Repower, Old Teak Decks, or Dry Blisters

[Nicholson58]

If you do a blister job yourself don’t dally around. A home tool sander is inadequate. If you choose to grind then use a right angle grinder with a semi flexible disk loaded with diamond grit. I started sanding and wound up with the diamond disk used in a terrazzo floor grinder. It’s about a 7 to 15 grit and means business. I did the entire bottom of our 58 foot boat in a weekend and the disk is still usable. The better way is to borrow/rent a peeler or hire a gorilla to peel it for you. I used a 7 inch one of these. I got it at the rental center of Home Depot. You can also find on line. Keep it moving. It cuts fast and deep so be careful.

When you are done adding the epoxy and fillers finish with Interprotect 2000E. We applied 6 coats. Least expensive epoxy is at US Composites. I prefer 635 THIN. They have additives for bottom finishing. You can roll it on and there is no amine blush so no prep between coats. Fiberglass , Epoxy , Composites, Carbon Fiber - U.S. Composites, Inc.. I bought in 3 gallon kits. Shipping is non hazardous.

[SteveSadler]

I hope these boats are all very cheap, otherwise why are you knowingly buying a potentially expensive project? Buying an under 10yr old boat would save you money in the big buy fix sell picture. That said, 8300 is a lot of hrs for any engine but a compression test is needed before deciding. Engine access can be modified by any shipwright. Teak decks if balsa cored will cost more than the boat to replace and will likely have soft spots at its age. The blister job is minor and if the other 2 don't have them they will someday unless someone has done a pro job of fixing and barrier coat already. Personally I bought an ex charter boat and refinished the interior.

[Froggy Seas]

Nicholson58,
thanks for the rundown; appreciate the leads on the equipment to use.

//

SteveSaddler,
No, these boats aren't cheap, not for me at least. I can't afford a newer "blue water" boat. I'm trying to identify what the $$/time costs associated with these boats are, and where they will put the all-in price tags... then weigh that against throwing in the towel and getting a newer (still used) production boat.

[Sailmonkey]

I’d go blisters myself.

You can enjoy the boat for a while, and repair if/when you want to.

The engine could cause you headaches from the word go, and the deck is a big job.

[SteveSadler]

I don't know what size boat you're looking for but a 40' ex charter mono with all equipment servicable, dingy, motor, electronics, thruster, windlass, dual fridges, 2 anchors, rodes, liferaft, everything that goes on a charter goes for 40-50K euros in the Med.

[Rumpi]

Get a survey on the blister boat and pay atention to the things that count. Standing/running rigging, sails, deck soft spots, engine and generator cooling and exhaust systems, toilet, bilge pumps, delaminated interior ply. The electronics are unimportant, they either work or not, if they work you keep using them. Nice to haves are solar, watermaker, fridge, bimini, windvane.
The blisters you just grind and fill every time you haul out for bottom painting.
The only reason to consider one of the other boats would be if one is half the price of the blister boat and that difference covers all the repairs and upgrades.

[ferrailleur]

go with the blistered boat....
No big deal... LOL
many hours of grinding, filling, fairing, five coats of epoxy barrier coatings and two coats of antifouling paint...
WORTH THE TIME AND MONEY... plus the satisfaction that you KNOW your boat better than anybody else and YOU have done it yourself!

[GTom]

Maybe give a chance to #1. Consider a more affordable Beta or Solé, or a fully rebuilt everlasting Bukh (seen Bukh engines in the second hand market from the 1950's! Not cheap though).

#2-3 would set you back more than you actually pay for the boat.

Originally Posted by ferrailleur

go with the blistered boat....
No big deal... LOL
many hours of grinding, filling, fairing, five coats of epoxy barrier coatings and two coats of antifouling paint...
WORTH THE TIME AND MONEY... plus the satisfaction that you KNOW your boat better than anybody else and YOU have done it yourself!

That one looks like 2-3 weeks of work plus the keel attachment might need some extra attention, its bedding might not be as shiny as it looks from outside...

[Mithril Bham]

Any old boat is going to be 5 times as hard to deal with as you think. Spend a week sailing the boat before you buy it if that is possible. You will be surprised what you learn about that "meticulously" maintained boat. Don't mean to be a wet blanket but that has been my experience.
Need way more info and photos to make any real assessment.

