Just Bought My First Boat - About to Give it to a Scrapyard

[Foswick]

Two words: Port Townsend

Assuming you are in/around Victoria and there is no condition that prevents you from putting the boat in the water and crossing the strait, you could be there in a day. You can get everything you need there. Lots of options, and not a bad time of year to schedule this sort of work. I don't know much about options north of the border, but I do know Port Townsend.

 

[Hello Below]

Two words: Border and Exchange Rate. (Well maybe more than two)

I agree Port Townsend is a boaters’ dream for repairs. A very good friend of ours had her boat towed this week from Friday Hbr to Port Townsend for a repower on her IPY. She swears by them. If you go this route make sure you use the CBP R.O.A.M. smart phone App. Easy Peasy as they say. Port Townsend is not a POE (Port of Entry) into the US.
But honestly we need more info from the OP to be able to give him anymore educated recommendations.

 

[jssailem]

Port Townsend is not a POE

This is true. The POE is Port Angeles. One of the Agents is detailed to support Port Townsend. If you call you may be able to make arrangements to meet the BP Officer and check in at Port Townsend.

 

[Hello Below]

This is true. The POE is Port Angeles. One of the Agents is detailed to support Port Townsend. If you call you may be able to make arrangements to meet the BP Officer and check in at Port Townsend.

There are 4 other designated POEs in the state of WA. But yes with an appointment Port Townsend is available to clear customs. From experience, you better be there when your specified time has come.
Alleviate all that by using the App. Free and to non-American residents the yearly Cruising License is also free

 

[dlochner]

For those wondering what the app is, the link is below.

We've been using the app for years crossing back from Canada and the Bahamas. Fill out the information, answer 4 or 5 yes or no questions and hit send. If everything is good, an email comes back with the clearance number. If there are questions, CBP will call or use a video chat for further information. Great system, especially for those sailing near the border.

CBP Reporting Offsite Arrival – Mobile (ROAM)

Securing America's Borders

www.cbp.gov

 

[Caboteur]

As a Canadian, all work done to the boat in a foreing country is subject to duty and sales taxes in Canada upon return. There seem to be several other places where you can have your work done or DIY marinas within BC. I had my boat’s bottom sanded, keel sanded & faired, interprotec 2000, and CSC Micron done at a local marina… about 4,000$cdn. Not cheap but at 74 I don’t feel up to doing it myself!
With the pox add either time or $$.
The wind is free… not much else.

 

[capta]

I'm sorry to see you in such a position.
I believe you said that the boat had been sandblasted, is that correct? If so, that could be part of your problem, if the blasting is through the gel-coat. It normally requires as much as 6 months to dry a bottom (especially in BC) before repairing the blisters. Perhaps, after you have found a suitable place to work on her or have her worked on, you can find someone who can use a vacuum covering to speed up the process.
I would suggest that you contact a reputable boat sales broker in your area and ask if they could suggest a good small boat subcontractor to help you do the job correctly, so that you do not make another mistake (like sandblasting a fiberglass boat, if that is actually what was done), and source labor and supplies.
If you have exposed fiberglass cloth below the waterline, I would not move her by water on her own bottom. There are boat movers who could do so by road, but that can be very expensive. It might be much more cost effective to hire a tug and barge, and a crane for a day, because you won't have to unstep and restep the mast that way. If you get creative and think outside the box, you might be able to get through this somewhat less expensively. Good luck.

 

[Hello Below]

For those wondering what the app is, the link is below.

We've been using the app for years crossing back from Canada and the Bahamas. Fill out the information, answer 4 or 5 yes or no questions and hit send. If everything is good, an email comes back with the clearance number. If there are questions, CBP will call or use a video chat for further information. Great system, especially for those sailing near the border.

CBP Reporting Offsite Arrival – Mobile (ROAM)

Securing America's Borders

www.cbp.gov

I only wished your neighbours to the North had a similar setup. But oh no. The captain has to physically go to a designated marine telephone reporting site which is normally off the route that one wants to go, dock the boat and call the CBSA Telephone Reporting Centre (TRC) 800 number to obtain clearance. This usually includes a 20 to 40 minute wait time on the phone only to answer a few canned question by the agent to get the clearance number. So inconvenient. But off topic.

 

[dlochner]

I only wished your neighbours to the North had a similar setup. But oh no. The captain has to physically go to a designated marine telephone reporting site which is normally off the route that one wants to go, dock the boat and call the CBSA Telephone Reporting Centre (TRC) 800 number to obtain clearance. This usually includes a 20 to 40 minute wait time on the phone only to answer a few canned question by the agent to get the clearance number. So inconvenient. But off topic.

