7+ years without bottomcoat

[PaulDaniel]

I’m going to check out a boat at Watt’s Bar lake in Tennessee. Current owner has had the boat for 7 years and has not painted the bottom during that time. I’m assuming there will be hard growth on the bottom of the boat.

If the bottom is covered in hard growth, do you have any idea what the remediation process will look like? It’s a 27 ft boat. If the hard growth is into the gelcoat or fiberglass, does that mean that there will certainly be blisters?

I know it’s impossible to say without looking at the boat. But I would like to be armed with information so that I can properly negotiate with the seller when the boat is hauled.

 

[Davidasailor26]

Hard growth and blisters are separate issues and not necessarily related. Not repainting the bottom will almost certainly allow significant growth, but won’t have a direct impact on blistering. Being in the water with no dry time could lead to blisters if the gelcoat was susceptible to it and an epoxy barrier coat were never applied.

Growth is pretty easily taken care of. It can be pressure washed or scraped off when first hauled, or scraped off later (with a bit more elbow grease). Blisters are a little more work to fix, depending on how deep and numerous they are.

My bigger concern would be that if the owner hasn’t repainted it in 7 years, what other preventative maintenance have they skipped that could have bigger impact? I’d be especially careful to look around spots like chainplates and other bedded fittings for evidence of leaks or rot.

 

[Captain Larry-DH]

To clean it you would need to haul out, scrape (floor scraper would help) then power wash, then use acid based bottom cleaners such as Mary Kate ON AND OFF.
You won’t be able to survey the boat until that’s done. I advise you to negotiate this work be done by the owner or have him hire it out. You should not commit to buying until you know what you’re getting.

 

[Will Gilmore]

My bigger concern would be that if the owner hasn’t repainted it in 7 years, what other preventative maintenance have they skipped that could have bigger impact?

Any significant failure in regular maintenance and general seamanship like that is a very good indication of deeper problems. Maybe the only neglect that boat has suffered is the bottom, but it's doubtful to me, as well.

The boat is in freshwater? Even if the bottom has never been painted, has it never been cleaned either? A good cleaning at the beginning and end of seasons might be enough to keep growth at bay.

-Will

 

[glanrock]

If the bottom wasn't taken care of then most likely neither was the top or the inside. The hull will have high water content sitting for 7 years without an opportunity to 'dry out.' I wouldn't go near that boat without a haul-out and water meter reading just to start.

 

[PaulDaniel]

He bought it but never learned to sail. He camped in it regularly though. The wood trim inside is excellent for a 30 old boat. Leaks would have likely (but not certainly) caused damage to the wood inside. I will of course check the deck with a plastic hammer and moisture meter. I know this boat received a barrier coat from the factory, but there is no indication to think that the barrier coat has been reapplied in the last 30 years. The hull does not have any wood below the waterline.

Does the hull need to “air out” on a regular basis, even if it has a barrier coat?

 

[Scott T-Bird]

Find out if it has always been a freshwater boat. Find out if it has been removed each fall and the bottom has been cleaned or pressure washed each year. If it has barrier paint, I don't know why it would be suffering. Perhaps the owner knows how many coats were initially applied (usually 3 minimum). Once it is out of the water, the condition of the bottom should be obvious. If it's never been cleaned, it will be quite a job to get it clean (and should be done by the current owner). Once it is cleaned, any damages should be obvious but I don't know why there would be any problem caused by algae growth in fresh water. It may look super dirty if there is a lot of sediment in the water. Serious blisters will be obvious if they exist. But the barrier coat should reduce that possibility. I think you may be putting too much worry into this issue. Lots of boat owners never paint the bottoms of freshwater boats that are removed from the water at the end of each season. If the boat has routinely been removed and cleaned each season, it should be fine.

 

[Davidasailor26]

Does the hull need to “air out” on a regular basis, even if it has a barrier coat?

Some hulls are more predisposed to blisters than others. For hulls that are predisposed (usually because of the layup method and gelcoat formulation) a properly applied barrier coat should be very (though maybe not universally) effective.

Plenty of boats in some parts of the country stay in the water near full time, just being hauled once every few years for bottom paint. So I don’t think the dry time is a necessity, just something that may be helpful for those otherwise predisposed hulls.

 

[jssailem]

and should be done by the current owner

Or make allowance for the conditions and adjust your offer accordingly.

Boat management is a series of compromises. Leave it in the water and ice covers the water there can be damage to the hull. Pull the boat and sit I on the hard damage can happen in a variety of ways.

Inspect the boat like a physician would a new patient. Are all the parts there where they should be. Is the hull and deck sound? Does the boat look like something you want to put money and time into.

Remember you can dress up a pig, but it will still always be a pig.

Which is total ok if YOU approve.

 

[Will Gilmore]

Inspect the boat like a physician would a new patient.
...
Does the boat look like something you want to put money and time into.

That's not exactly how I want my physician to look at me. Neither a dressed up pig, nor a cash cow.

-Will

 

[PaulDaniel]

The current owner and previous owner have had the boat on freshwater. The current owner says he believes the boat has always been on freshwater. The condition of the metal is great which indicates freshwater.

He has never hauled it out.

Okay, so if the bottom is covered in zebra mussels, then most likely I can scrape them off, apply acid, and then sand. Any long how many hours it might take to get zebra mussels off of a 27 ft boat? I know it depends…. Maybe you could give me a mild and extreme example?

Thank you!!

 

[Urban Hermit]

Don't know about Zebra muscles but do know about barnacles. Those must be pressure-washed and scraped off as soon as the boat comes out of the water while they're still wet. If they dry most of them have to be sanded off, with consequent damage to the bottom. I would assume Zebra muscles are the same.

 

[FastOlson]

Fresh water-stored boats attract varying amounts of slime and other organic growth on submerged surfaces. It scrapes off. While it slows the hull speed down a lot, it's nothing like the "hard" growth one finds in salt water.
Scrubbing would time consuming after several years, but the bottom should come clean. The condition of the substrate, i.e. blistering, is really a separate topic.
Going forward, there are bottom paints formulated for fresh water. While they seldom totally stop all slime - especially if the boat is stationary for long periods, they DO make it a lot easier to scrub the hull clean.

 

[Will Gilmore]

Official zebra mussel cleaning guide

-Will