[Paul L]

You have not stated how much of a discount you are getting for each of these major defects. Putting high dollars into a teak deck or blisters is not likely to change the resale value in a few years. A close to new engine will at least increase the sellibility of the boat and probably the resale value.

[Froggy Seas]

Thanks all,
All three Taswells are on yachtworld (problem #1, how to find a boat not listed with a broker...what value do they add nowadays with youtube and social media/forums...besides an upcharge to the buyer...but not for this thread):

1990 Taswell 49' Windsong - teak decks
1992 Taswell 43' Onward - engine
1992 Taswell 49' GerDar - blisters

The top two are not offering any discount, nor taking the items identified into consideration. I have professional estimates on the decks and the engine. The boats appear to be very well made, ocean capable, with good sailing characteristics (speculating on that one since i have never personally sailed one)...a boat worth putting money into?!?

@Mithril Bham, unfortunately none are willing to do a day sail until a contract is in hand.

[Nicholson58]

Brokers fee is typically 10%.

You can walk docks and marina boat yards.

Some boats hit Craig’s list and EBay.

If you found three listed by broker, the chance of locating a non-listed boat is slim. Yachtworld is a site used by many brokers to list their fleet. If you go through the listing broker direct you might cut a deal. Doubtful.

Is there a Taswell owner’s forum?

Based on the discussion, I go with the blisters assuming otherwise good hull. If all three are the same builder and especially vintage, they will all get blisters eventually. Builds before a certain date used polyester resin, the blister king. After that date, most builders changed to vinyl ester which is resistant to blistering. Quality builders also learned to do better layup with less dry glass and voids.

[Cheechako]

Well it's tough. Some thoughts:
Boat 1: high engine hours with uneven idle at low RPM. Engine access is not great, only three sides, with the maintenance side conveniently not accessible. The rest of the boat is meticulously maintained, but all systems are dated. Helpful to know what engine. Is it a rust ball or looks maintained?

Boat 2: 30yr old teak decks (screw down). Visited the boat once, no sign of dark spots around bungs. The rest of the boat is meticulously maintained with systems upgraded. Nothing wrong with 30 YO teak. It's all about the caulking. Don't replace; recaulk and rebung if necessary. Or strip it off and paint the deck. The latter is a big job though and expensive due to the painting required.

Boat 3: 50-100 blisters about 1" in size. Broker claims they are dry and not bleeding. I haven't seen this boat in person yet - the blisters set the brakes for me. I hate blister problems, it's expensive and often means there is moisture throughout the glass. I will not buy a boat I know has that issue, unless it's tiny surface blisters. I once had a boat that was so wet it had blisters on the inside in the bilge as well as the outside!

-For me I would lean to the boat with teak decks that need to be maintained.
-If the engine was more accessible, I might lean to that one though. Can it be stripped down and readily hauled out of the boat?

-With the blister boat you are risking a problem that plagues you the entire ownership time. It's hard to say though. You would need to dig out one big blister and see how deep it really is. The other two are likely totally resolvable.

It sounds to me like you need to keep looking. But it's all about price and how much of a mechanic you are. There's always a way...

[a64pilot]

So if you have it done, what does a full peel and repair cost for the average 40’ cruising boat?

[Arthurwg]

If I were you I'd go with the blistered boat. At least this problem is manageable and you might able to do much of the work yourself.

I've been looking for my next boat for awhile now and doing a lot of studying of maintenance and repair issues. The more I learn the more dismayed I've become. I bought a new Ta Shing boat in 1984 and of course it had no problems. But as this is supposed to be the best of the Taiwan yards it's somewhat surprising that they have so many problems down the road.

I thought I had settled on a Hans Christian design that I love, but I see even a good one can require something close to a total rebuild. In one case the owner had already re-powered and re-caulked the decks and replaced the chain plates. Now, however, he has removed the decks entirely and re-glassed them, pulled all deck hardware, pulled all the port lights, pulled both pulpits, the bowsprit and more. He's doing most of this himself. But something like this is beyond my means and abilities.