Time to cry

[GaryHLucas]

I think I'm going to cry. Last season I used Peel Away to remove an accent stripe on both sides of my boat. When the paint was hardly touched after 3 hours I left it overnight. The next morning the gelcoat was completely destroyed everywhere the Peel Away touched it. As a result I had to do extensive repair work and paint the coachroof. Hot weather shut me down completely. So I never made it in the water last year.

This season I took two weeks off from work and got the coach roof painted, re-installed the forward hatch, mast step and two windows. The windows were installed using Dow 739 RTV specially designed for installing plastic windows. I also bought a tiny can of special adhesion promoter recommended for this sealant and carefully wiped down all the surfaces.

Today I was working on the bottom and while cleaning up to go home I noticed that BOTH windows had broken loose! After a week the 739 sealant had not properly cured. The bead all the way around both windows is like chewing gum! I'm going to have to remove both windows and somehow remove the double faced foam tape and all the sealant without destroying my new paint job. Could it get any worse?

Yep,
Today we removed most of the bottom paint and the gelcoat on the bottom is cracked everywhere. Chips of gelcoat have been falling out as I sanded. It appears the previous owner had the bottom barrier coated right over top of gelcoat that should have been peeled off completely. The barrier coating was also very thin, definitely not the 10 mils that is recommended. So now I have to figure out what to do about the bottom. I might just say to heck with and slap some bottom paint on and go sailing. Or maybe I'll give a coat of epoxy first to possibly slow the deterioration down.

My wife gave me 15,000 to buy a boat. I paid $6500 for a 1984 boat that originally cost $32,000. She was mad that I bought a boat. Was the money a test? She's angry that I've been working on the boat a lot. She says that with the yard fees for three years that I couldn't even use the boat I am now past $30,000!

In the current market with lots of great boats for sale I seriously doubt I could sell the boat, and probably for a fraction of the $6500 I originally paid. It is difficult to believe one could find a hole in the water this large.

Gary H. Lucas

[WDS123]

What boat ?

[southerncross31]

I feel your pain brother! I lost my SC and my wife from the same situation.

[smallboatlover]

i'm sorry but you must not have got the memo (break out another grand) and all the rest of the names boat mean. sorry to hear that you got your self into that but just keep working it will all be worth it one day. wether it's another 5 years down the road or just another week. when you shut the motor off and just sail and have a drink you will see what it payed off.

[brak]

they are all the same, and that "great boat you can get cheaply now" would have same issues or worse. that's the way it is.

[Siamese]

That's really a shame. We've all had stuff go wrong with our vessels. When it happens it gets me down more than it probably should.

My wife tends to be supportive, though, because we're in it together. It would be a whole lot worse if she wasn't.

Sorry to hear you're getting the double whammy. Wish you luck.

[deniseO30]

Join a yacht club that has a working yard. Just paint the bottom and deal with it when the season ends.. the boat won't sink. good luck!

[CalebD]

Originally Posted by GaryHLucas

I think I'm going to cry...

She's angry that I've been working on the boat a lot. She says that with the yard fees for three years that I couldn't even use the boat I am now past $30,000!
...

If I was really past $30K in expenses for 3 years ownership without being able to sail I'd be crying too. It also sounds like you are hiring marinas and mechanics with a bill like that. As Denise mentioned, if you can do some of this work yourself you can save a whole lot of boat bucks. It just costs time and learning.

Fair/sand/scrape your hull as best you can and slap some paint on it and go sailing at last.

[Sabreman]

Don't cry and don't give up. And certainly don't lose your marriage over a chunk of fiberglass. Denise is correct in pointing out that the bottom may be a mess but unless you're racing it doesn't matter (and if you are racing, the bottom has far less an effect than you may realize - sails and good sailing skills are FAR more important).

Take the long view and execute one or at MOST 2 major projects each year. Prioritize in the following order 1. below the waterline integrity 2. above the waterline water integrity, 3. standing rigging only if degraded, 4. running rigging, 5. anything creature comfort related 6. cosmetics. From what you describe the windows are #1 and the bottom is for another time. Stick to the priority (in life too!). The rest is noise.

Rip the gunk off the windows and bed with 3M4200.

A counter-intuitve suggestion. Keep scrupulous records of what the boat is costing. Every nut, bolt, paint can, insurance cost, etc and show them to your wife freely. If your wife knows that you are as concerned with cost as she, it minimizes her argument. BUT when you do go sailing (and you will - say it 3 times), do not charge restaurant meals, transient slip fees, entry fees, or the like to the boat. Those are vacation expenses. An argument could be made that normal slip fees are vacation expenses, the rest are capital & maintenance expenses.

43 years sailing on family boats and my own give me basis for this opinion. Mom resented the money and I learned a few things from Dad. My wife and I met on a sail and she has her name on the side of the boat so she knows what she's dealing with. She and I aren't thrilled about the cost but we spend judiciously and take the long view. This is our 6th year with VICTORIA and she's finally where I want her...except for the new standing rigging, but that's for next year or the one after.... unless something else gets in the way.... it's aways something.

Hang in there. And yeah.... do your own work.

[sailjunkie]

Gary,

Like the others, I can relate to what you are going through. However, I have to agree with those who suggest that spending money on boats is a simple fact of life.

The amount of money that we have spent on improvements over 18 months is a fair bit more than the original purchase price--and this is for a boat that is in pretty good shape. I knew that was a possibility going in. Now we prioritize.

As others have suggested, the more that you can do yourself, the better in the long run. We have been blessed with knowledgeable and helpful friends--all we had to was ask, and be prepared to return favours. You may be pleasantly surprised to find how many of your friends have knowledge that you can draw on. If they can't help you directly, I'll bet they can steer you in the direction of folks who can.

I'm not going to comment too much about your wife's complaints because I don't know the degree to which she is involved in working on the boat. However, her complaints might lessen a bit if you follow Denise's advice by slapping some paint on the boat; and going sailing over the summer. If your wife can see you getting some enjoyment from the boat, her outlook may change a lot.

Finally, above all else--don't give up! During one of our low points, my buddy down the dock told both my wife and I that, when he was completely re-fitting his boat, there were nights when he sincerely wished that his boat would sink. Three years later, he would repel boarders to the max. When we have our moments (all boaters do), thinking of that chat with Mike helps me put everything in perspective.

To help with that, keep checking back here. Advice and moral support is what Sail Net is all about.