Is this a safety issue - or just cosmetic? (w/pics)

[krouth]

Hi everyone,

My wife and I are new to the forum - and new to yacht buying! We are looking at a 1999 Mainship 350 and upon our first visit I took the following pics of the hull since the boat is currently on the hard. Is all this "pitting" and "flaking" something to be worried about or is this normal? It doesn't look like photos of typical "blistering" I have seen, but again this is all new to me. Any help is greatly appreciated!! Thanks in advance!!

 

[Gdavid]

Looks like a simple matter of poor preparation prior to applying the most recent bottom paint. I would consider the labor needed to strip it all off (via soda blasting or sanding) as a factor of my offer but it doesn't appear structural at all. A survey should still be be completed prior to closing on the boat.

 

[Finnegus]

Issue?

There is no way to actually tell from a photo. The only real way to say is to sound the material. (Hit it with a rubber peen hammer and see if it sounds solid. like unaffected areas of the hull. You really need a good Marine Survey.

 

[dcolman]

I have a '99 model Mainship 350. I will be happy to discuss pro-s and con-s etc. upon request.... as to your hull issues. It is too hard to tell from the pix. Does not look like a naturally occurring issue. Looks like bad surface prep or other improper cosmetic repairs were made. If you are considering buying this vessel, a complete survey should be a relatively cheap sleeping pill.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Welcome aboard. Yep. Survey. IF you decide to go ahead with this boat to the point of getting a survey, perhaps the first thing you can have the surveyor do is examine those areas of the hull that concern you. IF there IS a problem you can terminate the survey then and there and perhaps save a few $$.

 

[psneeld]

To me, pictures 2,3 4, are nothing more than bottom paint buildup and flaking off, then repainting.

Picture one has a few dark spots that I can't tell what they are, first glace looks like the first coat was black and that's what showing through. But I can't tell from the pic...peel a tiny bit of adjacent paint back and see if more black shows.

 

[dcolman]

PSNEELD I saw the mighty Cutter Polar Star at 10th Ave Marine Terminal in San Diego last Friday. I'm guessing she was transiting back to Seattle from this year's "deep freeze" in MacMurdo Sound. Each and every sighting could be the last! Awesome ship... used to be my next-door neighbor at Pier 36 in Seattle when I was on Boutwell early 80-s.

 

[78puget-trawler]

Just too much paint build up. Get out the scrapers.

 

[Greg S]

Bottom paint is there as a protective coating to reduce marine growth, both flora and fauna. Barnacles, muscles, anemones, slime, wood worms, and seaweeds. Bottom paint sloughs off and wears off and toxins in it deplete. It gets reapplied annually, or every two to three years. Normally previous coats don’t get removed before application of the next coat(s). You have taken photos of layers of bottom paint applied over previous years of applications without good preparation between coats. There generally isn’t great adhesion between applications so some flakes off because previous coats are not well adhered either.
How many years old is the boat? Divide by two and count the layers of paint. Probably come up with the same number.

That being said. I don’t know what the photo is of the grey section.

 

[Comodave]

Welcome aboard. To my eye it is just a build up of bottom paint. The bottom probably should be soda blasted to clean gel coat then a barrier paint and new bottom paint.

 

[Lollygag1]

Soda blast or scraper and sander. If you go option 2 gets a paint suit as it is a messy job. I have scraped our hill down and next week will be sanding it down and getting it prepped to paint.

 

[krouth]

Wow! Thank you to everyone for the quick replies and the helpful tips! I am not sure why the photos uploaded sideways - they don't show up that way on my computer.

A survey will definitely be part of the plan if our offer is accepted.

Looking through old posts it looks like around $35-$50/ft for soda blasting or Farrow blasting and then another $2K-$3K for barrier coat/top paint. Of course, many of the threads I saw were several years old. Some people just said plan on about $100/ft for the whole process of stripping/painting. Does that sound about right for today's market? Any comments on soda vs Farrow blasting?

Thanks again to everyone for your thoughts and time!

 

[Comodave]

We had a previous boat soda blasted, it was 4 boats ago, back in 2014 and it cost $35 per foot then. But costs are fairly reasonable here.

 

[SoWhat]

Many layers of old paint, applied over the previous layers without sanding. It's cosmetic. You could probably get another season out of it. Looks like paint is covering the hull. At some point you should take it down to bare fiberglass, either soda blasting or sanding. Either one works. Always get several quotes. Yards are busy and will high bid jobs.

 

[High Wire]

Old bottom paint. Cosmetic. You can just paint over it or spend thousands of dollars to make it smooth. In the end it won’t make 0.1 knot speed difference.

 

[Shrew]

Absolutely typical of a DIY paint job. Walk into any boat yard and start looking around. You'll see it all over the place.

 

[psneeld]

Absolutely typical of any paint job.

Even with professional application....after 3, 5, maybe more coats......

Even with sanding the bottom but not down to gel, you can be ro.ling and as the roller gets a little sticky, pop goes chunks of paint.

Do DIYs or yards stop and blast the bottom?

Usually not at that point. They just finist the coat and launch.

Done it myself (who painted bottoms many times for my boats and commercially) and the yards I lived or worked at.

It's just part of boating unless you always seek perfection. Remember, I previously posted that it doesn't necessarily happen with all paints or always...theoretically ablative, sloughing paints should never get to that point of buildup. On them though...you may still see it near the waterline first.

