Survey surprise- need advice

[Cheechako]

I had Imron put on my 44 footer. I think it is very good paint. It's a step up from some paints in that you can spray over a repair and wet sand/finish etc to match and not tell you even sprayed a partial area.... as far as surface finish goes anyway... color matching is another thing!d I would want to know the specific damage that occurrred though.

[zeehag]

cosmetic repairs are not deal breakers. do you like the boat? if so-- make it work for you. make the offer appropriate to the amount of damage and go for it.

[Astral Blue]

Originally Posted by Bash

Yes, the boat will need to be repainted at some time in the future. This is the nature of paint.
Are we talking about white paint here, or some other hull color? If it's white it will probably last longer. If it's a dark color, it's probably already showing signs of oxidization.
Ask the surveyor to estimate when the hull will need repainting, and the cost of repainting the hull. You may be able to renegotiate the deal based on these estimates.

If the boat is priced appropriately and you are happy with what you are buying, using the argument that the hull would need to be painted in X years therefore I'm offering you X amount less than your asking price is likely to create negative sentiment within the seller. It appears as if you are asking the seller to pay for your future maintenance. If the boat was advertised as being "turn key" and the seller was making a claim regarding the life of the paint and you are told otherwise by the surveyor, it would then be appropriate to use it as a negotiating tool.

Originally Posted by Mambo

I agree with the notion expressed above that "it is not about the paint", "it is about the damage that was painted over". I also don't like the idea that no one disclosed this to you before the survey. If it were me, unless the boat was an absolute steal and I felt completely confident there was no structural damage from the storm, I would walk away.

I would not necessarily walk away from it without having it assessed by a surveyor. A good surveyor can look at the repairs and easily tell whether they were made properly.

For example, much of my boat's hull has been rebuilt. The restoration was not due to damage; it was completed because Bayliner cut too many corners back in the 1970's and the hull's superstructure did not have integrity to my liking. Now (post restoration) the hull so much exceeds specs for this type of boat, it's strength and integrity is comparable to that of a C-Dory or Ranger Tug.

It's a matter of how well the hull has been restored/repaired. The fact that it suffered storm damage and was repaired could even be an advantage. Being a boat from the 1980's that you are wishing to purchase, if there was damage to the stringers, ribs, etc., they were very likely to have had signs of rot prior to the damage. If the repairs were made, the rotted wood cores were removed and replaced with new wood and properly glassed in.