Investing in paint for my ‘98X

[Herschel]

A few of you have been following my slow progress painting and repairing my 10-ft O’Day Sprite. Progress on that project is posted in the “New Gelcoat” thread. I should have finished that project this week. But the huge lesson from that summer long effort showed me that I just do not have the time to tackle the painting of my 26X. Nor the knees! My X is kept in a marina in Central Florida year long. That has been the case for 20 of the 22 years I have owned her. The gelcoat has weathered despite regular waxing and periods of experiment with the original New Glass. After much consideration, I have chosen to have her professionally painted and a few repairs that I have been putting off. The sides are still in good condition for her age, so they will continue to be waxed. I will have the topside and cockpit painted “rub rail-to-rub rail.” Since the bottom paint is four years old, it will get a redo, as well. Since all of our Mac’s are getting up there in age and possibly in need of paint at some point, I thought it would be helpful to some to share the cost of this investment. And, yes, I plan on keeping the boat indefinitely. I’m 81, but this boat is my dream boat and a part of our family. Here are the two work orders and costs:
1. Pressure wash topside and cockpit. Remove easy access hardware. Tape off windows and fittings not removed. Sand with 220 grit. Prime. Sand with 320 grit. Wipe down all surfaces with cleaner. Apply 3 coats of Alexseal Snow White urethane topcoat. Refinish all black surfaces the same way. Un-tape and replace all hardware removed. Replace both front windows and seal. Paint rudders. Cost: $3,845 including tax. (I purchased new front widows from BWY for about $200.
2. Pressure wash hull and bottom. Tape off waterline. Sand bottom with 80 grit. Apply two coats of Petit 75 black anti-fouling paint. Repair VHF through deck connection. Leak test topside midships where window and VHF work is completed. Cost: $1,425 including tax.

The boat is in the shop currently. When work is complete and I have inspected the work, if pleased, I’ll share my source in case any of you in the southeast might want to take advantage of a marine painter who has experience with a Macgregor. His shop is near Orlando, FL.

[OverEasy]

Thanks Herschel!

[Be Free]

That sounds very reasonable for what they will be doing.

How long will the boat be out of commission?

[Herschel]

That sounds very reasonable for what they will be doing.

How long will the boat be out of commission?

About three weeks, but i plan to keep it at the house for another week when I get her back to go through and assess all the gear i stow aboard. I have gear for all sorts of eventualities from MOB to overnight camping. I'm sure I can downsize on the storage. Also, going to have a new Bimini made.

[Agi]

Please share some pictures

[Herschel]

Please share some pictures

Roger that. Lets start with some "before" pics now, and when I get her back, I'll be sure to show her off! Here are some pics that show the underlying black paint showing through the white. Apparently the black went on first in the original mold ultimately to form the black trim stripes before the white Gelcoat was applied that forms the basic color of the decks and cockpit.

[OverEasy]

Hi Herschel!

Thanks for the photos!
Looks similar to what we are experiencing too!

Just as a bit of FYI background for those interested:
I the general industry process of a molded fiberglass product manufacturer applying the gelcoat is a bit counter intuitive … it actually goes on first….before there is any fiberglass or resin.
Huh?
Yeah! The mold is first sprayed or wiped with a mold release agent.
Then what would be the finished product top layer colored gelcoat is applied.
It is at this stage actually that any masking is first applied, and then subsequently removed before the secondary color gelcoat is applied which fills the void made by the masking. This allows for only one masking operation as in the case for a white and black stripe boat like our MacGregors.
The white gelcoat primarily provides the main UV protection of the fiberglass fiber and resin.
The general black gelcoat which is seen as striping behind the white actually makes the white more uniform as well as further blocking UV penetration to the fiber and resin.
Following the gelcoat applications the surface is them sprayed or coated with resin and the layers of fiberglass & resin are then applied to build up the desired component (hull, deck, liner) thickness.
After everything is cured the mold is then removed and viola one has a gelcoat white and black striped hull or deck component.

This process saves a huge amount of production time and work while makeing for a better uniformly consistent product.
It’s been a pretty much industry standard operating process for a very long time in the molded fiberglass manufacturing industry.

Best Regards,
Over Easy

[Herschel]

Over Easy, you clearly got this down pat. I was totally confused until my painter described the process like you you did, but with less detail. Thanks for the better explanation. In other refit news, I took my 25 year-old Bimini for Sunbrella replacement today. My "canvas" guy will charge about $750 for that, but it includes my bringing in the boat and his fitting the whole cockpit enclosure on, snapping everything down, and making sure the new Bimini material zips and fits correctly. "In for a penny; in for a pound!"

[OverEasy]

The new Bimini will undoubtedly look fantastic with the new paint! Wow!

[Herschel]

OK, my painter has gotten started with the paint job. boat prepped and primer on. Three coats of white to go and three coats of black trim. But already, I can see this is going to be a whole lot better than I could have done in my backyard.

[OverEasy]

Hi Herschel!

