Hull Crud

[Sfkjeld]

Just bought a used Potter 15 over the weekend. Not in nearly as nice shape as I'd been led to believe. The seller dismissed all the issues I had concerns over. This is one. What is this scaly crud on the hull? It feels raised in areas too. Blistering? How is this repaired? I prob shouldn't worry about it, but I can't help it.

[Sailmonkey]

looks like dead sea life from here.

[neilpride]

Humm some kind of dry sea weed?? Karcher can do the trick....

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by Sfkjeld

What is this scaly crud on the hull?

It is dried algal and bacterial slime.

[Sfkjeld]

Where can I get "Karcher"?

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by Sfkjeld

Where can I get "Karcher"?

It's a brand of pressure washer. You don't need one. If you want to pressure wash it go to a coin op car wash. Otherwise scrub it with a starbrite pad and a garden hose.

[Pete7]

He is refering to a high pressure jet washing thingy you would wash a muddy SUV with.

The small ones (lower pressure) are fine, just go easy if its a larger hp one.

Pete

[Sfkjeld]

I will put a better pic up this weekend. But in addition to the whiteish crud, which probably is dried algae, under it up to what I suppose is the water line, is a flat black coat of paint or some such. I know that I am obsessing, but I hate the appearance. So even if I can scrub off the crud, it will still look pretty bad. Also, the dark blue gelcoat is faded in some areas on the rest of the boat. Other than my probably excessive aesthetic issues, are there other issues on the hull that would indicate that i really do need to repaint it?

[JPA Cate]

SFKjeld,

From the photo, that looks like 'normal' fouling. We take a 4" putty knife to scrape it off. It's effortful, but not terribly difficult. You may want to repaint the bottom prior to relaunching it. That growth is a sign that the boat must have sat in the water for a while, or the PO didn't hose it off properly when he put it back on the trailer. Normally, a careful hosedown after the daysail will get rid of marine growth on an anti-fouled bottom.

Ann

[Sfkjeld]

Thanks Ann. When people repaint, is it the entire hull or just below the water line? Also, I have heard horror stories about what the paint costs. $2k/gal? Yikes.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by Sfkjeld

Thanks Ann. When people repaint, is it the entire hull or just below the water line? Also, I have heard horror stories about what the paint costs. $2k/gal? Yikes.

The flat black paint on the bottom is the anti fouling paint. Nothing unusual about it. If the boat is kept in the water it will need occasional repainting, but the cost for the good stuff is near $250 per gallon, nowhere near 2K!!. The hull, if gel coat, only needs polish and wax.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Sfkjeld

I will put a better pic up this weekend. But in addition to the whiteish crud, which probably is dried algae, under it up to what I suppose is the water line, is a flat black coat of paint or some such. I know that I am obsessing, but I hate the appearance. So even if I can scrub off the crud, it will still look pretty bad. Also, the dark blue gelcoat is faded in some areas on the rest of the boat. Other than my probably excessive aesthetic issues, are there other issues on the hull that would indicate that i really do need to repaint it?

Do yourself a favor and buy a couple of books on boat repair. "This Old Boat" by Don Casey is a good one. Are you obsessing?...probably.

[SkiprJohn]

Congratulations!

Be careful with metal scrapers. You don't want to gouge the hull, just remove the algae. The black is antifouling paint and you want to get all the algae and growth off and even sand a bit before you put on a new coat of bottom paint. Find out what paint the previous owner used and get the same type of paint so that when you put a new coat on it will be compatible.

If you won't be leaving the boat in the water for more than a day or two at a time you won't need new bottom paint. Just clean off the bottom each time you put it on the trailer.

If you don't like the way the black looks, there are other colors of bottom paint but of course they'll be mostly underwater when you are sailing. You could always add a boot stripe which would add a little bling to the hull.

Look up bootstripe in "This Old Boat" by Don Casey.

As was said. Just get a little rubbing compound to get rid of the dead gelcoat color on the hull. Don't use power tools on the hull to polish. Use your hand power.

Let us see some photos of the rest of the boat.

Do you have other issues?

kind regards,