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Rust along water line?


golden_chapati

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Hi all,

 

So my search continues- I've seen a good looking boat which would suit my needs and is within budget, at least on face value. However, I coulnd't help but note the appearance of rust along the waterline. Is this normal? Anything to worry about and a bad sign? Or just means that it needs blacking and give no indication about general hull integrity? 

 

Cheers!

 

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2 minutes ago, golden_chapati said:

Hi all,

 

So my search continues- I've seen a good looking boat which would suit my needs and is within budget, at least on face value. However, I coulnd't help but note the appearance of rust along the waterline. Is this normal? Anything to worry about and a bad sign? Or just means that it needs blacking and give no indication about general hull integrity? 

 

Cheers!

 

Are you sure its rust. Often its just muddy leaf mould stuck to it and it can look just like rust.

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Just now, Alan de Enfield said:

YES, NO NO YES CORRECT

What he said :) Car dealers might describe it as, “an honest boat”

 

My boat is ready for blacking, and whatever else might need doing when it comes out of the water this year. The water line has bits of rust, some green algae type stuff, and needs a good rub down and 3 or 4 coats of blacking.

 

Having said that, if I was selling, I’d at least touch up the waterline.

 

 

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1 minute ago, Richard10002 said:

What he said :) Car dealers might describe it as, “an honest boat”

 

My boat is ready for blacking, and whatever else might need doing when it comes out of the water this year. The water line has bits of rust, some green algae type stuff, and needs a good rub down and 3 or 4 coats of blacking.

 

Having said that, if I was selling, I’d at least touch up the waterline.

 

 

No point in having it re-blacked if a surveyor is going to scape it off in 200* places.

 

* apparently a typical number (dependent upon boat length)

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2 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

No point in having it re-blacked if a surveyor is going to scape it off in 200* places.

 

* apparently a typical number (dependent upon boat length)

I did say “touched up along the waterline” rather than reblacking..

 

However, the very fact that the OP asks the question makes me wonder how many may have discounted the boat due to the “rusty waterline”.

 

You have to get an acceptable offer before a surveyor gets near it, and some cosmetic improvements may be appropriate.

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Personally I would like to see it out of the water before buying it, its 30 years old, maybe a hull survey to check corrosion. It needs checking under the floorboards, wet bilges can produce a lot of rust. Some pitting is likely underneath the boat and also on the sides, along the waterline is more easily checked. There are lots of boats with no big problems re. steelwork but there are also lots that have suffered  problems. If that boat is OK then a good programme of hauling out and painting will extend its life a lot. Until fairly recently people thought steel boats lasted forever and hull painting was a pretty poor affair - slap something black on the sides and forget about the bottom, if that noat has had 20 + years of that you need to know. Good luck.

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As the description stated that it was surveyed in 2017, blacking would normally be carried out whilst out of the water. To my mind the i would not expect the blacking to deteriorate so quickly, and there are several areas where corrosion looks to be particularly active. I would certainly have it checked out prior to purchase. 

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If it was blacked 2 years ago, there is a consensus that suggests it is close to needing blacking again.... so no surprise that the waterline looks a bit rough.

 

For me, the lounge looks tiny, and there is a lot of wasted accommodation space at the rear end. 

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26 minutes ago, BWM said:

As the description stated that it was surveyed in 2017, blacking would normally be carried out whilst out of the water. To my mind the i would not expect the blacking to deteriorate so quickly, and there are several areas where corrosion looks to be particularly active. I would certainly have it checked out prior to purchase. 

There may just have been a diesel spill on the water that has dissolved the blacking around the waterline.

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My rule of thumb was that when you start seeing rust on the waterline you should be thinking about getting the boat out for re-blacking within about a year.

 

Edit: I said "was" as I'm no longer using bitumen based blacking, but I suppose the same thing applies to any underwater hull coating.

Edited by blackrose
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Not a well known builder or fitter

London whitewash interior

Thin hull, 6mm base? 5mm sides?

Repair in 2017 to water tank? Why?

Ellis gas boiler, old.

30 years old

No inverter

Odd layout, tiny saloon.

Dear for what it is, southern priced, Its an £18K if good at best

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40 minutes ago, BWM said:

As the description stated that it was surveyed in 2017, blacking would normally be carried out whilst out of the water. To my mind the i would not expect the blacking to deteriorate so quickly, and there are several areas where corrosion looks to be particularly active. I would certainly have it checked out prior to purchase. 

It may not have been blacked after the survey, merely patched over the surveyor's measurement areas with a bit of blacking.

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2 hours ago, bizzard said:

Are you sure its rust. Often its just muddy leaf mould stuck to it and it can look just like rust.

Could well be. My boat was blacked just over a year ago,and the waterline has a light brown coating of canal muck which at first sight looks like rust.

A stiff yard brush dipped in the canal and a bit of elbow grease gets it clean again.

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Just now, Rob VP said:

There is no need for surveyors to scrape off blacking when using modern machines. Most don't.

How modern is modern ?

I have never seen a surveyor NOT scrape the blacking off.

Some will dab a paintbrush over the scrapes, but its pretty pointless if the boat is going straight back into the water - it'll just float off.

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36 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

How modern is modern ?

I have never seen a surveyor NOT scrape the blacking off.

Some will dab a paintbrush over the scrapes, but its pretty pointless if the boat is going straight back into the water - it'll just float off.

I'm not sure when the modern machines came out, but I've not seen a surveyor scrape off blacking to test for a few years now. I work around dry docks so see a lot of surveys taking place. 

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6 minutes ago, Rob VP said:

I'm not sure when the modern machines came out, but I've not seen a surveyor scrape off blacking to test for a few years now. I work around dry docks so see a lot of surveys taking place. 

Sounds like you are closer to the action than I - maybe the ones around us are just old-fashioned (or tight and won't buy new machines)

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2 hours ago, Boater Sam said:

Not a well known builder or fitter

London whitewash interior

Thin hull, 6mm base? 5mm sides?

Repair in 2017 to water tank? Why?

Ellis gas boiler, old.

30 years old

No inverter

Odd layout, tiny saloon.

Dear for what it is, southern priced, Its an £18K if good at best

Thanks, that's definitely food for thought. 

 

PS is that thin hull a big problem assuming it's not got any issues?

 

 

Edited by golden_chapati
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7 minutes ago, golden_chapati said:

Thanks, that's definitely food for thought. 

 

PS is that thin hull a big problem assuming it's not got any issues?

 

 

If in good condition then the stated thickness of the metal plate is neither unusual or thin, but if there are issues it will be expensive. If you are serious, get in touch with an insurer before you have a survey done as they will almost certainly require one before covering you on a craft of this age, and you may end up having to do another for this reason after purchase if not.

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http://vcmarine.co.uk/boat-sales/serenity-40ft-black-country-boats-traditional-stern/?sf_action=get_results&_sfm_type=Narrowbeam&_sfm_length_feet=26+56&_sfm_price=0+28761&_sfm_age=0+100&sort_order=_sfm_price+asc+num

 

This boat is a similar price but the interior is not quite as nice! I love the portholes but would have to get skylights installed (expensive?). 

 

Hmm, this whole wanting to buy a boat thing is time consuming :)

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28 minutes ago, BWM said:

If in good condition then the stated thickness of the metal plate is neither unusual or thin, but if there are issues it will be expensive. If you are serious, get in touch with an insurer before you have a survey done as they will almost certainly require one before covering you on a craft of this age, and you may end up having to do another for this reason after purchase if not.

Thanks for the potential money saving tip!

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