Blue Hull, Just how bad of a PITA is it ?

Talk to Roger at Owl Creek Boat Works. He is a quality painter. Boats are brought from the east coast for him to paint.
 
Olsens quoted me $125 per foot plus a 10% veteran discount to paint the dark blue gel coat with Awlcraft. Owl Creek quoted $512 per foot for the same job.

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I have had issues with Olsens before. May be different management now. Your quote from Owl Creek is ridiculous. Did you talk to Roger? You could also check with Annie's on Pine Island.
 
I had a blue hull on a 240, white on a 280 and now a black hull on a 370 venture. I always like the color hulls better but they do show more. If you have access to each side via finger piers or something than you can keep it pretty clean. Pad up your slip to protect rash too.


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fr8dog said:
I have had issues with Olsens before. May be different management now. Your quote from Owl Creek is ridiculous. Did you talk to Roger? You could also check with Annie's on Pine Island.
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I spoke specifically with Roger and when I told him that Olsens was $4800 vs his $20,000 quote, he acted quite insulted that I would compare the two. I did talk to Annie's and Chris gave me a $6000 side quote and $1900 bottom paint.
I've had Olsen's do other work for me and Dom has been fair with pricing and the work (bottom paint, detailing and sea water pump rebuild) was done on time and budget. In fact, Dom has offered to paint the sides with Awlcraft 2000, paint the bottom with SR40 and even coat the running gear for $6300 out the door.
What problems did you have with Olsens if I may ask?


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I had a bottom job done years ago and the boat came back filthy. Bottom paint dust from sanding etc. No attempt to protect or clean. As I said could be different management now. I'm shocked that Roger is quoting you so high. He must not need the work. I'm sorry to have given you his name. I went with the Awlcraft 2000 as well. Very happy with it.
 
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My only issue was months later, I noticed a few specs of rust on the top of the bow and wondered if someone had welded nearby...


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If you want to swing by and look at the awlcraft pm me. I'm in the SW Cape.
 
Cool. Thx. Over on south side of Sanibel today. Whereabouts are you. We live off of Sands


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Do Pewter hulls have the same issues, or are they a little easier to deal with because they're a lighter color?
 
Yes, pewter is just as bad or worse than blue. In fact, here in NW Fla, pewter seems to be a bit worse to oxidize and nearly impossible to bring back from an oxidized state than blue, which tends to turn purple after a few years. There are 4 local pewter boats that the owners have given up and had painted.

Pewter also brings with it the risk of delamination where there was a bonding problem between the gelcoat and substrate on some of the early pewter boats. Be sure you have any pewter boat surveyed by a competent surveyor.
 
I added to another in a different thread about painting, but I’ll share my experience with pewter gelcoat.
Ours was 12 years old and so dry that we had no other choice than to paint the hull.
After priming the boat there was a 6’ section on either side of the bow that just sucked the primer in and had to be filled and reprimed.
We went with Alexseal paint as it’s more repairable.
My opinion now of colored gelcoat is, I would never buy one again.
 

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fwebster said:
Yes, pewter is just as bad or worse than blue. In fact, here in NW Fla, pewter seems to be a bit worse to oxidize and nearly impossible to bring back from an oxidized state than blue, which tends to turn purple after a few years. There are 4 local pewter boats that the owners have given up and had painted.

Pewter also brings with it the risk of delamination where there was a bonding problem between the gelcoat and substrate on some of the early pewter boats. Be sure you have any pewter boat surveyed by a competent surveyor.
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Wow.....thanks for the info. I've zeroed in on an 06' Pewter DA, but after this and reading a lot more on the topic, I'm seriously considering just sticking with the white hulls I've always had.

We're in N. Texas, covered slip, but the last thing I want is a paint issue.
 
Havana Shamrock said:
I added to another in a different thread about painting, but I’ll share my experience with pewter gelcoat.
Ours was 12 years old and so dry that we had no other choice than to paint the hull.
After priming the boat there was a 6’ section on either side of the bow that just sucked the primer in and had to be filled and reprimed.
We went with Alexseal paint as it’s more repairable.
My opinion now of colored gelcoat is, I would never buy one again.
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Ugghhhh......:(:eek:

Appreciate your input.
 
Creekwood said:
Formula I believe uses Awlgrip on their coloured hull sides for that reason. I have never seeen any coloured hill over 5 years old that did not look a bit chalky. And that's up here in Canada. They look great new though.
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Just checked the Formula website... They use Imron paint as a base and a topcoat of clear-coat for their colored hulls. None of the Formula's I've seen in my area have ever looked dull or chalky. I have seen some really stunning multicoloured hulls that employ multiple layers of different paint. These hulls can add more than $8000 to the price of a new 34' Formula - but they sure look sweet!

https://en.calameo.com/read/004741024f40d0ecf8fca
 
I don't know, but for my cheapskate way of life, I'd much rather spend all that waxing/cleaning/buffing money on diesel than on waxing/cleaning/buffing.

I buy boats so I can get away from the hustle and bustle of a busy life. Just about the last thing I want to have to think or worry about is dropping a boat buck or two to keep my boat's hull looking nice. I love the looks of the dark hulls, but only when they're on someone else's boat.
 
Gofirstclass said:
I don't know, but for my cheapskate way of life, I'd much rather spend all that waxing/cleaning/buffing money on diesel than on waxing/cleaning/buffing.

I buy boats so I can get away from the hustle and bustle of a busy life. Just about the last thing I want to have to think or worry about is dropping a boat buck or two to keep my boat's hull looking nice. I love the looks of the dark hulls, but only when they're on someone else's boat.
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I have had two colored hulls.

My thought always was in south Florida you didn't have any choice in doing the washing/waxing - no matter what color the hull was. If you did not stay on top of it you wound up with a huge mess.

So a colored hull was not really more maintenance.

That said, if I was going to go down the colored hull route again - it would be AwlGrip.
 
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