Over here on the eastside, we've been able to clear into Canadian Customs by cell phone from almost any marina. The wait time are typically short. Once you enter all your data is stored and they just ask a few confirming questions about my identity and then ask about the usual firearms, tobacco, alcohol, and raw food products. Then they give you the clearance number. This last time the agent asked how long I'd be in Canada, the usual answer is about a week, this time it was a couple to three months. She did ask what I was going to do.

Doesn't Canada have a reporting app for Canadians?

 

[Hello Below]

Doesn't Canada have a reporting app for Canadians?

No Even if everyone onboard have Nexus you still have to go to a TRC but at a pre arranged time. If you are early you have to wait. If you are late you get an earful. It doesn’t speed things up at all and in most cases delays things.

 

[aftica_1]

Hi Everyone,

Thank you very much for the suggestions! It's good to know there are other boatyards around where I might be able to take my boat. You guessed it right, my boat is moored in Sidney, BC, Canada. I live in Vancouver though, so I cannot be near the boatyard to perform multi-week repairs (unless I want to spend a fortune on hotels and risk my day job).

I think the issue I am running into is that I am new, and I am listening to the suggestions around me but they seem to be all over the place.

When I went to this boatyard, I had all the painting gear ready but was aggressively discouraged from trying to just put some paint on it (even though others recommended I do just that), so I was recommended to get it blasted because then one of the companies on site would do the bottom painting (easier they said after the blasting) but it sounds like with the blisters they may no longer be available.

For fixing the blisters I seem to also be getting conflicting advice. The sandblaster said just to dry the blisters for a few days and fair it, but I see a poster above said I need to dry the boat for 6 months before repairing it. For any repair I see wildly different information online, which is why I wanted to just pay someone to do it, but this city is just too busy it seems (or maybe if I had a 50ft Bayliner, I would get the yard's attention?).

I spent $20,000 CAD on the boat, and around $6,000-8,000 trying to sort out the bottom and its still not painted. I'm obviously an amateur and have no idea what I am doing, I just wanted to sail and deal with this in time but my insurance forced me to act fast.

I may just try to speed fair it and paint it over a weekend, some are telling me this is doable. I'm not trying to have a race-ready Catalina, I just want to cruise through the islands with my family.

 

[dlochner]

I may just try to speed fair it and paint it over a weekend, some are telling me this is doable. I'm not trying to have a race-ready Catalina, I just want to cruise through the islands with my family.

As a short term fix, this might be the best option. The big question asked earlier, was just the old bottom paint removed or was some of the gelcoat removed? If there is raw fiberglass, the bottom really needs to be barrier coated before paining because without gel coat water can intrude into the glass. You don't want that.

If you can go with the quick fix, patch the holes, and paint ignore all the advice you will get on bottom paint and buy the cheapest available in your area. Its going to come off when you fix the bottom properly.

 

[aftica_1]

As a short term fix, this might be the best option. The big question asked earlier, was just the old bottom paint removed or was some of the gelcoat removed? If there is raw fiberglass, the bottom really needs to be barrier coated before paining because without gel coat water can intrude into the glass. You don't want that.

If you can go with the quick fix, patch the holes, and paint ignore all the advice you will get on bottom paint and buy the cheapest available in your area. Its going to come off when you fix the bottom properly.

The gelcoat is intact except for where the blisters were popped. its still all white on the bottom. On the painting, I was planning to do a barrier coat as well, but with that I also get conflicting results from - it will take a weekend, to it will take several weeks.

The bottom blast was my attempt to get it fixed properly (and was recommended as a way to "do it properly"). Do I really need to blast it again in a year to "do it properly"? and even then, what does that mean? Should I plan to sandblast every 2 years? Is doing it myself not "properly done"? What if I screw up? Does anything actually happen at all or will I sink in 10 minutes or less?

Even in this thread I am completely confused. If I follow the advice I got in real life, its not a proper job and I have to do it again, but a proper job isn't required because its a 40 year old boat? I'm just trying to put some paint on the bottom so I can take it out...

 

[Tally Ho]

If you fix it properly, you should not need to do much, except maintain your bottom paint. I am in fresh water (Lake Michigan), so cannot give repaint schedule for salt water paint.

The problem is that the bottom has been blasted…but they left the gel coat? Then move the boat, fix the blisters, apply barrier coat (it needs several coats), and whatever anti-fouling paint you choose. Then you should be good to go for many, many years. Except for repainting the anti-fouling as needed.

On Lake Michigan, we use a AP very thin anti-fouling paint called VC-17. It does not need to be removed, just new coats applied over the old. I can get 2 years out if mine, and just touch-up on thr off-years. In your neck of the woods, ablative paints are common I think…thick coatings that sort of “slough off” over time… many years I think.

Do not give up on your dream…(almost) everything is fixable.

