Dodgy survey report

[Guest]

Having found just the boat, set in motion the survey. Just had conversation with surveyor(prior to receiving written report), saying that he had found some blisters on the hull, and that it was not looking good.

Assuming the seller is going to make an adequate consideration in the price, would it be prudent to continue?

Do you simply treat the/those blisters, or the whole hull?

Does a repair make it as good as new?

Do we continue looking?

Norman.

 

[chippie]

I think it would depend on what an adequate adjustment is.
From everything I have read ,localised repairs are only a temporary solution.
You could get a quote for a repair job and use that as a bargaining tool.
Having said that there are people who can live with the problem and not lose any sleep over it. Check out www.marinesurvey.com/ This site is by a surveyor with years of experience and has many informative articles. Good luck.

 

[boatone]

Need a bit more info really Norman. eg how widespread/severe is the blistering, what sort of boat, how old, what sort of value, cost of treatment(prob mega!), is it in water all year round etc etc. I had a 30 year old river cruiser which had slight blistering when I bought it but I decided it wasnt severe enough to worry about and surveyor agreed. 5 years later sold it still with blisters still no worse and buyers surveyor not that worried either. Worst cases will obviously eventually result in severe laminate breakdown but I'm convinced many lesser manifestations will probably soldier on for years without any dire consequences, particularly on older thicker hulls.

boatone@boatsonthethames.co.uk

 

[longjohnsilver]

Also take a look at www.yachtsurvey.com/Paint.htm
This puts the problem of blistering/osmosis into perspective.
If the problem is really severe then it can vause laminate problems but I still have never heard of a boat sinking because of osmosis. I feel reasonably convinced that the problem, if it really is a problem is highlighted by the marine industry to create work for themselves when in many cases it really has no affect on the boat at all. Most older boats will suffer from wicking which is almost invisible to the human eye. My last boat had this 'problem' which in 7 years of ownership got no worse even though the boat was only kept ashore for 1 winter. The moisture readings were reasonably high when I bought the boat; for the last year it was kept ashore and when i sold her the readings were almost zero, which again according to conventional wisdom is almost impossible as revese osmosis should not happen. Once the moisture is present in the fibreglaas the supposed only way of removing it is to strip the gelcoat and thoroughly wash it regularly with fresh water and then allow it to dry. In severe cases this probably makes sense, but as my own experience shows it is by no means necessary for every boat.
Hope this helps.

 

[ianphillips]

We had similar report on our boat when we bought her. Negotiated price down to compensate (about £8K).

Had hull stripped, washed, dried out in shed using heaters. Took about 5 months in shed to get moisture content down (so they said!!??) Gel coat done and International Gelshield applied; got 5 year guarantee.

Following season had boat lifted for antifouling and what do we find? A crack in the gel coat!! No problem - 5 year guarantee. Contacted warranty company, who told us to get a surveyor to confirm and they would cover the cost of repair. Surveyor checked hull - took moisture readings and what do you know? - back up to same levels as before the job was done; but no sign of osmosis therefore could not claim on warranty. Fortunately the contractor still existed so we were able to claim against him for the repair, but he could do nothing about the moisture content and admitted that this phenomena was quite commonplace.

As someone said below I've never heard of a boat sinking from Osmosis - in future we will just dig out any blisters an fill with epoxy! I seem to recall we paid several thousands for the full treatment including the warranty which you also have to pay for, but do not seem to have gained any benefit whatsoever.

Osmosis does not seem to appear in the US marine vocabulary!! I wonder why?

I've since been told that in the US, surveyors now tend to use ultrasound (or similar device) to check overall hull integrity, rather than worrying about moisture contents and the occasional blister.

 

[Guest]

Many thanks for the comprehensive replies. Will forward them to my brother to assist him to make a decision on the boat.

Will let you know how we get on.

Once again, thank you for your good advice.

Norman