Can someone take a guess what this is?
Dear members, the boat I am looking at buying (1975 M-17) has a mysterious deposit just above the waterline, see the photo at http://www.math.wisc.edu/~andreic/P6070387.JPG Can anyone guess what it can be? The boat spent most of the last few summers (except for the last one) docked on a fresh water lake in Utah. What is very strange is that the deposit appears to exist only *above* the waterline. Do you think it could be some kind of minerals from the water (e.g., iron, calcium)? How hard would it be to remove such a deposit? Or a mold, that grows on humid gelcoat, but not in the water? Could it have damaged the gelcoat? Despite the fact that the boat has been in storage for the last year and a half, I know from sailing pictures of the former owner that the deposit was there at the end of the last summer when the boat was sailed, two years ago (photo was of the boat in the water, sailing, and one could see the deposit at the bow). Thanks, Andrei.
to me it looks like there is one spot that is a 'bondo' job on the gelcoat. i'd check interior & exterior for damage from an impact. the 'stuff' along the water-line looks like: * staining? if it is, it is likely the mess will come out with the right mix of chemicals and elbow-grease. there was some discussion about 'tannin' staining last year from folks sailing on the east coast's (USA) rivers. - and/or - * some sort of mess caused when the waterline was painted? that water line doesn't look all that straight or professionally done ... no laser level work there ;-0 maybe some sort of paint thinner was used as an attempt to clean up the mess and this left some staining/damage to the gelcoat? worse case is someone did some sanding to fix/clean/prep the hull for painting?! if 'looks' are a long term concern it may be best just to have the entire hull painted. IMO for a '75 one's greatest concern should be integrity of the hull/desks/cabin and the standing/running rigging ... less than 'pristine' gelcoat is to be expected, and can be 'fixed'. dave scobie M15 #288 - SCRED visit Scred's www-site: www.freewebs.com/m15-named-scred Andrei Caldararu <andreic@math.wisc.edu> wrote: Dear members, the boat I am looking at buying (1975 M-17) has a mysterious deposit just above the waterline, see the photo at http://www.math.wisc.edu/~andreic/P6070387.JPG Can anyone guess what it can be? The boat spent most of the last few summers (except for the last one) docked on a fresh water lake in Utah. What is very strange is that the deposit appears to exist only *above* the waterline. Do you think it could be some kind of minerals from the water (e.g., iron, calcium)? How hard would it be to remove such a deposit? Or a mold, that grows on humid gelcoat, but not in the water? Could it have damaged the gelcoat? Despite the fact that the boat has been in storage for the last year and a half, I know from sailing pictures of the former owner that the deposit was there at the end of the last summer when the boat was sailed, two years ago (photo was of the boat in the water, sailing, and one could see the deposit at the bow). Thanks, Andrei.
I've seen worse stains than that after only a weekend on our lake. Much worse if left for a month or so in the water. It could be anything from algae/slime in the water to too many 2 cycle motors burning 2 cycle oil. I've seen worse than that after 2 minutes exposure to the water at the launch ramp. A green scrubby pad and some soap and water would do wonders. Looks like a clean boat.....a diamond in the rough? Finding one parked in the weeds like that is a plus as far as price goes. BTW, what are they asking for it? On that one stain above the waterline, if you inspect the interior under the bunks, you will be able to see the inside, opposite of whatever that is. Look for cracked gelcoat radiating away from a center (what would be the inside area of a point of impact). If nothing on the inside, I wouldn't worry too much about the outside. Howard On Jun 7, 2008, at 10:58 PM, Andrei Caldararu wrote:
Dear members,
the boat I am looking at buying (1975 M-17) has a mysterious deposit just above the waterline, see the photo at
http://www.math.wisc.edu/~andreic/P6070387.JPG
Can anyone guess what it can be? The boat spent most of the last few summers (except for the last one) docked on a fresh water lake in Utah. What is very strange is that the deposit appears to exist only *above* the waterline. Do you think it could be some kind of minerals from the water (e.g., iron, calcium)? How hard would it be to remove such a deposit? Or a mold, that grows on humid gelcoat, but not in the water? Could it have damaged the gelcoat?
Despite the fact that the boat has been in storage for the last year and a half, I know from sailing pictures of the former owner that the deposit was there at the end of the last summer when the boat was sailed, two years ago (photo was of the boat in the water, sailing, and one could see the deposit at the bow).
Thanks,
Andrei.
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Hi Andrei, After looking at your photo, and noticing the similar stains on the antifouling paint, my thought is that it is staining from the water, if the boat was left in the water for a summer. If you look at photos of boats that have gone down the Intercoastal Waterway, they all wind up with brown stains from the water in the waterway. I would think that they will be fairly easily removable; either with a gelcoat cleaner, and if that doesn't do it, then with a hull cleaner that has some oxalic acid in it. Connie ex M15 #400 Andrei Caldararu wrote:
Dear members,
the boat I am looking at buying (1975 M-17) has a mysterious deposit just above the waterline, see the photo at
http://www.math.wisc.edu/~andreic/P6070387.JPG
Can anyone guess what it can be? The boat spent most of the last few summers (except for the last one) docked on a fresh water lake in Utah. What is very strange is that the deposit appears to exist only *above* the waterline. Do you think it could be some kind of minerals from the water (e.g., iron, calcium)? How hard would it be to remove such a deposit? Or a mold, that grows on humid gelcoat, but not in the water? Could it have damaged the gelcoat?
