1981 Valiant 40 by Uniflite...?

[Pashenkova]

Hi Folks!

I'm considering making a trip out to visit this boat. $70K for a Valiant 40 seems too good to be true, though. Any thoughts on what I should look for? Any thoughts at all?

1981 Valiant 40' Cutter Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

[Snore]

Not sure about Valiants but fire retardant resin on Morgan 382&3's was alleged to cause blistering issues.

Bill

[JRM]

Originally Posted by Pashenkova

Hi Folks!

I'm considering making a trip out to visit this boat. $70K for a Valiant 40 seems too good to be true, though. Any thoughts on what I should look for? Any thoughts at all?

1981 Valiant 40' Cutter Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

You should join the Valiant Owners group on Yahoo. There is lots of good info, and I believe the owners of that particular boat participate as the name seems familiar.

It's a blister boat, so the value is less. That being said, I didn't pay much more than that for my '75 Valiant 40 that we bought in June of last year, and she was fully kitted out with spares, and not a blister boat. I looked at an '82 in San Diego that was $120K "firm" last year (also a blister boat).

Don't fly out to see it unless you are serious about buying. Those Valiants have a way of sucking you in and making you fall in love with them. :-)

JRM

[Saltyhog]

That year falls in the blister boat era. I'm not talking about your typical hydrolysis / osmosis that affects many older (and some newer) boats. Uniflite used a fire-retardant resin that proved to a real blister problem. Some of these boats blister both above and below the waterline. They're built heavily, so some feel that the blisters are mostly cosmetic and just live with them. If you fall in this camp, blister era Valiant 40's are a great value as they'll be priced to reflect the issue. Many feel there's no cure for these blisters/resin and steer clear. Personally, I fall in that camp. There is a lot of info on the web, for ex: Valiant 40 Blisters Do your research and make your decision.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Pashenkova.

See ➥ OFFSHORE ATLANTIC YACHTS (World Headquarters, FL)

And ➥ Valiant 40 Review : Bluewaterboats.org

And ➥ BoatUS - Boat Reviews - Valiant 40

[s/v Beth]

Before you run away, you should know that there has never been a fiberglass failure on one of the Valiants secondary to blisters.The blister boats were from mid 75 to 82 or perhaps 83. I have had lots of friends that have own such boats without problem. If funds are tight, they may be a solution. I prefer to spend an extra 40 K and get a non-blister boat. Mine is hull number 19 and has never had a blister on it.
BTW- for midsized boats I think the Valiants cannot be beat. I love taking her out in the Pacific.

[CapnBrown]

Funny you mention Morgan 382 & 383's. I host the discussion board for the owners and I don't recall even hearing about it being an issue. You'd think having "blisters" would be worth mentioning as an issue and it's an active board with nearly 700 of those models out there.

I would certainly consider the issue when having a survey done but with the reputation both the Valiants and Morgans have I wouldn't be scared off...

[Snore]

Originally Posted by CapnBrown

Funny you mention Morgan 382 & 383's. I host the discussion board for the owners and I don't recall even hearing about it being an issue. You'd think having "blisters" would be worth mentioning as an issue and it's an active board with nearly 700 of those models out there.

I would certainly consider the issue when having a survey done but with the reputation both the Valiants and Morgans have I wouldn't be scared off...

Brown,

I ain't making it up! From Jack Hornor on the Boat US website

"Some 382 and 383 models were reported to have been built using the same fire-retardant resins blamed for causing much of the osmotic blistering problems that plagued Valiant 40's and Uniflite power boats"

See also http://www.boatus.com/boatreviews/sail/Morgan38.asp

At the risk of,sounding caustic, surprised a mod wasn't aware of it.


Bill

[CapnBrown]

Originally Posted by Snore

Brown,

I ain't making it up! From Jack Hornor on the Boat US website

"Some 382 and 383 models were reported to have been built using the same fire-retardant resins blamed for causing much of the osmotic blistering problems that plagued Valiant 40's and Uniflite power boats"

See also BoatUS - Boat Reviews - Morgan 38

At the risk of,sounding caustic, surprised a mod wasn't aware of it.


