Csail
N/A
Would you be put off a boat if the survey said slight osmosis (it was re-epoxied in 2001) Boat is 1977.
Osmosis (slight)
- Thread starter Csail
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Koeketiene
Well-Known Member
I would expect it on a 1977 boat.
However, not when it has been re-epoxied in 2001.
However, not when it has been re-epoxied in 2001.
eastcoastbernie
Well-Known Member
It would depend how much else was wrong with the boat, how much I wanted it and how much confidence I had in the surveyor.
If everything else about the boat was right, and I really wanted it, I would ask the surveyor what exactly 'slight osmosis' meant. Does it mean there is just a small patch somewhere, or does it mean it is 'slight' all over the boat and on the point of being rampant? As has been said a million times on this forum, no boat ever sunk because of osmosis.
If everything else about the boat was right, and I really wanted it, I would ask the surveyor what exactly 'slight osmosis' meant. Does it mean there is just a small patch somewhere, or does it mean it is 'slight' all over the boat and on the point of being rampant? As has been said a million times on this forum, no boat ever sunk because of osmosis.
Aeolus_IV
Well-Known Member
I you like the boat then use as a lever to negotiate the price. Just because a boat was epoxied in '01 doesn't mean it doesn't have osmosis. It seems to have been fairly common to epoxy a boat without fully treating any underlying issues. I don't know what the consequence would be - there are a couple of knowledgeable guys on here that can offer sound advice on that front. On the plus front, as already mentioned, it will not sink because of this and can be fixed.
Regards,
Jeff.
Regards,
Jeff.
bromleybysea
Well-Known Member
To an extent it does depend on what is meant by "slight osmosis" and lots of other variables like what you are prepared to do about it yourself , how long you intend to keep the boat, how much you are prepared to spend and so on. Boats of that vintage tend to have pretty solid layups and as is already said, no boat sunk because of it. On my 1980 boat which have owned for 25 years, I have treated "slight" osmosis twice, cheaply and conservatively. The first time it kept osmosis at bay for over 10 years and then there were a few patches around the waterline which I treated by grinding out, leaving for a couple of months, filling and recoating with epoxy. It's still good and it cost me a few quid and a couple of days labour. A more radical, professional solution might last longer (it might not)but would cost a lot of dosh which I would must rather spend on a new genoa. You takes your pick. To sum up. if I liked the boat and it was OK in other respects I would buy it, treat the osmosis myself and enjoy sailing it>
Csail
N/A
Interesting results up to now. The surveyor was brilliant (pm me for his number, no connection to him) He reckoned osmosis isn't a big deal.
Keith 66
Well-Known Member
As someone who has just aquired an elderly grp boat i was not particularly worried about osmosis, she had been professionally epoxied but it wasa quite a few years ago. What does surprise me is the number of people who buy a boat strip & epoxy it without ever making any attempt to find out what the misture content is.
If its wet dont trap the water in!
If its wet dont trap the water in!
wotayottie
Well-Known Member
Slight osmosis? I always thought osmosis was like virginity - you either had it or you hadnt!
I once bought a boat with osmosis albeit after a price reduction to cover the cost of treatment. Never again - the time wasted in the treatment and the doubt afterwards was not good. Remember, epoxy isnt impermiable and you only treat one surface anyway. So an epoxy treatment for osmosis isnt a permanent fix and the boat could need a re-treatment when you come to sell it.
Alternatively, a 1970s boat is the nautical equivalent of an old banger so you could take the view that it isnt worth treatment and just enjoy whats left of its life.
I once bought a boat with osmosis albeit after a price reduction to cover the cost of treatment. Never again - the time wasted in the treatment and the doubt afterwards was not good. Remember, epoxy isnt impermiable and you only treat one surface anyway. So an epoxy treatment for osmosis isnt a permanent fix and the boat could need a re-treatment when you come to sell it.
Alternatively, a 1970s boat is the nautical equivalent of an old banger so you could take the view that it isnt worth treatment and just enjoy whats left of its life.
Blueboatman
Well-Known Member
''If its wet dont trap the water in! '' Indeed
Things that may make osmosis worse....I was told by my last surveyor that if you intend to sail off to the tropics, that will exascerbate any existing osmosis, as will sailing in fresh water (is that right though????. I know that early GRP swimming pools suffered embarassingly) and leaving the boat in 12months a year will too. But the worst you can do is to epoxy over existing moisture or blisters/wicking !
