survey says need gel coat repair! Help!

[abadan31]

Hi

need some advice. Just had 24 foot cabin cruiser surveyed. Boat needs antifoulıng cleaned off epoxy fıller applied to underside gel coat reapplied and possibly new antı fouling as well. How much is likely to cost in UK fırst boat so not sure now what to do.... İs this very extensive repair or not? Hope you can help...

thanks

 

[bluejasper2]

hi there,it is not a big job i did the same to my first boat the cost of materials is about £300-£350 for filler and gel shield six coats needed 3 grey 3 green the only major expence is if you do not want to scrape of old antifoul i got our 24foot bayliner soda blasted for £300 saves loads of time, let last coat of gel shield go tacky then apply coat of antifoul. took us about 2 weeks altold hope this helps.

 

[omega2]

Were the areas of damage pointed out to you?? and what do they look like.

 

[PCUK]

Has it got Osmosis? Can't think of any other reason to remove gel-coat.

 

[gjgm]

Hi

need some advice. Just had 24 foot cabin cruiser surveyed. Boat needs antifoulıng cleaned off epoxy fıller applied to underside gel coat reapplied and possibly new antı fouling as well. How much is likely to cost in UK fırst boat so not sure now what to do.... İs this very extensive repair or not? Hope you can help...

thanks

Have a verbal word with the surveyor. He may be covering his liability in a belt and braces report. I cant see why you would re gelcoat the underside of the boat? You might treat it with epoxy, but not gelcoat. And assuming it is going back in the water, it will need antifouling, not maybe antifouling.
Unless he is refering to just a small area, and not the whole hull?
Anyway, getting a verbal explanation from him would be my first step. Remember, if the work is significant, you can try to renegotiate with the seller, but dont expect him to provide you with a "new" hull

 

[DAKA]

Hi

need some advice. Just had 24 foot cabin cruiser surveyed. Boat needs antifoulıng cleaned off epoxy fıller applied to underside gel coat reapplied and possibly new antı fouling as well. How much is likely to cost in UK fırst boat so not sure now what to do.... İs this very extensive repair or not? Hope you can help...

thanks

Sounds like someone has removed old antifoul with soda/grit blast and then antifouled over holes which are left after blasting.

Price up a new blast, gel coat filler and antifoul.

Deduct the whole amount off the sale price, even if you are going to keep it on a trailer 9 months of the year and not bother to do anything you will have to deduct this same cost when you in turn sell it on.

You say possibly antifouling so I assume it is a trailer boat in which case there is maybe no need to do anything.

 

[MapisM]

fırst boat so not sure now what to do...

First of all, welcome to the madhouse.
Is the boat already yours, or is she being surveyed in the context of a purchase?
If the latter, the solution is very simple: don't walk away, run.

 

[DAKA]

don't walk away, run.

we need to know more.

It could live on a trailer (note op comment about not using antifoul)

It may need filler just to fill the pin prick voids exposed in the gel after a slurry blast that almost all slurry blasted boats have, its normal !
(not that I would let them near my hull).


real yawn, but this is my best guess in the absence of detail.............


My personal view is I would never have a grit/soda blast or paint stripper anywhere near my gel coat.

A few years ago at lift out a friend had his 1987 Fairline corniche at the side of my 1988 corniche.
He wanted me to join him for a slurry blast of 'gentle soda'.
I wasn't keen even when offered a two for one deal and declined.
My mate went ahead and I saw the damage the following weekend

Whole hull was riddled with small holes in the gel coat.
The whole boat had to be filled and epoxy coated.
At some stage a section of 1 ft by 2 ft on my bow had also been blasted.
It is unclear if
they started on the wrong boat.
they hit it by accident
they wanted to see if my hull would also be wrecked
they thought it was such a good job I would want mine done


My 'test' section was also covered with pin prick holes that I needed to fill.
I was pleased a small section had been tested as it confirmed to me that GRP shouldn't be grit blasted unless it needs an osmosis treatment.
A friend was then kind enough to clean my hull with an electric chisel, the old antifoul came off and left beautiful white shinny gelcoat with no visible signs of weakness.
It is clear that older boats have naturally occurring bubble holes deep within the gel coat that are created during the mixing. These bubbles are fine and will not cause a problem unless the Gel coat is overpolished with compound, over sanded or slurry/grit blasted.

The slurry blast had not made the holes but it had exposed voids that had been water tight for 15 years (moisture reading were very good).

The grass under the treated boat has still not grown back and turned into a bog for a while.

From my experience I would only have a slurry blast on a modern boat that had used a vacuum technique to mix the gel coat and so reduce the amount of bubbles.

If you read the professional sites they warn about this in a round about way " leaves a nice key finish ready for filling and epoxy coating " shouldnt the surface be ready for AF Primer ?

 

[MapisM]

we need to know more.

I see what you mean, but do we, really?
If I'd be shopping for a 24 cabin cruiser and got a survey showing a need of epoxy fıller applied to underside gel coat reapplied, I wouldn't waste one more minute bothering with the details.
There are thousands of similar boats out there, most of which hopefully with no structural flaws.
Because that's what we're talking about: I really struggle in understanding those who suggested that it's a trivial and easy fix.
Gimme a rusty steel hull rather than a grp hull in need of reapplying gel coat any day.

 

[gjgm]

I see what you mean, but do we, really?
If I'd be shopping for a 24 cabin cruiser and got a survey showing a need of epoxy fıller applied to underside gel coat reapplied, I wouldn't waste one more minute bothering with the details.
There are thousands of similar boats out there, most of which hopefully with no structural flaws.
Because that's what we're talking about: I really struggle in understanding those who suggested that it's a trivial and easy fix.
Gimme a rusty steel hull rather than a grp hull in need of reapplying gel coat any day.

