1999 Sailfish Paint Chipping

[Andrew93]

I have posted a few times about upgrading to a 272. I have looked at two this past week and am waiting to hear back on my offer on one of them. On both I noticed all the painted surfaces like the hardtop and bait well door was in questionable shape. The hardtop was most concerning. The paint or whatever the finish is was chipping and bubbling all around the edge. My 1986 offshore with the hardtop does not have this problem and I was concerned about how a much newer boat is having this happen. The first boat I looked at I figured it was due to lack of maintenance, but both had the issue. Is this common and what is the best repair?

I am hoping to look at one more this week and it looks like there isn't any chipping in the photos from a distance, but seeing it up close will be the tell tale. I showed my boat today and if I accept an offer on that I will be even more aggressive in two of the three boats I am considering.

Andrew

 

[seasick]

I have posted a few times about upgrading to a 272. I have looked at two this past week and am waiting to hear back on my offer on one of them. On both I noticed all the painted surfaces like the hardtop and bait well door was in questionable shape. The hardtop was most concerning. The paint or whatever the finish is was chipping and bubbling all around the edge. My 1986 offshore with the hardtop does not have this problem and I was concerned about how a much newer boat is having this happen. The first boat I looked at I figured it was due to lack of maintenance, but both had the issue. Is this common and what is the best repair?

I am hoping to look at one more this week and it looks like there isn't any chipping in the photos from a distance, but seeing it up close will be the tell tale. I showed my boat today and if I accept an offer on that I will be even more aggressive in two of the three boats I am considering.

Andrew

The top is usually fiberglass with gel coat. The blistering at the edge can be caused by moisture entering the edge and causing swelling and or freezing in cold weather. The same goes for locker covers. If the blistering is not too bad, the edge and surface can be sanded and the exposed material sealed with epoxy resin followed by gel coat. If the fiberglass is in bad shape, repairs are tougher. Whether or not the condition is due to maintenance or manufacturing is hard to say, but moisture intrusion through the edges of things like locker covers is fairly common. In addition the edges are easy to chip though normal use and if the fiberglass is exposed, it will suck up water if it gets wet. In that case, maintenance would help address the issue.
Try bending or squeezing the chipped ares to see if they are hard or soft. Soft indicates that the glass fibers are compromised and a more extensive repair may be needed.

 

[ROBERTH]

Like seasick mentioned, on hardtop, edges mostly due to water freezing and chipping/lifting the gelcoat edges.
Fairly simple to fix. Chip out all loose material, sand with 80 grit to rough it up. Assuming very thin chipping, you can apply Grady Gelcoat with a brush. Use a very fine haired artist brush for best results. Once cured, you can sand/shape and then polish it out.

I did this last year and also went completely around the hardtop bottom edge and sealed it with gelcoat so water could not get up into the open/exposed edge. It came out great and was not a lot of work. I only had one spot that needed some small pieces of fiberglass with resin and then applied the gelcoat.

I also had some hatches that were chipped up that I completely refinished that came out good, thanks to the help and knowledge of folks on this site in how to apply gelcoat, etc.

 

[1998sailfish]

The repair is easy with West System epoxy mixed with West System Fairing compound:
Remove the flaking area(s)
Roughen the surface
Clean with surface prep
Spread the fairing/epoxy filler mix using "fast hardener"
Allow to cure and block sand smooth up to 1200 grit
Tape off area and spray reduced matching Gelcoat with a Prevail Sprayer , build but avoid sagging.
Spray over the wet Gelcoat (Gelcoat will not dry left exposed to air) with PVA mold release using Prevail Sprayer
Next day, wash off PVA seal coat and wet sand followed by buffing in a few days.

Are you making a deal on the Fairfield boat ?

Tom

 

[Andrew93]

The repair is easy with West System epoxy mixed with West System Fairing compound:
Remove the flaking area(s)
Roughen the surface
Clean with surface prep
Spread the fairing/epoxy filler mix using "fast hardener"
Allow to cure and block sand smooth up to 1200 grit
Tape off area and spray reduced matching Gelcoat with a Prevail Sprayer , build but avoid sagging.
Spray over the wet Gelcoat (Gelcoat will not dry left exposed to air) with PVA mold release using Prevail Sprayer
Next day, wash off PVA seal coat and wet sand followed by buffing in a few days.

Are you making a deal on the Fairfield boat ?

Tom

Thanks for the replys. I actually found one in Falmouth for a very reasonable price that has been well taken care of overall. A few issues like the hardtop which I saw on all of them and the bolsters need work. I took it for a ride today and plan on bringing her around to my mooring Friday. The boat has one newer powerhead and the compression check good on both anyways. I figure the amount of hours I will put in them compaired to most people those OX66's should last awhile.

Looking forward to next ear alreay! At least I'll get one or two weekends out of her before it is hauled.

I'll post some photos when the deal is done over the weekend.

Andrew