Alloy Hull Repair

Wife found a boat she loves - problem one down.

Problem TWO - 1983 Aluminum hull with "issues" including:
A - Various patches, some over plated, some set in, at least one set in and did not get the edges to line up so kinda built up the material to make it fit. The worst of the plating repair is on the very bottom of the boat, totally overhead.

B - I saw a suspicious area on the hull near keel and poked it good with my knife. Knife went in to hilt. Corrosion pit about 3/8" wide and 1" long.

Asking price is still a little high for this level of problem. But we have some money to spend, say $40,000 on the hull. Otherwise the boat appears to be heavily used but appropriately equipped/set up. It has a 2005 Yanmar that was professionally installed. It is a 37 foot sailboat, 1983.

I intend to go back there tomorrow to look more at the boat. It is FULL of stuff and it will take time to get to the hull from interior. So I hope to have more info in a couple of days.

What else should I look for?

Is repair even feasible?

Many thanks,

Howard

 

Without any further info like pictures etc, sound advice is hard to give.

But there is one point where almost all of the experts here agree.

Before you talk yourself into a real task, find a boat without these issues at a bit higher price.

A restoration project can come out as a nightmare and allways is more expensive than buying a better maintained boat.

Let alone the time you are spending on repairs instead of sailing.

Regards
Richard

 

Pay a surveyor with experience in aluminum. It will be worth the money

 

Listen to Apex,
The world is awash in boats for sale. A man that has cash to spend and the willingness to both buy a boat right now and walk away from the wrong deal has immense negotiating power. Boats sell slow. It is a buyer's market.

If you personally have the skillset to repair one might concievably find a bargain that is worth the effort but the original owner would have to be giving it away. A turnkey boat will almost always be cheaper than a fix it project. There are certain benefits to going through a boat and getting it right but low cost is not one of them.

 

Well, lets see if I can figure out pics.

It is now Sunday night, we will go back tomorrow and see if we can get into the interior spaces of the boat to make a better assessment. Frankly I am not encouraged but Wife is undaunted. It is a very nice boat and layout if hard used. I'm not sure what bothers me more, the corrosion (could be an isolated spot) or the welding in the aft bottom plates.

First pic is from bow.



Second pic shows the repairs in front of and around the shaft log.



Third pic shows corrosion spot on port hull.

 

Run away fast...

 

Ditto, on all the above, if its got more of that, which it will cos its ALWAYS worse than it first looks, the fitouts gunna get in the way of any repairs so you've got a much bigger issue than scabbing on a few sleazy patches. Find something nicer! All the best from Jeff.

 

Too expensive when given for free!

 

Thanks guys, all very helpful.

The quest continues.