Ten Years without Haul-Out

[marc2012]

Well I would find out if in fresh or salt water before deciding on bottom growth?marc

[Bash]

After 10 years of neglect, most boats would need new sails, rigging, canvass and batteries, a new engine, major bottom work, extensive brightwork, recushioning, rewiring, and upgraded electronics.

At a moment when it's such a buyer's market for used boats, why get involved in such a project?

[roverhi]

Since the boat hasn't been hauled for so long, it's going to be a horror show of marine growth unless it's been moored in severely polluted water. You'll have to get the hull cleaned which will probably take a diver most of a day to do. The diver should be able to identify any blistering while he's cleaning the boat. The blisters don't stick out very far. If it's minor, he might miss it but should feel blistering that's enough to be a problem while scrubbing the bottom.

Blisters are caused by water either dissolving or reacting with the resin. Essentially, the resin is washed away leaving unresined fiberglass roving, matt and cloth. Gel coat is pretty much water impermable so protects the underlying FRP layup to an extent. The problem with gel coat is it's more brittle than the FRP laminate so develops a bunch of microscopic cracks that let water into the FRP laminate. The thicker the gel coat, the more prone it is to cracking. Water is going to get to the laminate but isn't a significant problem if the resin doesn't react with the water.

The cure for blistering is to grind any blisters down to good resined laminate and let the boat dry out. Fill any deep areas with cloth, matt and epoxy resin. Shallower blisters can either be filled with matt and epoxy or just epoxy with a filler. If blistering is significant, the gel coat should be ground off to a bare laminate. Then coat the hull with multiple layers of epoxy 'Barrier Coat.' All the bottom paint manufacturers sell specially formulated resin for this purpose. Epoxy will slow the penetration of water since epoxy is pretty much a water barrier and more flexible than gel coat. Unfortunately, some water will still get in through minute cracks in the epoxy and the barrier redone regularly in a hull prone to blistering.

Just out of curiosity, if the boat has been on a mooring, how have they kept the boat from flooding. I find it hard to believe there are no leaks, however minor. The boat would have to have the bilge pumped regularly. If it had an electric bilge pump, they would have had to have some way to recharge the batteries. Ideally the boat would have not had a battery on board but that seems unlikely.

[Jimbo2010]

The boat must have had activity over the last 10 years to some degree.

The mooring lines and chain would have rotted, the bilge had to be pumped once in a while.

A boat absorbs 2% of its own weight when in water after a few months then it stays the same.

The boat I had before my present one was bought new in '79 never out of the water except for about a week once a year to paint and check.

I sold it in '05 the surveyor didn't believe the age, so its the build and care.

At about 15 years I replaced all the thru hulls, shaft packing, rudder bearings, the boat after 27 years on a mooring in season then a dock in the winters did fine.

A diver will never ascertain anything much, he will not scrape it close enough to see blisters if they exist.

Haul the boat scrape sand inspect not only the gel coat, all fitting, they will likely need replaceing along with the suggestions already stated.

Move forward, after sanding all the way down to glass put a barrier coat on, it works great.

[Mark Zarley]

I like Bashes take on the situation. Sounds like junk, smells like junk, you buy that junk and later will have to pay to dispose of that piece of junk. Just sayin, junk in junk out. If you must have this boat offer to dispose of it for a small fee. At least you will not be takin advantage of.