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Hull Thicknesses?


Ian_L

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Hi Everyone,

Not quite sure where to put this post but here goes:

 

I am currently looking to purchase a 2nd hand NB and have been researching things for nearly five months now [a lot of valuable info picked up on this site too!]. I looked at a good 70 footer last Sunday and it ticked all the boxes except the hull was 8mm thick. Does anyone have any views/opinions on this. I was wondering, for example if there is a 'stigma' which will cause me a problem when I come to re-sell in about four years time and if coating it with epoxy resin instead of normal blacking would help off-set this. Any thoughts would be very much appreciated.

 

Best wishes

Ian

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Hi Everyone,

Not quite sure where to put this post but here goes:

 

I am currently looking to purchase a 2nd hand NB and have been researching things for nearly five months now [a lot of valuable info picked up on this site too!]. I looked at a good 70 footer last Sunday and it ticked all the boxes except the hull was 8mm thick. Does anyone have any views/opinions on this. I was wondering, for example if there is a 'stigma' which will cause me a problem when I come to re-sell in about four years time and if coating it with epoxy resin instead of normal blacking would help off-set this. Any thoughts would be very much appreciated.

 

Best wishes

Ian

 

Is that 8mm the figure that came out from the ultrasonic tests carried during a survey? or is it the original spec?

 

8mm is a very decent thickness, but if its quoted as the original thickness when built, the information is only valid for a few years after which testing the hull becomes mandatory.

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I can't see what the problem is.

 

Presumably you mean the bottom plate is 8mm thick. That is true of probably 90% of the second-hand boats you'll find, and I can't see how it would have any stigma attached to it. It probably doesn't have any blacking attached to it either, it is normal only to black the sides.

 

Unless of course you mean that the sides are 8mm thick - which would be slightly thicker than normal and therefore a good thing.

 

If it's been blacked with ordinary bitumen, it's best to stay with that. The two different types don't go together very well (but there are others more expert than I on that topic who can advise you further)

 

Allan

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I can't see what the problem is.

 

Presumably you mean the bottom plate is 8mm thick. That is true of probably 90% of the second-hand boats you'll find, and I can't see how it would have any stigma attached to it. It probably doesn't have any blacking attached to it either, it is normal only to black the sides.

 

Unless of course you mean that the sides are 8mm thick - which would be slightly thicker than normal and therefore a good thing.

 

If it's been blacked with ordinary bitumen, it's best to stay with that. The two different types don't go together very well (but there are others more expert than I on that topic who can advise you further)

 

Allan

 

Thanks for your input Allan and Dhuwenda.

The boat was built in 2001 and the quoted thicknesses are from the brokers spec so I assume they are the original thicknesses as there is no mention of a recent survey on the brokers details. I must have looked at dozens of boats now and this is the first I have come across that doesn't have a 10mm bottom plate. I would welcome any other views on having it epoxy coated though as doing that once, even though it is expensive, and then forgetting it for ten years really appeals to me.

Cheers

Ian

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Thanks for your input Allan and Dhuwenda.

The boat was built in 2001 and the quoted thicknesses are from the brokers spec so I assume they are the original thicknesses as there is no mention of a recent survey on the brokers details. I must have looked at dozens of boats now and this is the first I have come across that doesn't have a 10mm bottom plate. I would welcome any other views on having it epoxy coated though as doing that once, even though it is expensive, and then forgetting it for ten years really appeals to me.

Cheers

Ian

 

I have never heard of expoxy coating a steel boat sheel.

 

I dont know much about the process, but I guess to protect effectively a steel hull, you woud have to keep it dry. Once you'd put your freshly epoxy'ed boat into the water, the stuff would presumably crack when hitting banks, lock sides and the bottom of the cut on the shallower sections. That would presumably mean water getting between the hull and the coat and the end of the epoxy's role?

 

(thats all little bit of guesswork)

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Hi Ian

 

some older boats were built with 6mm bottoms, so 8mm is not that 'bad', find a ruler and look at the difference 8mm to 10mm it ain't a lot.

 

You will of course be arranging an out of water survey and if it was built to 8mm and is still very close to 8mm then no worries, talk to your surveyor.

 

to change from bitumastic to 'epoxy' would require getting back to bare metal, not many boatyards will do it because of the mess.

 

I believe ten years for epoxy is probably optimistic but some one will know.

 

Good luck if it's the boat you want, still good luck if it's not there are plenty more out there.

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Hi Ian

 

some older boats were built with 6mm bottoms, so 8mm is not that 'bad', find a ruler and look at the difference 8mm to 10mm it ain't a lot.

 

You will of course be arranging an out of water survey and if it was built to 8mm and is still very close to 8mm then no worries, talk to your surveyor.

 

to change from bitumastic to 'epoxy' would require getting back to bare metal, not many boatyards will do it because of the mess.

 

I believe ten years for epoxy is probably optimistic but some one will know.

 

Good luck if it's the boat you want, still good luck if it's not there are plenty more out there.

 

 

cheers Bottle, thanks for your comment.

Ian

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