Despite the fact that the boat has been in storage for the last year and a half, I know from sailing pictures of the former owner that the deposit was there at the end of the last summer when the boat was sailed, two years ago (photo was of the boat in the water, sailing, and one could see the deposit at the bow).
Thanks,
Andrei.
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Andrei, Since the stains are mostly at or below the blue painted hull, which I would guess is some type of anti fouling paint, here is the approach I would take. Start with soap and water and a scotchbrite pad. The best soap I have found is "the Works", a bathroom cleaner in a green bottle. If that doesn't do it, then step up something like MaryKate On/Off hull cleaner. This will get you past normal dirt and down to stains. Then to remove the stain, I use a trick I learned at a local boat yard from an old salt. Use 3M liquid polishing compound and laquer thinner. Put the laquer thinner in a cheapo dollar store spritz bottle. Spray some laquer thinner on a terry cloth rag and pour on some 3M and lightly rub out the stain. This will take just about any stain out and will, if you are careful, not hurt the gel coat. Since you are trying to remove stains from a painted surface as opposed to a gel coat surface, you will more than likely remove some of the blue paint in the process, but you would probably give the bottom a fresh coat anyway. I use the laquer thinner/polishing compound on those really hard to remove stains like around through hulls; exhaust stains, etc. I just work very lightly and carefully. I follow up with a coat of wax on the spot I just cleaned. Joe
Andrei Caldararu wrote:
Dear members,
the boat I am looking at buying (1975 M-17) has a mysterious deposit just above the waterline, see the photo at
http://www.math.wisc.edu/~andreic/P6070387.JPG
Can anyone guess what it can be? The boat spent most of the last few summers (except for the last one) docked on a fresh water lake in Utah. What is very strange is that the deposit appears to exist only *above* the waterline. Do you think it could be some kind of minerals from the water (e.g., iron, calcium)? How hard would it be to remove such a deposit? Or a mold, that grows on humid gelcoat, but not in the water? Could it have damaged the gelcoat?
Despite the fact that the boat has been in storage for the last year and a half, I know from sailing pictures of the former owner that the deposit was there at the end of the last summer when the boat was sailed, two years ago (photo was of the boat in the water, sailing, and one could see the deposit at the bow).
Thanks,
Andrei.
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Try a cleaner with oxalic acid. My favorite is Barkeeper's Friend. Get mine at Walmart. Comes in a tall, gold foil, cylindrical, cardboard container (Like old time cleaners). I hose down the boat for moisture, put some of the cleaner on the bristles of a long handled scrub brush, and it works like magic. Joe Murphy <seagray@embarqmail.com> wrote: Andrei, Since the stains are mostly at or below the blue painted hull, which I would guess is some type of anti fouling paint, here is the approach I would take. Start with soap and water and a scotchbrite pad. The best soap I have found is "the Works", a bathroom cleaner in a green bottle. If that doesn't do it, then step up something like MaryKate On/Off hull cleaner. This will get you past normal dirt and down to stains. Then to remove the stain, I use a trick I learned at a local boat yard from an old salt. Use 3M liquid polishing compound and laquer thinner. Put the laquer thinner in a cheapo dollar store spritz bottle. Spray some laquer thinner on a terry cloth rag and pour on some 3M and lightly rub out the stain. This will take just about any stain out and will, if you are careful, not hurt the gel coat. Since you are trying to remove stains from a painted surface as opposed to a gel coat surface, you will more than likely remove some of the blue paint in the process, but you would probably give the bottom a fresh coat anyway. I use the laquer thinner/polishing compound on those really hard to remove stains like around through hulls; exhaust stains, etc. I just work very lightly and carefully. I follow up with a coat of wax on the spot I just cleaned. Joe
Andrei Caldararu wrote:
Dear members,
the boat I am looking at buying (1975 M-17) has a mysterious deposit just above the waterline, see the photo at
http://www.math.wisc.edu/~andreic/P6070387.JPG
Can anyone guess what it can be? The boat spent most of the last few summers (except for the last one) docked on a fresh water lake in Utah. What is very strange is that the deposit appears to exist only *above* the waterline. Do you think it could be some kind of minerals from the water (e.g., iron, calcium)? How hard would it be to remove such a deposit? Or a mold, that grows on humid gelcoat, but not in the water? Could it have damaged the gelcoat?
Despite the fact that the boat has been in storage for the last year and a half, I know from sailing pictures of the former owner that the deposit was there at the end of the last summer when the boat was sailed, two years ago (photo was of the boat in the water, sailing, and one could see the deposit at the bow).
Thanks,
Andrei.
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Hi Monty owners, one more question I needed to ask: what is the shallowest water the M-17's can sail in? I understand the rudder is not kick up, so I assume that's the lowest part of the boat. I found on the Montgomery web site that the draft with board up is 1'9", which is fine for me, but I wanted to make sure that the rudder is not much lower. Thanks, Andrei.
participants (6)
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Andrei Caldararu -
chbenneck＠sbcglobal.net -
Dick Straubel -
Howard Audsley -
Joe Murphy -
W David Scobie