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Repainting or gel coating? Advice needed

Discussion in 'Post Yacht' started by PtJudeRI, Jan 19, 2014.

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  1. PtJudeRI

    PtJudeRI Senior Member

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    Hi all, I'm looking at a 2002 50' right now. Survey, seatrial, and mechanicals were all good, the hull is in very good shape, but the topside is badly cracked. I am looking to find a rough idea of cost to redo the top sides. In thinking of doing the whole foredeck in nonskid as I'm up there often. As to the cockpit, I'm torn as to redoing the glass, or doing teak. Thoughts, ideas, similar stories??
  2. P46-Curaçao

    P46-Curaçao Senior Member

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    Do you have pictures of cracks? Just to give us an idea?
  3. ruby

    ruby Member

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    I personally would not put a teak deck in my boat, due to the fact that they do get slippery when wet and also require much upkeep to keep them looking nice. I do agree with using nonskid on the entire front deck. As far as cost to repair the cracks it's impossible to give an accurate estimate without viewing the boat. It needs to be determined if the cracks were caused by water intrusion in the deck, improper gel coat application or inferior gelcoat products. If the cracks were caused by the gelcoat the gelcoat will need to be removed. If the cracks are from water intrusion those areas will need to be ground down through the cracks and possibly have the coring material replaced. If your boat was checked with a moisture meter it should reveal the nature of your problems.
  4. RT46

    RT46 Senior Member

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    I think Beau is the Post subject matter expert on the Post gelcoat issues.

    I think it really comes down to just how bad the glecoat is.

    Are you willing to live with some repairs or do you want mirror show room new?

    I bet a mirror show room new foredeck and cockpit could run upwards of 15K, or more, on a 50 Post.

    I would recommend getting an estimate from a reputable fiberglass repair shop and requesting that as an allowance on the purchase price.
  5. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    He's not looking for a mirror finish, he's looking for all non skid......non skid hides a lot of things. But the cracking has to be prepped and fixed 100% properly. but it sounds like the typical gelcoat cracking issue that was going on in that era. I took care and ran one of them that was fixed several years prior and you couldn't tell the difference.
  6. PtJudeRI

    PtJudeRI Senior Member

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    Correct you are. I am not looking for a showboat. I fish extensively, and first and foremost is practicality. It would be much better for me to non-skid the foredeck anyhow, so I can save some cash there. The flybridge is unaffected by cracking, so its the house, foredeck, and cockpit that will need some sort of restoration. Additionally, anyone have any comment on what the exterior will do once I bring the boat to NE?? She has lived her entire life in the Tampa area. :confused:

    By comparison, the surveyor I used has done about 7 or 8 Posts in this era, and has said that while this hull was well above average, the topsides were one of the most extensively damaged he has seen. :(

    Here are a few photos. The one with the messed up color has been upped in contrast to make the cracks come out in the digital photo, always looks better in pictures, but that shows the extent of the cracking on the foredeck.

    Attached Files:

  7. P46-Curaçao

    P46-Curaçao Senior Member

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    Wow, this gives us an impression of the gel coat issue. On my 46ft Post , I had on the entire fore and side deck in total about the same amount of cracks as you first picture, but not even that bad, you could hardly see them.

    We grinded it down to the fiberglass, filled it with 3M marine filler, sanded it and painted it with Epifanes anti skid paint.
  8. PtJudeRI

    PtJudeRI Senior Member

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    I just spoke to John at Post Yachts. He has seen the issue, and said that a proper job of removing the gelcoat, fairing, and painting the boat is the best way to go for a lasting repair. He didn't have an exact quote for me, but prices around and just north of 100k are possible. Ouch.
  9. C team

    C team Senior Member

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    John's prices are always high.
  10. olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

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    Sounds like he's talking about the entire boat, hull included. Perhaps I'm wrong in that feeling. Also, he's looking for an "as good as new" result. Perhaps better than new.

    At any rate this should be giving the OP the impression that this isn't an easy, put a few coats of paint over it, type of job and may be quite expensive. It should be a negotiating point and probably makes sense to get an estimate from someone seeing the boat and who would actually do the work. I'm curious as to what your survey said regarding this.
  11. PtJudeRI

    PtJudeRI Senior Member

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    According to the broker, there was no survey done on the boat prior to my survey this past week. The owner bought the boat new, and never surveyed the boat. Im not sure I buy that, but be that as it may, my surveyor stated that this was one of the worst cases that he saw, both in Posts and Vikings. I was led to believe that the boat had most of the cracking in the cockpit, but the house and foredeck are, quite literally, completely wrecked.

    Going into this, I knew it wasn't a spray and go job, but I was thinking that $45-65k would take care of the problem. At over $80k, the deal begins to unravel, as this eats into my budget for other modifications that I would have liked to do.
  12. Beau

    Beau Senior Member

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    PtJude

    Your cracking is pretty extensive. hopefully you will be able to get a "discount" on the purchase. I have seen worse though, where the gelcoat actually lifts at the cracks. Mine is a '98 with modest cracking principally in the cockpit and gunwales. I had an estimate of $100k to redo the whole boat. I may still have that done, but for now, on the cockpit floor, we cleaned the cracks, acetoned and applied 5 coats of interlux 2 part barrier coat a number of years ago. That has held up pretty well. I had the bottom sodablasted and barrier coated also. Both areas are doing just fine I've learned to live with the other cracking, which again is not as bad as yours. Its a shame this happened to Post - excellent boat otherwise. The cracking is all cosmetic, so I have been repeatedly told. I use a water meter (?) from time to time and everything continues to look dry underneath.

    In the NE, I would certainly make sure you cover the boat in the winter to keep freezing water out of those cracks - otherwise, you're boat would start to look like our roads in NY!
  13. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    See what the owner will discount the boat for. $100k seems awefully high especially in your neck of the woods, to fix the crazing and repaint the entire bottom (waterline up). Give Jarrett Bay a call in NC and send them the pictures and see what they'd quote to do the job. They love winter paint projects to keep their guys busy in the winter.
  14. PtJudeRI

    PtJudeRI Senior Member

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    Well, the seller upped the timeline on me, and of the 4 quotes I have gotten, 3 were $90k plus, and one guy I respect told me he would rather not take the job and to pass on the boat. Soooo.... The hunt continues. I appreciate all of your input on the issue.
  15. Beau

    Beau Senior Member

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    Good luck on your hunt. 1998 -2002 were the problem years I believe. According to an article I read in Soundings when this was going on, NJ Post identified somewhere in the neighborhood of 36 boats with this gelcoat problem. Don't know how many they repaired. But their old records should show what it cost to repair the cracks.

    Looking at another forum, there look to be some really good buys out there
  16. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    I ran one that was a 2001 50' Post and it was fixed by Post sometime around 2005 or slightly.
  17. PtJudeRI

    PtJudeRI Senior Member

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    As requested, a shot of the boat from the other day. Got a very aggressive price on redoing the boat, hopefully I can make the numbers work!

    Attached Files:

  18. Soulstice

    Soulstice Member

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    Sent you a PM
  19. PtJudeRI

    PtJudeRI Senior Member

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    Barring any Financing fiascos, boat is mine. Very happy with the outcome.
  20. P46-Curaçao

    P46-Curaçao Senior Member

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    Congratulations, keep us POSTed with every step you go, we love it!!