The one thing no one mentions is that osmosis looks so bloody offputting when it starts to creep up onto the topsides, say, especially under the transom and bow areas.....And then you are in for a epoxy and respray treatment to maintain the beauty of your pride and joy.
Here's a good link with piccies of what to expect down the line..
Osmosis
Things that may make osmosis worse....I was told by my last surveyor that if you intend to sail off to the tropics, that will exascerbate any existing osmosis, as will sailing in fresh water (is that right though????. I know that early GRP swimming pools suffered embarassingly) and leaving the boat in 12months a year will too. But the worst you can do is to epoxy over existing moisture or blisters/wicking !
The one thing no one mentions is that osmosis looks so bloody offputting when it starts to creep up onto the topsides, say, especially under the transom and bow areas.....And then you are in for a epoxy and respray treatment to maintain the beauty of your pride and joy.
Here's a good link with piccies of what to expect down the line..
Osmosis
Cliveshep
Well-Known Member
I have a boat of the same vintage, possibly older, no-one seems to really know. I have had several built around late sixties/seventies and one thing is clear is that resin-glass technology was in it's (relative) infancy, the tendency was to overdo it in terms of lay-up. The effect was that apart from small trailer cruisers and runabouts, most 4 berth upwards boats seem to have been built like the proverbial brick outhouse, i.e. over heavily laid up. Mine has a few blisters, after 40 years afloat I'd be surprised if it didn't, and as far as I am aware it has never been epoxied or repaired. The surveyer was happy with the hull when I bought it, surprising because you should have seen the state it was in, cockpit cover gone for over two years, heads overflowed into the bilges (yuk!) paint peeling in lumps all over. 5 years later it's still going strong.
I would not get too worked up about it unless it is a very light lay-up hull, if you must just treat the spots is my counsel.
I would not get too worked up about it unless it is a very light lay-up hull, if you must just treat the spots is my counsel.
bluedragon
Well-Known Member
My take on this is, the odd isolated blister (or even small clusters) can be easily treated during annual anti-fouling. I'd cut or grind-out the gelcoat blister, check there's no broader delamination, rinse with a hose, fill with epoxy filler, anti-foul. Quick and easy. A few more next year...same process.. No need to wait for months for the hull to dry (which it doesn't anyway). IMO we need to get back to some common sense with "cosmetic" osmosis blisters, and away from the paranoia of "OMG it's got to be all stripped off!" or "I'll never sell my boat". There was an article in PBO a year or so back which dealt with this very issue of simple DIY repair of blisters on old boats. It made a lot of sense.
If the whole hull is covered with large blisters, or the laminate is breaking down, it's another matter, but how often do we actually see that...at least in UK saltwater and the plastic-classics from the 60s and 70s?
PS - I know of two instances of Co32s which were professionally stripped and epoxied (one only 4 years ago) and moisiture levels in the hulls are now way back up again. One of the owners has said to me that he would never again have this procedure done on a boat, but just deal with any individual blisters if and when they arise. I think the major issue is that unless ALL the solutes that attract water by osmosis to form the blisters are removed (I suspect much more difficult with old boats than we all think) then even with an epoxy coating moisture levels are going to increase and blisters may occur over time. It's the rate and frequency with which they occur is what matters IMO...but I'm sure others have different views!
If the whole hull is covered with large blisters, or the laminate is breaking down, it's another matter, but how often do we actually see that...at least in UK saltwater and the plastic-classics from the 60s and 70s?
PS - I know of two instances of Co32s which were professionally stripped and epoxied (one only 4 years ago) and moisiture levels in the hulls are now way back up again. One of the owners has said to me that he would never again have this procedure done on a boat, but just deal with any individual blisters if and when they arise. I think the major issue is that unless ALL the solutes that attract water by osmosis to form the blisters are removed (I suspect much more difficult with old boats than we all think) then even with an epoxy coating moisture levels are going to increase and blisters may occur over time. It's the rate and frequency with which they occur is what matters IMO...but I'm sure others have different views!
Allan
Well-Known Member
I would say, if you really want the boat, make sure the price is reduced by at least enough to pay for a strip etc. After all, it is not what you think but what the person you may need to sell the boat to thinks. I have been told that a 10m boat costs £6-8000 to treat so I would get the price reduced by at least that figure, plus anything else the surveyor finds. At least you are lucky enough to be in a buyers market.
Allan
Allan