Cant see how you jump to that ,with no details. This might be a 25 year old river boat costing £5k, and needs £500 of DIY work.
Might be rotting with decades of osmosis, but we dont know either way. Neither do we know the ability of the surveyor- remember in UK your local plumber can declare himself a surveyor and start tomorrow , if he so wishes.

 

[MapisM]

Cant see how you jump to that ,with no details.

Which is the conclusion I'm jumping in exactly?
I accept that the OP didn't specify if he's purchasing the boat or he/she already owns her (and in fact I asked).
But other than that, I surely wouldn't waste my time on a 24' boat in need of that kind of repair and would look for a boat with all sort of other non-structural defects, for any given price.
Then again, if the surveyor was telling porkies, that's another matter of course.

 

[DAKA]

I see what you mean, but do we, really?
If I'd be shopping for a 24 cabin cruiser and got a survey showing a need of epoxy fıller applied to underside gel coat reapplied, I wouldn't waste one more minute bothering with the details.
There are thousands of similar boats out there, most of which hopefully with no structural flaws.
Because that's what we're talking about: I really struggle in understanding those who suggested that it's a trivial and easy fix.
Gimme a rusty steel hull rather than a grp hull in need of reapplying gel coat any day.

But if the op is buying a 24 foot trailer boat for day trips , weekends and occasional holidays it could be ideal at the right price.

 

[gjgm]

Which is the conclusion I'm jumping in exactly?

The one that he should run away.

 

[MapisM]

Well, that's what I'd do.
Ok, I accept that if the need of epoxy fıller applied to underside gel coat reapplied is limited to a small scratch while loading the boat on the trailer, it wouldn't be a big deal.
But as I understood it, such job is needed to the whole "underside", hence not due to some kind of collision.
What else would you need to dismiss the purchase of a grp boat?
Again, if the surveyor/plumber can't be trusted, that's another kettle of fish of course.

 

[markcw]

You will never buy a boat with nothing wrong with it unlesss its new, i brought my 1994 wellcraft cuddy 4 years ago and its only been in the water proberly in the last two years.

i traded my fletcher 17ft gto for this model, when i went to view it i could not afford a survey, luckaly i knew the owner of the boat yard/shop, i was told that there was quite a few problems, it came from poole and the owner had just spent £1200 on spares, but it was still not working, starter motor bolts seized, loom issue, drive not lifting, key barrel brocken, engine timeing problem, battery rubbish, rev counter not working, and alternator not chargeing(new alternator fittied), and engine wont switch off with key when it does run if you lucky, faulty plugs or rotor arm and breaking down ht leeds, also no nav light working and horn faulty.

Boat was up for sale for £7995 including a non worthy american trailer that was illegal in every way and the brocker said the owner of the boat is desperate to get rid of it, i offerd £3500 quid and the offer was excepted that day. 2 years later, volvo penta engine removed twice and stripped down, 290 leg removed 3 times, engine loom replaced in places, all fault sorted loads of bits replaced in cluding all bearing in the water pump and bell houseing new gaskets throug out engine, after all of this the boat still required a full clean inside and out that took nearly 7 months. I had no experience of marine engine and im not a mechanic, i am a mechanical service engine so happy with tools in my hand

Still to this day im still doing odd jobs, but i absolutly love the boat and love working on here, its my bride and joy and im so glad i brought it, would i do it again, yes i would that is the joy of owning a boat.

Buy the boat what you have can be sorted either by your self or qualified persons, once its done you wont need to worry about it then and wait for all the other things to start wanting attention, and you will say to your self why did i buy this boat and then you will be hooked.

Boats are great, there for enjoyment, there to be worked on

mark

 

[MapisM]

You will never buy a boat with nothing wrong with it unlesss its new

You must have never bought a new boat, if you say so.
Truth is, you'll never buy a boat with nothing wrong, period.
Then again, if given a choice I'd rather look for one whose GRP/gelcoat is fine...

 

[markcw]

You must have never bought a new boat, if you say so.
Truth is, you'll never buy a boat with nothing wrong, period.
Then again, if given a choice I'd rather look for one whose GRP/gelcoat is fine...

no never brought a new boat, would never have enough money ro do so

Truth is, you'll never buy a boat with nothing wrong, period.
agree with that

Then again, if given a choice I'd rather look for one whose GRP/gelcoat is fine.
gelcoat can be repaired in lots of ways talk to the people in the business first, ring around and get some opinions. that what i would do

mark

 

[MapisM]

gelcoat can be repaired in lots of ways

Yep, I know.
I've also seen a couple of boats where the gelcoat had to be completely removed (one of them up to the gunwhale).
That's the reason why I previously said that I'd rather deal with a rusty steel hull....

 

[markcw]

i think there comes a point were if you want something you like, and its not 100% perfect but do-able. then go for it.

why look at boat after boat after boat trying to find that perfect compination, i looked at quite a few boats ,and i new what i wanted, boat-colour and had to be an inboard, i did want a diesel but there were non around, so settled for a petrol, i was lucky to find this boat with the bluey/greeny colour as there were plenty with red or dark blue.

mark

 

[ian38_39]

Age and value of boat should play a big part here.

No boat has yet sunk from osmosis and if it is a couple of thousand pounds for inland use I would rather have one with blisters than a knackered engine and drive. Just a bit of filling every couple of years. and it won't break down or leave you stranded.

If you are buying something for 500k then it becomes a different ball game but in that case you would probably get a bigger reduction than the cost of the treatment, ending up with a boat that was worth more than one without an issue thank's to a new 20 year warranty.

On a small sports boat with trailer you haven't even got the price of a lift to dry it out and treat bits locally each year.