Crazing on hull and paint flaking off outdrive.... should I run?

[NMShooter]

Looking at a boat to purchase that is fairly clean. Owner has had it 10 years or so, claims it has been stored in garage most of its life and moved outside this past year and kept well covered. Most of the boat (upholstery, carpeting, most of the hull) seem to support this, as the boat is very clean. Owned by a pilot, seems to be well cared for.

Two issues that have me a little concerned. On top of one of the gunwhales, the cap is pretty badly cracked. Is the term crazing? Seems extreme to me as as the gelcoat looks like it is wanting to curl up. Here is a picture :

Other isssue is that Volvo outdrive (circa 1995) is missing quite a bit of finish. What causes this? Any reason to be alarmed? Is there a Volvo-ish paint color that can be used to touch this up?

Thanks for the help....

 

[MJG24]

Re: Crazing on hull and paint flaking off outdrive.... should I run?

Here's what you need to do:

Assuming that you have a price that is agreed to, ask the owner what his confidence level is that the boat is in good shape, having identified any shortcomings that are known at this point and factored this into the purchase price. Assuming at this point they will tell you they have a good confidence in the integrity of the boat.

Then, propose the following : You provide earnest money, and they take the boat to a mutually agreed upon shop for inspection. Any repairs found to be required, you effectively split the cost of the repair by adjusting the sales price of the boat.

If the repairs exceed $1000, then either of you can back out of the deal, you get the earnest money back, and the seller is responsible for the checkout cost.

All burden should be placed on the seller. You need to be thinking as though every seller is intent on ripping you off. Do not buy it on their terms.

 

[NMShooter]

Re: Crazing on hull and paint flaking off outdrive.... should I run?

Excellent idea wise sage! I wish I had thought of that

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Crazing on hull and paint flaking off outdrive.... should I run?

the outdrive paint is no big deal. Spray paint will fix that. The gelcoat is not pretty, for sure. It's not a big deal structurally, though. It's a manufacturing defect. I believe the gelcoat is too thick in that area. Fixing it might be more trouble than it's worth.

 

[OneBone]

Re: Crazing on hull and paint flaking off outdrive.... should I run?

Excellent idea wise sage! I wish I had thought of that

Didn't you?

At least you found yourself to agree with you.

 

[okbayliner]

Re: Crazing on hull and paint flaking off outdrive.... should I run?

sounds like another thread that I seen. Hummmm

 

[rbh]

Re: Crazing on hull and paint flaking off outdrive.... should I run?

Is the jell coat cracking on the other side as well, because it almost looks like someone torqued down a ratchet strap and squished the fiberglass, or was ran into or hit a dock ETC


Them's big old cracks my friend!

 

[25thmustang]

Re: Crazing on hull and paint flaking off outdrive.... should I run?

I would assume the seller factored this into the boat price as it is easy to see. If your worried you survey it, if not, you make the offer your willing to pay.

 

[mr 88]

Re: Crazing on hull and paint flaking off outdrive.... should I run?

Can you say smallboatlover ?

 

[NMShooter]

Re: Crazing on hull and paint flaking off outdrive.... should I run?

I checked with a local shop, and they indicated that due to the depth of the cracking, they thought that a professional repair would be significantly more than $1000. This particular shop tends to not be the low price leader. They confirmed that it is not a structural issue, and like so many commented in other threads, it is due to excessive application of gel coat combined with high temperature.

 

[etracer68]

Re: Crazing on hull and paint flaking off outdrive.... should I run?

The drive looks like it has been painted before, and not prepped right, and the paint is coming off, I would repaint. The gel coat is not that uncommon on vintage boats, and I have seen this even on some newer boats too. I had a boat with some in the upper transom area, and had a pro grind through it, and regel coat, paint, and clear coat. It didnt return, but you could still notice it at certain ways of looking at it in the light.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Crazing on hull and paint flaking off outdrive.... should I run?

Here's what you need to do:

Assuming that you have a price that is agreed to, ask the owner what his confidence level is that the boat is in good shape, having identified any shortcomings that are known at this point and factored this into the purchase price. Assuming at this point they will tell you they have a good confidence in the integrity of the boat.

Then, propose the following : You provide earnest money, and they take the boat to a mutually agreed upon shop for inspection. Any repairs found to be required, you effectively split the cost of the repair by adjusting the sales price of the boat.

If the repairs exceed $1000, then either of you can back out of the deal, you get the earnest money back, and the seller is responsible for the checkout cost.

All burden should be placed on the seller. You need to be thinking as though every seller is intent on ripping you off. Do not buy it on their terms.

Awesome. . .

NM - what boat are we looking at (make/model/year)? Price range, etc. ?

The gelcoat is a show stopper for me. (why would you want that?) . . . The outdrive looks fine.

 

[southkogs]

Re: Crazing on hull and paint flaking off outdrive.... should I run?

Can you say smallboatlover ?

LOL

 

[NMShooter]

Re: Crazing on hull and paint flaking off outdrive.... should I run?

This is a 95 Four Winns, 19' boat, asking $7500. I have grown cold on this one for a couple of reasons...

I showed pix of this boat to a local shop, and when they saw the Ford injected 302 engine, they told me to stay away from it. Since then I have looked through a few threads here on iboats and found support for what the shop said. That coupled with the nasty crazing turned me off. I'm not interested in deep repair time or cost even for a much lower price. I'm not confident that I could repair the crazing to my liking, and the repair cost is just not worth it on an older boat.

The hunt goes on... .thanks for the input.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Crazing on hull and paint flaking off outdrive.... should I run?

$7500 for a Ford powered 17 year old boat is too much, indeed.