zeta I was looking at - he replied: "We used so much fiberglass in those boats that the wood could be rotted-out completely and it wouldn't matter a dam."
Mike is retired now and his son Charlie "Chaz" continues to run the business in Vancouver, though not on the scale they once did.
I re-powered mine (removed the old 305/Chevy & drive) with a new 4.3/Mercruiser MPI/Alpha drive unit and the thing flies; she'll top 50 mph.
She weighs in at just over 3000/lbs unfueled and trailer's nice.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Terry