 

[Gdavid]

.

Even with sanding the bottom but not down to gel, you can be ro.ling and as the roller gets a little sticky, pop goes chunks of paint.

I find my best luck in rolling on bottom paint using roller covers from the dollar store, I started using them at first simply because they were cheep but a couple years ago I used some nicer roller covers leftover from a home painting project and they were grabbing paint chunks off like crazy. I went back to the dollar store roller covers and it was smooth sailing again.

 

[sunchaser]

As others have said, time for a good cleanup and base any offer accordingly.

We just had our bottom re- painted. The yard said they'd need about 30 additional labor hours as the old bottom paint was in need of sanding, scraping and prepping. The before and after pictures showed the old paint needing to be largely removed and good fairing resulting from the sanding.

So yes, the OP's pictures show the need for a good sand down.

 

[psneeld]

I find my best luck in rolling on bottom paint using roller covers from the dollar store, I started using them at first simply because they were cheep but a couple years ago I used some nicer roller covers leftover from a home painting project and they were grabbing paint chunks off like crazy. I went back to the dollar store roller covers and it was smooth sailing again.

I would rather have loose chunks come off while painting so at least I can get a coat or two on the area where the chunk came off. Rather than while it's in the water and that area is unprotected.

Doesn't always happen, but I have seen it enough to stick with sticky rolling.

 

[koliver]

Old bottom paint. Cosmetic. You can just paint over it or spend thousands of dollars to make it smooth. In the end it won’t make 0.1 knot speed difference.

The reality is that you are buying a boat built in 1999. She has been in the water 23 years, so far. Not a racing boat, not a superyacht, so who, other than you, is ever going to look at the lumpy surface of the bottom paint?
Yes, you could put your whole annual budget into getting a smooth finish below the water line. Only you will know how much you can afford, but if you can afford it, want it badly, it can be done.

Occasionally, if I have extra help at haulout time, I put someone to work scraping old paint on my own boat. Usually that person works at it for a while, then asks "is this really necessary"?

What is "soda blasting"? I think I saw a soda blasting team working on the railings of a bridge on the federally paid highway maintenance crew (money being no object). I have never seen, nor heard of a boater doing it at annual haulout around SW BC.

 

[Gdavid]

What is "soda blasting"? I think I saw a soda blasting team working on the railings of a bridge on the federally paid highway maintenance crew (money being no object). I have never seen, nor heard of a boater doing it at annual haulout around SW BC.

It is a type of media blasting, similar to sand or bead blasting but uses baking soda. It is sold in bulk and non-food grade for economy.

 

[psneeld]

I have seen dry sand, slurry sand, glass beads, soda, and dry ice blasting.

Some gave come and gone for the most part for various reasons.

 

[Stabi]

The reality is that you are buying a boat built in 1999. She has been in the water 23 years, so far. Not a racing boat, not a superyacht, so who, other than you, is ever going to look at the lumpy surface of the bottom paint?
Yes, you could put your whole annual budget into getting a smooth finish below the water line. Only you will know how much you can afford, but if you can afford it, want it badly, it can be done.

Occasionally, if I have extra help at haulout time, I put someone to work scraping old paint on my own boat. Usually that person works at it for a while, then asks "is this really necessary"?

What is "soda blasting"? I think I saw a soda blasting team working on the railings of a bridge on the federally paid highway maintenance crew (money being no object). I have never seen, nor heard of a boater doing it at annual haulout around SW BC.

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[krouth]

Thanks so much to everyone who responded!

Our offer on the boat was accepted this morning so we will now be moving forward with the survey/diesel inspection/sea trial! So much to get done!

I am sure I am going to have lots of questions as we move forward in this process but I definitely feel very welcome with the outpouring of replies to my original question!

Thanks again to everyone!!

 

[Gdavid]

Thank you for following up and best of luck in the survey and purchasing process.

What are the home waters for Camp Hill?

 

[krouth]

Baltimore is where we intend to keep the boat. Philly is a possibility but Baltimore is only an hour and a half away from where we live.

Unfortunately, there is nothing near Camp Hill since the Susquehanna River is not navigable that far up!

 

[Comodave]

Thanks so much to everyone who responded!

Our offer on the boat was accepted this morning so we will now be moving forward with the survey/diesel inspection/sea trial! So much to get done!

I am sure I am going to have lots of questions as we move forward in this process but I definitely feel very welcome with the outpouring of replies to my original question!

Thanks again to everyone!!

Congrats. Hope the survey and sea trail go well.

 

[Gotwex]

Congrats! Hope it all works out. For what it's worth, I would avoid Baltimore or Philadelphia as a home base. Look at Havre De Grace, MD or Middle River MD area. If you are stuck on an urban environment, look at Canton, MD which is very close to Baltimore, but far enough away. Canton has nice restaurants, bars, parks, etc.

 

[krouth]

Thanks for the recommendations - any of those areas look great. Unfortunately we won't get to be full time live-aboards until near the end of this year, so we will have to commute from our home near Harrisburg, PA to where ever we end up docking her.

We've checked with one marina in the Baltimore area (I forgot the name - my wife has our notes) but they had no availability this year. We will need some place from probably around June through October (maybe November). Any marina recommendations that offer monthly rates and have nice facilities?

Thanks again!