Beneteau's with blue gel coat hulls

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GetItDone

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Hi all,

I've been looking at Beneteau Oceanis 411's lately, and they seem to come with either white or blue gel coat hulls (fairly standard). All of the blue gel coat boats look pretty badly faded, I've actually not seen one where the blue hull looks to be in visually good condition. Now I know blue gel coat takes more of a battering from fenders etc. but these look very UV faded as well. Is it just a case of putting up with this or having it re-gel coated/painted? I don't really want to buy a boat and then have to spend a fortune on having it sprayed with Awlgrip when the market price difference between blue and white ones is minimal.

Does anybody have any experience of this and have any idea how easy/expensive it is to have rectified? Has anybody had a boat painted in Awlgrip recently and have any ideas of cost?

Thanks!
 
Dark blue looks lovely, nothing look better but it only stays that way for 5 to 10 years. I have a 32 foot boat with about a quarter of the hull area of the Beneteau and the cheapest quote I could get from a good yard, who did the boat 15 years ago, was £5000. This was for a minimum amount of prep, and undercoats so extra work would push the costs up quickly. I have had similar but cheaper quotes for re-gelcoating in white

I doubt you would get away with less than 15k even if you negotiated taking the boat in during the summer. I have little doubt that a top job, under cover in a Solent yard would make this figure start to look cheap. Buy a white one is my tip.

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Blue and red gel coat are well known to fade and become milky and patchy. A lot of top builder will mould with white gel coat and then paint with Awlgrip. This does not fade and can be much easier to get repaired if scratched.

You should consider that a blue hull will need to be painted, so budget £10,000 to £15,000.
 
Hi had my 41 regelled in about 2016. Cost £2300.dark green.been in the med since 2017,currently turkey.needs a deep polish each year .no regrets ..
 
The 411 is a very nice boat of its period. My sailing pal bought a new one in 2002 and this had a blue hull. He sold it after two years for a white hull 473.

As others have said, blue hulls show fender scuffs and the colour fades.

I’ve had two Beneteau boats since 2005 but would not consider a blue hull version.

I do favour the other contentious issue, teak decks ?
 
rib said:
Hi had my 41 regelled in about 2016. Cost £2300.dark green.been in the med since 2017,currently turkey.needs a deep polish each year .no regrets ..
Click to expand...

May I ask where you had her re-gelcoated please? Also, please confirm that the ‘£2300’ is correct - that seems very good!!!!
 
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Goldie said:
May I ask where you had her re-gelcoated please? Also, please confirm that the ‘£2300’ is correct - that seams very good!!!!
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Hi yes price is correct.. Falmouth by a guy that used to work in the pendennis boat yard.. He had done several. Some off which I had seen before having mine done.
 
Bobc said:
Vinyl wrap is probably cheapest and easiest solution.
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Quick and easy, but how would it stand up to fenders rubbing constantly in a swelly marina?

My vote would be for a two pack paint. I did Jissel 15 years ago and she was getting to the point where it was time to do it again when I sold her last year. but only because dings were accumulating. The trick is to do it in as close to the existing colour as possible so the inevitable dings and scratches don't scream at you.
 
GetItDone said:
Hi all,

I've been looking at Beneteau Oceanis 411's lately, and they seem to come with either white or blue gel coat hulls (fairly standard). All of the blue gel coat boats look pretty badly faded, I've actually not seen one where the blue hull looks to be in visually good condition. Now I know blue gel coat takes more of a battering from fenders etc. but these look very UV faded as well. Is it just a case of putting up with this or having it re-gel coated/painted? I don't really want to buy a boat and then have to spend a fortune on having it sprayed with Awlgrip when the market price difference between blue and white ones is minimal.

Does anybody have any experience of this and have any idea how easy/expensive it is to have rectified? Has anybody had a boat painted in Awlgrip recently and have any ideas of cost?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

12M boat, resprayed in 2014/5 in Awlgrip Ariston Blue, total cost inc removing and refitting toerails, much fairing and longboarding was £14K
 
I have a Blue Beneteau 343. The blue is a bit of a love hate relationship. I do love how it looks compared to the white version but admittedly it does need caring for. Its easy to compound it back to a beautiful blue and then 2 coats of wax will see it through most of the season.
This winter the boat has stayed in commission and won't get a polish until next year and it is starting to look chalky.
Would I buy another blue hull, probably.
 
Bobc said:
Vinyl wrap is probably cheapest and easiest solution.
Click to expand...
We looked at wrapping our forty footer but vinyl wasn't cheap because the rolls come in a certain width and it would have taken two widths to cover the hull.
 
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