fiberglass, original gel coat or painted?

[steve the farmer]

I apologise in advance if this is not the right place to post this but I couldn't see a tech or maintenance section.

I am looking at GRP boats, and I have seen one that has been furbished. It says complete refurb inside, new lining upholstery and painted outside.

My concern is the painted outside! I am not a GRP guy so do not know, The hull looks as new, really glossy so am I worrying that if its not original gel coat that repainting could be hiding damage issues?

Thanks Steve.

 

[Freebee]

there is a practical boat owner forum that could be the place for this, but yes painted glass fibre could cover a number of problems or even a different hull colour.

Once you have a painted hull you can only polish it a few time before you wear the paint topcoat away, it depends on what the paint was and how hard it is as to how long it will last, if the hull is a different colour underneath scrapes and knocks will reveal it.

You will almost certainly have to recoat it every so often to maintain the look.

On the other hand it could just be well polished GRP in which case no worries!!!

 

[SEARANGER ANCASTER]

You would never know but you would never know if damage even if unpainted if it had been repaired properly. Painted hull shouldnt put you off if the rest of the boat is as it should be ad price is right etc

 

[kashurst]

yes the paint could be covering damage issues, however a good surveyor would probably spot anything serious by checking inside the hull for cracks and other clues of a serious whack having taken place, etc.
If you stand well back from the boat and look at it from different angles and especially along the sides both sides should look similar with no odd bulges or depressions that could be accident damage. Sometimes you can make out the shadow of internal ribs etc if the boat is very clean and shiny, again not unusual.
More than likely the hull will have had some cosmetic damage over the years - they all do in the end, and nothing to worry about usually. You really have to hit a boat hard to do do significant damage as fibre glass is pretty tough stuff. The odd marina/mooring prang isn't going to undermine the boats strength. Boats aren't like cars fortunately. In the unlikely event a proper heavy duty collision has happened in the past it will leave internal evidence a good surveyor will find it

Its not unusual in the med to paint hulls as the sun fades the gel coat colour over time. If the example you are looking at has been done well (it sounds like it) just get a surveyor to double check there are no surprises.

 

[PowerYachtBlog]

If the correct paint is used for example the much rated Awlgrp or a quality Dupont paint or similar will be better to any gelcoat over time.
Most boat builders do not paint straight away as gelcoat gives an aesthetic pleasing shell out of the mold, with less work to do. Polish out and repair some bits and peaces and the boat looks good.
None the less gel coats technical properties are very much discus sable by most experts.
The more a gelcoat is nice at new the more delicate it is to keep it that way over time and less thickness a builder can build on.

For example most Princ-Fairline-SS of around 15-20 years old (some even less to that) are all being repainted locally as the white starts to peel off in around that age, leaving no alternative for a keen owner to repaint.

 

[steve the farmer]

Thank you for those replies guys it all helps in pointing me in the right direction.
I am looking at various boats and this repainted one is just one of a few.
But what I want is really like finding rocking horse s..t. A 1990 onward bayliner 2655 type, something as big as possible that I can tow with diesel. And in good condition, with a trailer, all for under £20k, but that's a different thread.
Again thanks for the replies on this.