Dirty bottom.

NYSail

.
Jan 6, 2006
3,048
Beneteau 423 Mt. Sinai, NY
He didnt say anything about use or what was going on. The p/o may have sailed the boat weekly and had a diver go down and clean bottom periodically. However I would pull the boat to see condition...... hope you didn't pay too much before seeing the bottom.

Good Luck!
 

DArcy

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Feb 11, 2017
1,690
Islander Freeport 36 Ottawa
I'm wondering, after so much neglect, if the boat is even worth the cost of a haul out. 20 years of rain water leaking into the cabin, and how much mold could there be? Could an inboard engine survive that length of time unrun? More questions than answers for sure.
It really depends on the boat and he didn't say the engine hadn't been run, only that it hasn't been hauled. I follow a fellow Islander Freeport 36 owner on Instagram that bought the boat after it had been sitting unused in the water in San Francisco for over 10 years. She got the engine running after several weeks of work and has been sailing it. It sounds like she has been sailing for many months now but has not yet hauled for a bottom job. She has a blog but I haven't read much of it.
 

gtg

.
Sep 12, 2019
103
Catalina, Hobbie 22, 16 Windycrest
@gtg
There has been a bit of drift in your question. Images help to give perspective to your question.
Is this the condition of your boat bottom?:yikes:
This would be extreme...

View attachment 174498

Thauinkfully not my boat:biggrin:
Im guessing it something like this. It was a dock sitter for many years before I purchesed the boat. She was sailed at one point as there is a spinker pole on board. 1974 vessel. Im in oklahoma, my guess is some of it dies off each year when the lake turns cold. Perhaps keeping the growth in "check". I talked about the cleaning the bottom and folks at my club said "just sail it".
At some point the bottom needs attention, right? I imagine I should get a new keel line at some point. I am trailerless at the moment but I have access to trailers to haul the boat out to put on jack stands or hydrohoists are available for inspection and light cleaning. Right now it looks like hydrohoist for a day, then put back in water. I would like to avoid suprises such as "now it can't go back in the water there's a hole in it now"
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,992
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
I would like to avoid suprises such as "now it can't go back in the water there's a hole in it now"
The surprise is to be out in the lake 2 miles from the marina and discover that there is a hole in her.

At least on the shore you can possibly do something about the hole, even if it means turning her in to scrap because she is not repairable. You may be able too get something for the parts still working on her. You don' have to swim for it while abandoning your boat to the lake bottom.
 

NYSail

.
Jan 6, 2006
3,048
Beneteau 423 Mt. Sinai, NY
She won’t sail well if the bottom is severely fouled. If you have the ability pull the boat and clean her.... if she isn’t leaking now she will not leak after you clean.
 
Dec 28, 2015
28
Beneteau Oceanis 31 Le Crouesty Brittany
It is sad to see that this type of succion boat, not moving for years, is taking place of boats who would love to have a space in crowed marinas, the waiting lists getting longer and longer year after year.
A least that is the case in Europe in many areas.
 
Jan 8, 2020
48
brentswain 31 31 twin keeler Heriot Bay BC
A friend bought a 25 ft Eric Jr he had built in the 70s. Hauled it out and checked the weight on the travel lift. Scraped it, then checked the weight again. 600 lbs lighter!
 
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Jan 8, 2020
48
brentswain 31 31 twin keeler Heriot Bay BC
I was in Samoa with a dirty bottom.It can be a close hauled beat from there to Tonga, so I pulled a big poly tarp under her, let it float against the hull, and then poured a gallon of bleach inside it. I left it overnight, and by next morning, all the weeds had fallen off.
Had a nice sail to Tonga.
 
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Oct 22, 2014
20,992
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
I pulled a big poly tarp under her, let it float against the hull, and then poured a gallon of bleach inside it
I’m afraid, while a clever idea, could not be done in the waters near Seattle. They would see it as violating their clean water initiative. While they are guilty of dumping sewage regularly into the Puget Sound.

KOMO NEWS. SEATTLE -- Power outages at King County's two largest sewage plants this week caused millions of gallons of sewage to spill into the Puget Sound, according to the Washington Department of Ecology.​
 

Joe

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Jun 1, 2004
7,999
Catalina 27 Mission Bay, San Diego
All that growth will come off easier while the boat is still in the water. Once you haul it out and it starts drying, the task becomes much more difficult. If you can't locate a dive service to do it.... find a shallow area near shore with a firm bottom... rather than soft, goopy one ...a beach perhaps.. bring it in close enough, parallel to the shore, so you can stand in the shallow side with a long handled scraper.... finish one side and turn the boat around to get the other. If you're standing on the firm bottom it'll be easier to get power in your scraping... if you float in the water it's more difficult to anchor yourself.

Once you have the big stuff off.... go back with a plastic scouring pad and scrub until you can see the bottom paint or bare gel.

Now....……… go do some research on how to maintain a boat's bottom. Fresh or Salt water, all boats experience growth on the underwater areas. If you found this forum you should be able to find many, many articles on bottom maintenance.
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,039
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
Sailor's do it with a clean bottom! No, scraping won't ruin the bottom. The bottom, if ruined, was ruined by sitting in the water for way, way too long. Fiberglass likes to dry out from time to time particularly from being in fresh water where the osmotic gradient between the hull and water is greater.
 
Oct 29, 2016
1,915
Hunter 41 DS Port Huron
The original poster made (1) post on the subject in Sept 2019 and has not been seen since, sure wish he/she would come back and give us an update......
@gtg you out there??