Osmosis

[Guest]

have been offered a Warrior 35 with osmosis. Broker says it's a £5k yard job to sort out. what are the ups & downs of this? is it that easy to repair? will the rest of the hull deteriorate? anyone with knowledge please help.

 

[markc]

If it has Osmosis then the best course of action is to remove all the gel coat under the waterline and dry the boat out and recoat the whole lot. Make sure you use a yard with a VERY good reputation. A friend has this done and huge chunks of the new gelcoat peeled off in the first season
It will take a long time to dry the hull out after planing off gel unless in a shed with IR lamps so you can't use the boat.

If the boat you are buying is cheap taking into consideration the work then OK, if not, find another one!!

 

[Guest]

Suggest that you have a chat with Fox's at Ipswich. They are currently using a new system that claims to reduce the drying time of a hull suffering from 'boat pox'.

The £5k quoted by the broker does seem to be a bit on the low side. I know of a 28 footer that was treated by a very reputable yard about 5 years ago, and the job set the owners back some £4,000.

Irrespective, if the price is right, and you are not in a rush to use the boat, then Osmosis should not be seen as a major obstacle to your purchase.

Good luck

 

[Guest]

How bad is it?. I have never heard of a yacht to sink due to osmosis.

 

[Guest]

Have a look at http://www.docksidereports.com/buying_a_blister_boat.htm

 

[Guest]

Not being in a rush to use the boat is pretty important. I bought a boat with one or two “minor” problems (inc a touch of osmosis) "that could be sorted out by £Xk by a yard”. Yeah, right. Three times the estimated cost and 2 Seasons later the boat was fine. I wouldn’t buy such a boat again.

 

[Guest]

OK .... a) take the price offered for the boat, b) telkephone to a few osmosis treatment centres, such as Hayling Yacht Co. and add the two together .... check against market values ....

I know you'll say well we did that already .... but its reamrkable who don't !

5K could be right, dependent on yard and system used .... telephone round ....

As to boats going down due to osmosis ...... no records that I know of ... but it does weaken the strata ... but is normally only confined to the gel to lay-up interface.....

 

[LeonF]

I have just bought a Sigma 33 that has had osmosis twice. This time round she has had an extra layer of laminate after slurry blasting. She was done at the workshop at Shotley Marina near Ipswich. My surveyor was very helpful and I have a 5year guarantee. He recommended that I have her checked after 4years and if there is a problem then I invoke the guarantee. Leave me a direct contact number if you would like any more info. Good Luck

L.A.R.Ferguson

 

[Guest]

Dont buy it! Whilst the problem is rarely terminal, it does take a long time to treat properly, and herein lies the problem. Even if the yard does not rush the job (time is money, space is limited etc) you will want to hurry it rather than lose sailing time.
It is a simple process to do yourself (with subcontract peeling) and will cost a lot less than £5k. My boat was larger than the one you propose, and the man days to do the work was no more than 6 in total.