Wow!
It’s moving right along! Fantastic!

Very nice job of masking things!
That is so important!
Gives you confidence that he is good at making sure that the rest of prep work is good!

Really looking good!

Best Regards,
Over Easy

[Herschel]

Hi Herschel!
Wow!
It’s moving right along! Fantastic!
Very nice job of masking things!
That is so important!
Gives you confidence that he is good at making sure that the rest of prep work is good!
Really looking good!
Best Regards,
Over Easy

Thank you for your continued interest in this project. I am still some weeks away from the finished job. He'll be finishing the painting of the deck, cockpit, rudders, and companionway hatches then going on to replacing the front widows and repainting the bottom. All in all that will be a $5,000 investment. Then my Bimini remake will add about $700 to the project. I would appreciate your thoughts (and that of anyone else on the forum) regarding whether to make an adjustment to my boat insurance to reflect this investment. I insure though BoatUS, currently for $12,700. I don't think this investment is increasing the value of my boat dollar for dollar, but it seems like it ought to make the boat more valuable, and I ought to up my insurance coverage some. But I want to reiterate, I have no plans for selling it. This is an investment for myself and my family. I hope one of my relatives will want the boat when I have enjoyed it for as long as I am able. Any advice would b e appreciated.

[Russ]

I've enjoyed your documenting the progress. Also it will be interesting to see how it holds up compared to gelcoat. I'm really getting tired of cleaning gelcoat.

As for insurance, I guess you insure for total loss. I bet I need to downgrade mine because the boat isn't worth the same. With all insurance, you have to compare cost of premiums vs acceptable risks. My auto insurance has high deductibles because I'm willing to bear that risk.

With that said, I would think most macs are worth at least $20k if in good condition. The key is convincing the insurance company it's worth that much.

I had BoatUS for a while. I don't remember why I switched. Maybe it was their rates.

[OverEasy]

Good thing to discuss!
Insurance is a hedge against a problem from becoming disaster… it’s just my perspective.
Not that one actually has control over anything when the fates interven…stuff happens… some good and some not so good.

Personally I should be keeping track of what existing Macs are being offered & sold at currently (I haven’t for a while ).
Then call and check with the insurance company to see what their catastrophic loss valuation of the boat & motor & trailer & related equipment is..

I doubt they are the same but it’s better to be aware of the deltas so one isn’t unexpectedly disappointed.
I did that when we first got started with our Mac26X and I should do that again to be current.

Our main aspect with our insurance is the liability aspects rather than the replacement aspect.
The thing is the replacement insurance cost is pretty minimal once you have the liability coverage so it just makes sense to get both.

They only caveat I should make is when dealing with several older “spare” cars that we keep around that have a really limited replacement value.
(I’m actually working on getting rid of them as there just isn’t any real justification anymore to keep them around since retirement.. )

Best Regards
Over Easy

[Herschel]

Good thing to discuss!
Insurance is a hedge against a problem from becoming disaster… it’s just my perspective.
Not that one actually has control over anything when the fates intervene…stuff happens… some good and some not so good.
Personally I should be keeping track of what existing Macs are being offered & sold at currently (I haven’t for a while ).
Then call and check with the insurance company to see what their catastrophic loss valuation of the boat & motor & trailer & related equipment is..
I doubt they are the same but it’s better to be aware of the deltas so one isn’t unexpectedly disappointed.
I did that when we first got started with our Mac26X and I should do that again to be current.
Our main aspect with our insurance is the liability aspects rather than the replacement aspect.
The thing is the replacement insurance cost is pretty minimal once you have the liability coverage so it just makes sense to get both.
They only caveat I should make is when dealing with several older “spare” cars that we keep around that have a really limited replacement value.
(I’m actually working on getting rid of them as there just isn’t any real justification anymore to keep them around since retirement.. )
Best Regards
Over Easy

BoatUS apparently is prepared to insure for an "agreed upon amount" as long as it isn't too out of line with their valuation of the class and age of the boat. Since I keep my boat full time in a marina slip in an inland Florida lake, I am content to insure for the value of the boat (minus a reasonable deductible). We have "invested' so much in the boat in the 22 years we have owned her in both maintenance and upgrades, and we keep adding to that, it seems a shame not to have a potential loss covered pretty well. Then there are the hurricanes. When hurricanes pay us a visit, the news in Florida offers up dramatic images of boats washed up on land or stacked on top of other boats in various levels of destruction. It makes you think about this stuff. I find myself pondering whether or not there is a loose formula: for every X dollar spent in boat improvements it increases the value of the boat Y much. Its the same concept for home improvements I suspect. On the other hand, I see YouTube videos about "ghost boats" that owners abandon when they can't keep up payments and are underwater on the loan. The sense I get is that both the boat and the RV world is flooded with used units. So, wouldn't that depress the value of our boats if we are talking market value? And might that be different from insured values, if we can negotiate that with the insurance company? A lot to ponder!