Greg

 

[jssailem]

My 50-year-old boat has blisters. There, I said it. The first step in recovery is acknowledging that you have a problem.

Here are links to some reliable info about blisters.

https://stevedmarineconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Blisters-and-Osmosis.pdf

http://stevedmarineconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Blistology-Pt-1-PMM-Jul_Aug-06.pdf

https://stevedmarineconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Blistology-Pt-2-PMM-Jul_Aug-06-pages-deleted.pdf

Boat Owner and Buyer Articles | Steve D'Antonio Marine Consulting

stevedmarineconsulting.com

1. I had the boat sanded (blasting the boat with sand or soda can get you in trouble if not done carefully).
2. Open up any blisters bigger than a loonie so that they can drain, and you can check that they have not progressed into the hull.
3. Giving the boat time to dry is necessary as epoxy does not adhere to moist areas. You may need to tent the area if the blisters are large and have penetrated beyond the gel coat into the hull. This is where @capta's idea of a vacuum can come in handy. I did not have that problem.
4. Once dry wipe the hull down with acetone or denatured alcohol.
5. Mix up some thickened epoxy to fill the holes. On the shallow blisters, you can use an epoxy-based fairing compound. Give the epoxy several days to a week to completely set.
6. Now get an epoxy barrier coat paint. I applied 2 coats of barrier coat over the area of blisters.
7. Finally apply your bottom coat paint. 2 coats on all areas and a third coat on the high wear areas like the bow, the front of the keel and the rudder.

Here are some pictures.
Here are images at the 2023 haul out. The boat was last painted in 2017.


The hull was sanded with the big blisters opened up


Epoxy filling, then light grey epoxy barrier coat applied to all blistered areas.


Finally, what it looks like after the bottom paint has been applied. When the boat was lifted, additional paint was applied to the bottom of the keel. Then the boat was launched.


It can be done @aftica_1

 

[dlochner]

This is the internet and of course you will receive many conflicting answers and "experts". One cause of all this confusion is there is seldom a single way to deal with a problem with as many correct ways as incorrect ways.

If you could sift through all the information and organize it, there would be a gold standard repair. That repair involves removing all prior paints, drying the boat in a barn for at least a winter, grinding out and fairing all the blisters, applying multiple coats of INterlux Interprotect 2000e, and then antifouling paint. This is time consuming and expensive.

The silver standard would about the same as the gold, but with a shorter drying time and maybe a simple epoxy barrier coat like TotalBoat epoxy primer.

The "git her in the water" approach would have been a light sanding of the boat, ignoring the blisters and a quick coat of antifouling paint.

What needs to be done is to seal the holes where the blisters are. Use a good epoxy based fairing compound if the holes are't too deep. Don't use any epoxy with microballoons as a filler. Microballoons work well above the water line not as well under. Use a 2 part fairing compound like Interlux Watertite or TotalBoat TotalFair.

After that, for this year, slap a coat of antifouling paint on it and go sailing. When you have researched some more and have more time and a better location, then consider whether you want to go forward with the barrier coat and what type. It will be necessary to remove the antifouling paint, but that won't be difficult if you used an ablative paint that is designed to wear off. All you will need to do is sand the paint to remove it. A good Random orbital sander, a dust collection system, and lots of 80 grit mesh sandpaper is all you need.

As you spend time in the online forums for any topic (sailing or otherwise), you will learn who to listen to and who to ignore. By and large everyone is well intended, however not everyone is well informed. Rest assured, as you start the project and are well underway dockside sages will tell you you are doing it all wrong no matter what your are doing. That kind of goes with marina life.

 

[Foswick]

I just want to point out, I can't think of any examples of a boat sinking from blisters. True, not dealing with them "can" lead to bigger problems down the road. But, in most cases, this is more of a theoretical concern. Most older fiberglass boats have some level of blistering and, left untreated, would have pretty much the same problem in 20 years, no worse for wear. That is, there is nothing urgent about fixing blisters.

... that is, unless you start the repair. Then, you kind of need to finish it.

 

[higgs]

Legal action against the surveyor is a consideration. If the boat has hundreds of blisters he should have found at least some of them. Of course legal action is costly and often not worth it. That said I have known people who had similar problems and stripped off the gel coat and redid the bottom. A lot of work for sure. You don't say what you paid for the boat. If you repair it will you have more into the boat than you will ever get out? Seems to me it is time to get out the spread sheet and do the math. I feel bad for you.

 

[jssailem]

If you repair it will you have more into the boat than you will ever get out?

I have come to believe that for most it is a given to spend more money on a boat than money you can get back. This might also apply to antique cars or individual car hobbyists. It certainly applies to most horse owners. And don’t even break out the calculator talking about golf.

 

[Foswick]

Seems to me it is time to get out the spread sheet and do the math.

NEVER do the math.