Buying used boat w/ hull patch below waterline

S

sw1515

New Member
Jul 25, 2020
6
Boat Info
270 SLX
Engines
8.2 Merc
Hi,

I'm in the process of buying a used 270SLX. The selling broker never disclosed there was any hull damage/patch and all of the pictures they sent looked fine. So I made an offer without physically seeing the boat which was accepted contingent marine survey & mechanical survey.

Yesterday I drove 12+ hrs to go see the boat for the 1st time and as I inspected the hull, I saw a patch (see attached pic) on the hull below the waterline. My questions are:
  1. Does this patch look to you as it's been professionally repaired? To me it doesn't look like it but I'm not an expert. Seller only owned this boat for 2 months and is already selling the boat it to get a cruiser instead of the bowrider.
  2. When a patch is below the waterline, how does that affect the gel coat, boat value, etc?
  3. What's your recommendation if you were buying this boat? Continue w/ surveys or walk away?
Thank you,

SW
 

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Can it be done "prettier"? Sure. Is it functionally solid? Unfortunately, there's no way to answer that question with just a picture. There are too many variables. That would be a good question for the selling broker - feel him out on that. He may not know anything about it if the current owner doesn't know anything about it, though. If you're comfortable proceeding, a good surveyor should be able to give you an answer.
 
If the boat is otherwise what you are looking for and the deal seems right I would not let a small patch kill the deal. Make the deal contingent on a fiberglass repair professional either assess the repair or redo it so that it is structurally sound as well as cosmetically correct as well. It does look like a minor repair in terms of size anyway.
I hope you enjoy the new boat!
Carpe Diem
 
A professional patch you should not see based on the three I have had done. All patched were done by reutable repair facility and look great. Two were significant I had my insurance agent look at them before during and after. All acceptable and no problem with insurance. You may find the insurer will refuse coverage on a bad patch.
 
That looks like a simple gel coat repair. See if you can see the inside to confirm no fiberglass damage. If just gel coat I wouldn’t worry about it.
 
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Had a friend move his 55' Sea Ray overland and the shipper loaded it improperly. A trailer pad wore a hole in the bottom. SR would not warranty the hull unless it was returned to the factory for repair. Patches can be tricky even if they look good. Hard to tell from your pic.
 
Fiberglass/gelcoat repairs are too easy to do right. That looks a lot like a factory repair done with putty instead of blended gelcoat or one where the gelcoat was sprayed too thin and the previous owner polished or buffed thru the gelcoat.

This doesn't appear to be a structural repair or one that affects the seaworthiness of the boat, but if it were me, it would bother me until I spent the $250 to have it repaired properly.....but that is just my nature. It isn't much money but I would threaten to kill the deal until the broker/seller agreed to fix it, I would complain all the way to the closing table but I wouldn't let it stand in the way of buying a nice boat that otherwise checked all the boxes.
 
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