Bill

The full quote was... "Some 382 and 383 models were reported to have been built using the same fire-retardant resins blamed for causing much of the osmotic blistering problems that plagued Valiant 40's and Uniflite power boats. Few 15-to 20-year-old fiberglass boat are seen without some osmotic blisters unless there has been extensive and expensive repairs. It is not uncommon to find some degree of blistering on Morgan 38s but I have not seen nor heard of a problem as extensive as the reports of the Valiant and Uniflite."

So it sounds like the "reports" of their having been built with those resins didn't appear to have a sizable impact. Wasn't implying you made it up but rather that through the years I've not heard anything substantial about blistering from the owners.

But this does point to an issue Valiant has had and I just read more about it. The additive is called boron and the issue was with heat rather than water. Heat would cause the topsides to blister. But as I mentioned earlier Valiant has a lot of satisfied owners as to their performance and comfort. So take it for what it's worth...

[Bash]

that boat has its own website, where you can contact the owners

Home - sea shanty, valiant 40

[oceansong1]

Hello Capt. Jack, I also own a 382 Morgan and blisters are not a problem. In my research prior to buying the boat I did not see anything related to blisters being significant. You mention hosting a discussion board for Morgan owners what is the web address, I'd like to check it out..

On the issue of Valiants, I think it is agreat boat which I was considering purshasing before I settled on the Morgan, while I love the Morgan, I have a warm spot for Valiants. Perry is one of the best off-shore yatch designers of our time.

[gordwedman]

I own Valiant 40 No. 169, a 1977 blister boat. I am very happy with the performance and general layout. I wouldn't buy a different boat even if I had more money to spend. These boats were designed with long term ocean cruising in mind, ie., things like storage space, lockers, etc. A friend has a Newport 41 that he likes to sail with the rail in the water. Whenever he does that he gets salt water into his water tanks because the breathers are on the outside of the hull. On the Valiant the breathers are inside the boat and drain excess water into the bilge. Just one example of the thought that went into design. I previously had a 1983 C&C 37 and there is no comparison in terms of long term livability. My particular boat has very few blisters. Generally speaking it looks fine other than for the woodwork which I find hard to keep up in the PNW. Blister boats are all different. I didn't look at your boat. If there are no closeup photos of the hull and cabin top get the broker to send you those. They should show up how bad the blisters are. Even if they are bad the general consensus is that it is only a cosmetic issue affecting resale value. If you are thinking of ocean crusing you would be in good shape with a well equipped Valiant 40.

[CapnBrown]

Originally Posted by oceansong1

You mention hosting a discussion board for Morgan owners what is the web address, I'd like to check it out...

morgan38.org is the owners' site. It is a bulletin board that has been around long before I got it. There are no ads or commercial interest in the site. I just host it as I owned one of the early Morgan models and wanted to help the owners keep the site going. It's really active but is really for discussions about how to maintain or make small customizations etc. for owners of the 38x older boats. There are a few owners of the new Catalina/Morgan 38 but the majority is your vintage. They are great boats.

Valiant's must have something going for them to ask 90k

Oh, I guess they've come down a little. It's a tough market out there...

[cortezsailor]

Valiants are great boats, spent years trying to find the right one for me but never did. Having said that the price reflects the boats current value in that market. Most in that range are blistered quite badly. There was a Valiant 47 in SAn Fran as well for a few years, I think it ended up selling for close to 100 000$, it was also blistered again after being repaired once already. Still I wouldn't turn down a good deal on a Valiant blistered or not if I was back in the market for another boat

[carlylelk]

At the Chicago Strictly Sail show two weeks ago i attended a seminar. The Valiants built by Uniflite came up and the moderator said these boats end up needing a "peel". I believe he said the gel coat debonded.

That being said, if you get the boat cheap enough, have it peeled, and repainted and you've got a brand new easy to clean hull finish!