Gulf Oil Spill Effect On Fiberglass Hull

Don S/V ILLusion · May 5, 2010

Some of the mfgs, Beneteau being one, have apparently sent out notices to owners stating the oil may permanently stain white gelcoat.

While my limited experience is different than that when I was in the oil spill cleanup business, I would defer to their warning and if you are threatened and cannot otherwise protect or remove the boat, at least put a thick coat of wax around the water line but don't wipe it (polish) off.

firehoser75 · May 5, 2010

I too have been in the oil spill clean up business. Use caution when any contractor is assigned to cleaning your boat. Often they do more damage than the oil did!!!!

With the right products (and forgive me, I cannot remember brand names now) the job of clean up is reasonably effective. Best bet, don't get crude on your boat, which sounds very tough to do in the Gulf now.

Best of luck,
Tom

Mike B · May 5, 2010

Here's the letter Beneteau sent out to owners.
[FONT=Trebuchet MS,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]Notice to All Beneteau Owners:[/FONT][FONT=Trebuchet MS,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]We have had a few calls regarding the Gulf Oil Spill and wanted to share this information.

We recommend that you avoid any contact with the oil slick.

If the boat does come in contact with the oil slick

There will be a permanent staining to the white gelcoat.
This will not effect the Structural Warranty of the boat.

The engine manufacturer feels there will be no issue, as the intake is far below the surface of the water.
DO NOT MOTOR-SAIL.

You should carry extra engine impellers and impeller gaskets as petroleum products will damage the impeller.
You should flush the raw water cooling system with a mixture of dawn soap and water to help break down any oil that might have gotten in the cooling system.

What can I do to protect my boat?
Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) recommends the following tips for recreational boaters:

If your marina or boat club puts oil containment booms in place, do not attempt to cross the booms with your boat. This will only spread the oil and damage the booms or possibly your vessel's running gear.
If there is oil in your marina, refrain from running engines or other devices that have seawater intakes such as air conditioners or refrigerators.
Hauling out your boat will prevent damage, but as of press time it was not clear if these costs will be reimbursed by British Petroleum (BP).
If the spill is sighted coming toward your marina or already there, call the BP Community Information Hotline at 866-448-5816 to make a report.
If your boat comes in contact with the oil, call your insurance company to file a claim. Uninsured boaters can call the BP Hotline at 800-440-0858 to file a claim.
Damage to a BoatUS insured's vessel that is caused by the oil spill is covered. BoatUS members are directed to call 800-937-1937 to file a claim.

[/FONT]

jimford2158 · May 6, 2010

Bay News 9 says that with the dispersant in the oil the depth of the oil will reach 30 feet or 30 meters. But they say that it will do less damage. They showed a sea turtle swimming in it and it wasn't breathing well, probably thought the oil was food. The news team were also running their boat in it. I have seen petroleum products turn rubber and neoprene into a very soft compound, possibly the impellor in the raw water pump could be damaged. Might be a good idea to monitor water temp and then worry about color of the boat. My boat was at Tarpon Springs and was already the color of the oil due to runoff in the river. I hope the oil doesn't come down here, the very white beaches will be no more and our water quality around Tampa Bay is already bad enough.

Rick Webb · May 6, 2010

Brian,

Just bring it over here

RECESS · May 6, 2010

It is a lot easier when you have a trailer sailor, but if I had one in a slip, I might want to have them put it on the hard until we know how bad this is really going to be.

Rick Webb · May 6, 2010

I think We are Good for at least the next two Weekends

http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/book_shelf/1922_TMF72-2010-05-05-2000.pdf

http://polar.ncep.noaa.gov/ofs/viewer.shtml?-gulfmex-cur-0-large-rundate=latest

druid · May 6, 2010

There was a fairly extensive diesel spill in Mosquito Creek Marina about 10 years ago. Years later, you could tell which boats were in that marina by the brownish "smile" on the hull

I would think raw oil would be worse.

Nasty stuff!

druid

Ross · May 6, 2010

Crude oil is just about as complex as anything you could find. It will certainly be as penetrating to gelcoat as any wax.
Think a combination of toilet bowl wax, diesel fuel, engine oil, gasoline, all cooked into a soup with all of the solvents you can think of.

sailaway78 · May 7, 2010

Insurance

A couple of friends of mine who have their boats in Lake Ponchatrain, have already received letters from their insurance companies, telling them their insurance will not cover any damage to their boats from this oil spill. Apparently they are thinking of the costs of cleaning or repainting hundreds of boats should the mess get into the lake. After Katrina, I guess it is a CYA thing before the fact.

Don S/V ILLusion · May 7, 2010

Ross said:
Crude oil is just about as complex as anything you could find. It will certainly be as penetrating to gelcoat as any wax.
Think a combination of toilet bowl wax, diesel fuel, engine oil, gasoline, all cooked into a soup with all of the solvents you can think of.

Hi Ross
It's probably an important distinction to make between fresh crude which is, as you describe, a complex mix of petroleum fractions and what is left floating into marinas 100's of miles away. What is and may come ashore is a weathered, degraded and emulsified remnant of the raw crude which was released.

This isn't to say it can't stain gelcoat regardless but the weathered oil is far different from the diesel example Druid described and it becomes hard to generalize what, if any, affect it will have on a white gelcoat.

Regardless of the mixed messages here, it isn't good for a boat so why vacillate over taking chances? [rhetorical question]

druid · May 7, 2010

Nice N Easy said:
A couple of friends of mine who have their boats in Lake Ponchatrain, have already received letters from their insurance companies, telling them their insurance will not cover any damage to their boats from this oil spill.

Yup, this feeds nicely into the "why buy Insurance" thread. Here, it's definitely Not Your Fault, and they STILL won't pay! What, they consider it an "act of God" (where I guess the part of "God" is played by BP)?

druid

Rick D · May 7, 2010

Before we get this too far, we should get the facts. First, I wonder if this letter was from a broker/agent or company. Big difference. In general, they have no authority to amend or reduce coverage on their own. Secondly, amending the contract outside of renewal periods is generally forbidden. Thirdly, i just scanned the exclusions on my BUS policy, and saw no exclusion that would apply. So, I can only conclude that there was a misguided agent or broker, another insurance company with a specific coverage exclusion or a company acting outside the usual regulatory constraints. An anology would be an insurance company advising you they were excluding fire because you were in the possible path of a wildfire. In another life, I was an insurance guy, so I was curious.

catsailor · May 7, 2010

druid said:
Yup, this feeds nicely into the "why buy Insurance" thread. Here, it's definitely Not Your Fault, and they STILL won't pay! What, they consider it an "act of God" (where I guess the part of "God" is played by BP)?

druid

Or was the insurance company directing them to talk to BP, as posted above?

sailingdog · May 8, 2010

I doubt that this is legal or even wise for the insurance companies to do. An insurance policy is a contract, and as such has stipulated terms about what is and isn't covered. Generally, for something to not be covered, it needs to be mentioned very specifically as an exclusion.

Nice N Easy said:
A couple of friends of mine who have their boats in Lake Ponchatrain, have already received letters from their insurance companies, telling them their insurance will not cover any damage to their boats from this oil spill. Apparently they are thinking of the costs of cleaning or repainting hundreds of boats should the mess get into the lake. After Katrina, I guess it is a CYA thing before the fact.

zeehag · May 8, 2010

https://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/2931/542947/