Grp needs no maintenance

[Wansworth]

That’s what the yachting public were told back in the 1960 and in many cases it is true but these videos about remaking a rotten deck bring to light that combining wood with grp needs to be done with care and attention obviously not practiced in some boats .If the encapsulated wood gets a look at water you are doomed and by the looks of it out of sight out of mind was the guiding principal in some grp boatbuilders

 

[johnalison]

Even without wood, GRP will not look after itself, at least, if you care about its appearance. Left to its own devices it will go dull in the UV and absorb any stains and dirt that are going. And all that it if you can avoid the occasional scuff. Most of my white GRP looks much the same as it did when it was new 23 years ago, but that didn't happen without regular attention and the avoidance of products that make things look worse. Friends of ours use Cif or anything they have handy, and it shows.

 

[Wansworth]

My three old wooden yachts where I think easier to maintain than old grp yachts,rub down with wet and dry and a nice new coat of enamel,which always smelt pleasant,maybe the standard of workmanship was better in wooden boats.

 

[johnalison]

My three old wooden yachts where I think easier to maintain than old grp yachts,rub down with wet and dry and a nice new coat of enamel,which always smelt pleasant,maybe the standard of workmanship was better in wooden boats.

I have not owned a wooden boat since I sold my Firefly. I'm not sure that I would want the regular maintenance of a wooden boat, though the ability to laugh off scuffs does sound appealing. Much also depends on where the boat is kept. The Baltic habit of winter storage under cover makes care much easier, and accounts for their love of varnish and until recently composite yachts.

I don't think standards have especially fallen, only that there was no such thing as mass production of wooden boats. If you want a nice smell, 3M solid GRP wax, which I only found once, smells lovely.