Talk me out of a blue hull...

A1GSS said:
Be a UK based boat so I'm more worried about frost damage than heat from blazing sunshine, or UV...!
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Nope, we had it blue for four years and it was an oven in summer, not just direct sun but all the sun reflected off the water. Last year we were painted white and a different story, much cooler and all the other benefits.
 
A1GSS said:
We're spending some time this weekend looking at some boats that might fit the bill; two of them we're looking at this weekend have blue hulls, and one of those at least has been repainted in AWLGrip. I had believed that this product is very tough and long lasting but difficult to touch in if you get a scratch.
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A1GSS said:
This is one I'm looking at tomorrow. AWLGrip completed this year. Looks like a quality job based on the photo. Boat is approaching 20 years old.

View attachment 57889
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Looks a nice boat, in very nice condition. It's been painted with Awlgrip 2000, which is much easier to repair than regular Awlgrip, and odd marks can be buffed out successfully. I had the blue stripes on my old Hallberg-Rassy repainted in Awlgrip 2000 for that very reason.

Go for it! Or, as the Romans would have said, carpe diem!
 
Colvic Watson said:
But painting is cheap and if done by a decent yard it's a long lasting job.
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Could you recommend a cheap, decent yard?

I know cheap ones, and decent ones but not both.

A decent yard in Portugal (cheap labour) quoted me €14k for a 32ft VDS Pioneer 10. Would you call that cheap?

I once sold a 46ft steel ketch, new owner had the hull re-sprayed cream (originally blue) at a decent yard on the South Coast. £26k. Cheap?
 
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Go for it. Ours was awl gripped from new, and after 17 years it is still beautiful except where I have pranged it slightly. I have successfully repaired the graunches with one pack Epifanes and she still passes the ten foot test. For a humble Sun Odyssey, with the Jeanneau logos removed, she looks the biz. The invoice from the yard where we get her lifted always reads " ...Jeanneau Grand Soleil 36.2..."

She has been based in the West Country all her life and we have never had heat problems in the 13 years she has been ours.
 
VO5 said:
Yep.

Oh ! Another thing...

I am told for blue hulls in particular it is better to fit fenders with socks rather than leave them uncovered. Much kinder to the hull surface, provided whatever else is in contact, is clean (free of grit).
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socks hold on to grit and debris and grind it in...fender curtain better...
 
Grumpybear said:
Go for it. Ours was awl gripped from new, and after 17 years it is still beautiful except where I have pranged it slightly. I have successfully repaired the graunches with one pack Epifanes and she still passes the ten foot test. For a humble Sun Odyssey, with the Jeanneau logos removed, she looks the biz. The invoice from the yard where we get her lifted always reads " ...Jeanneau Grand Soleil 36.2..."

She has been based in the West Country all her life and we have never had heat problems in the 13 years she has been ours.
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Thanks that's an encouraging comment :-)
 
Resolution said:
Doug
I thought Awlgrip was good for many years. Did something go wrong with the first respray? Is the boat in temperate waters or out in the blazing sun somewhere?
Just asking as my ageing dark blue hull is now getting near an Awlgrip type of moment.
Peter
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To be fair I am talking over a fairly long timeframe here. I guess the hull was re-sprayed after about 12 years from new in the early 90's again in c 2007 and is starting to niggle me at the moment.
I have not had a particular difficulty but the finish starts to go downhill after about 5 years, in my experience. You do pick up the odd scratch etc as you go along and it starts to add up, as you touch it in here and there. With gelcoat you can simply polish out trivial damage.

But mainly the shine just fades, particularly where fenders rub. I am very particular about this and have fender socks and specially made curtains; Indeed, putting these in place and apologising to people you raft with, is one of the disadvantages.

I have seen good results from re-gelcoating, one boat I inspected after 5 years looked very good, hull and deck.

For A1GSS. If the boat is the right price and all else is calling out to you, join the club, at least you will be going into it with your eyes open.

PS,

FWIW, I think modern boats generally look very much better in dark shades. Mine is of older vintage and white is better to my eye. All subjective of course.
 
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If the boat is alright, do not let yourself be deterred by the colour.
You know you will have more work polishing a blue hull: imperfections show up much better on blue than on white, so you will have to put in the extra effort to be satisfied. Also, during the season you will want to rinse the hull after every sail, as drying salt water leaves visible white salt marks.
But you will find ample compensation in the satisfaction the boat gives. Dark blue boats have that extra elegance, especially the modern designs.
Much will depend though on the quality of the gelcoat. If the gelcoat is good, you can get a rich deep gloss. Some French-built boats I have seen have a dry, chalk-like gelcoat. Stay away from them.
I cannot complain about extra heat as my boat has foam between the inner and outer hull and so is very well insulated.
 
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