Dufour

galesa · #1 (**permalink**) 02-19-2010

'Black spot' - has anyone experience of this on a boat only two years old? We bought this Dufour when it was 18 months old. After 6months tiny little pin pricks/spots started to appear in patches all over the deck and cockpit, gradually getting worse as time went on. When the boat was three years old we contacted Dufour - 5 months on and still nothing sorted!!!! Dufour say it is not structural! Surley this must be detrimental to the fabric of the boat

JomsViking · #2 (**permalink**) 02-19-2010

Guessing that this is on the hull, it sounds as gelcoat not sprayed properly in the mould before glassing, but pictures/more information would help..
Put a lot of pressure on Dufour!

sailingdog · #3 (**permalink**) 02-19-2010

Without photos it is tough to suggest anything. Black spots could be pin holes in the gelcoat, but it could also be mold forming on the deck, it could be caused by automotive exhaust collecting on the deck....etc.

galesa · #4 (**permalink**) 02-19-2010

Sorry - I have tried to add photos - obviously not computer literate enough! The spots are definitely not mold, they appear like a very fine overspray. Dufour's agents have said it is 'Black spot' but Dufour themselves seem unwilling to do anything as they claim it is not structural! But to have this appear on a relatively new boat is unacceptable.

r.furborough · #5 (**permalink**) 02-19-2010

You are a new member and require 10 posts, I think, to be able to post pictures.

svHyLyte · #6 (**permalink**) 02-19-2010

My dock neighbor had a similar experience with his boat. The gel-coat in some of the depressions in the non-skid was sheading in a few spots. At the time we were able to obtain some small containers of the gel-coat from the manufacturer that we were able to apply. The areas were cleaned with hot-soapy water, thoroughly rinsed, thoroughly dried by swabbing with rubbing alcohol, and then recoated with the gel-coat. We effected that by mixing up small batches of gel coat, dabbing a little bit on in the areas that needed to be covered, and then spreading it around and into the nonskid with one's finger inside a zip-lock freezer bag. As we discovered with our first effort, it is wise to cover the area with a piece of wax paper taped in place so that dirt and insects don't get stuck to the surface before it cures.

If the gel-coat repair kit is a fairly decent color match, within a few weeks the spots are all but unnoticable except very close-up.

FWIW...