Bottom paint need answers.

[bturner2]

Leaving a ski boat in the water is probably the least desirable way to have a boat at the lake. The chances for damage and hull blisters go off the chart in comparison to dry, rack or lift storage. As stated above there are many reasons the PO could want to paint the bottom. If the boat was indeed moored it was most likely to help with bottom fouling. For resale (as this owner is finding out) there are few things you can do to turn off a potential buyer for a boat in this type category. Your purchase price and interest in the boat should reflect this.

I always consider what resale will be when shopping for a boat. Part of that will also deal with desirability of the boat I'm looking at as it will effect my chances of turning it later down the road. Any hopes of restoring MC type value and moving it in a reasonable amount of time will depend on restoring the bottom to original condition and the cost to do so. That is of course unless you like bottom paint and never intend to sell. My brother in law had some spider cracks repaired this spring which required nearly the entire bottom to be re-sprayed. I believe he paid close to $2K for this. I would imagine sanding and re-gelcoating a hull like yours would be about the same. I would expect it to be slightly less without the gelcoat if it can be sanded and rubbed out due to the labor involved. Either way I would be taking closer to $3K off what a similar boat of age and condition would go for to cover the expense to restore as well as to cover the pain and effort involved with managing the restoration.

On background information, did you try boathistoryreport.com? I used it on my last two purchases and was happy with the results. They also seem to be the highest rated.

[waterlogged882]

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[Hogwild]

Chevroletman, I'm not trying to push you away from that boat but I do have a 99 maristar in that same model for sale but mine has a tower. You can pm me for price if you want.

[CottagerGreg]

Originally Posted by bturner2

Leaving a ski boat in the water is probably the least desirable way to have a boat at the lake. The chances for damage and hull blisters go off the chart in comparison to dry, rack or lift storage.

Boat has to be in the water to use it.. Maybe that is why I average 100 hours a year.. I leave it at the cottage (lake house) from spring till fall in the water. No trailering, no launching, inconvenience, etc

Buying a lift is out of budget due to deep water. I wax the hull a couple times a season. So far it's in great shape.

So this isn't neglect.... Its the way we do it around here....

So back to my point....

Bottom paint isn't necessarily because of abuse... maybe because someone was overly taking the manual word for word and put on bottom paint.

[bigmac]

Mastercraft specifically excludes gelcoat blistering from warranty. Bottom painting is one way they recommend to prevent it. Leaving it in the water seasonally is a crap shoot. OP needs to get a look at that hull before buying.

[46Chief]

I have the anti fouling paint on mine, it's thick and heavy, looks like rhinoliner. I have no idea what the condition underneath is but it has to be sanded/stripped/ground off via mechanical or chemical methods. I'm leaning towards walnut shell blasting.

[shepherd]

I've owned boats with bottom paint before -- no ski boats though. It's not that big of a deal IMO. Also, blisters are relatively easy to repair if they're not too extensive. That said, if I could find a similar boat without bottom paint that is similar or slightly higher in price, I'd pass on the painted boat. But, if the painted boat is an especially good deal, I wouldn't let the bottom paint scare me away.

[willyt]

Originally Posted by CottagerGreg

Boat has to be in the water to use it.. Maybe that is why I average 100 hours a year.. I leave it at the cottage (lake house) from spring till fall in the water. .

that's because spring till fall up there is like 3 weeks

[Thrall]

Unless it's a very good price, personally I would not want it. I take pride in the appearance of my boat and bottom paint is fugly and hard/expensive to remove and refinish the gel.

[MC25]

Originally Posted by willyt

that's because spring till fall up there is like 3 weeks

Lmao.... How long is the season up there for real though?

And bottom paint is good on yachts and sailboats. Don't see it very often on ski boats.