I'm hoping you guys may be able to give me some advice. I'm almost ready to haul the boat out to do an anti foul and some other jobs. I'm a little time poor, so I'm thinking of having below the waterline blasted in order to remove the old anti foul build up and save a bit of time. Apart from the additional cost, what are the pro's and con's of blasting a fiberglass hull in your collective opinion?

Also, what would you expect to pay to do a 39' fiberglass yacht with fin keel and spade rudder? I've had two quotes back, one from Drysdale Engineering for an eye watering $2,541 and another for $1,200. My mate has recently had his 40' Adams blasted prior to doing an osmosis repair job and that cost just under $1k, it took the guy 3 hours to do. I'm yet to track down who that was as it was arranged by a third party.

Any recommended operators in Southern Tasmania? Any to avoid?

Soda blast. Very kind to gelcoat.

Soda blast done in Sydney in 2015 on a 26 foot Searay cost $1500, if that helps.
So once you are back to gel coat, you need /should sand to smooth out scraps of residue. Then to protect the raw gel coat 2 coats of primoco oror better interprotect. Then new AF
The Searay went about 4 knots faster and planed at lower speeds so it is worth it!
cheers Richard

troubadour said..
Soda blast. Very kind to gelcoat.

Good idea, I'll check that out.

2bish said..

Stockie said..
Soda blast done in Sydney in 2015 on a 26 foot Searay cost $1500, if that helps.
So once you are back to gel coat, you need /should sand to smooth out scraps of residue. Then to protect the raw gel coat 2 coats of primoco oror better interprotect. Then new AF
The Searay went about 4 knots faster and planed at lower speeds so it is worth it!
cheers Richard

Thanks Stockie, yes I was planning to use either Interprotect or Wattyl if I go down the blasting path.

If I don't blast and go down the sanding path, what are you guys finding the best abrasive discs to use nowadays? wet or dry sanding?
Are those mesh discs better at avoiding clogging? Also I found a 3m stripping disc that looks like it may be good, big open structure that should resist clogging and would probably facilitate cleaning well. www.3m.com.au/3M/en_AU/company-au/all-3m-products/~/Scotch-Brite-Clean-and-Strip-Disc/?N=5002385+3293242405&preselect=8710644+8710812+8713459+8718622+3293786499&rt=rud

I gave up on sanding with all the different sanding media, and that was on my then, little 26 stink boat, admittedly most of the work was on your back for that project. Blasting with sofa blast is really the answer, it is just one of those jobs the ardent DIY has to accept as a no brainer. Now, if you go ahead, make sure you blank off every thru Hull, I didn't and on the Searay ended up with black crud all through the engine bilge, nasty messy.
If you are going to hand remove the AF, SCrapping with a old fashioned paint/ varnish scraper with plenty of blades and a file to keep sharp, google it that's what I have seen used.

cheers Richard

Stockie said..

2bish said..

Stockie said..
Soda blast done in Sydney in 2015 on a 26 foot Searay cost $1500, if that helps.
So once you are back to gel coat, you need /should sand to smooth out scraps of residue. Then to protect the raw gel coat 2 coats of primoco oror better interprotect. Then new AF
The Searay went about 4 knots faster and planed at lower speeds so it is worth it!
cheers Richard

Thanks Stockie, yes I was planning to use either Interprotect or Wattyl if I go down the blasting path.

If I don't blast and go down the sanding path, what are you guys finding the best abrasive discs to use nowadays? wet or dry sanding?
Are those mesh discs better at avoiding clogging? Also I found a 3m stripping disc that looks like it may be good, big open structure that should resist clogging and would probably facilitate cleaning well. www.3m.com.au/3M/en_AU/company-au/all-3m-products/~/Scotch-Brite-Clean-and-Strip-Disc/?N=5002385+3293242405&preselect=8710644+8710812+8713459+8718622+3293786499&rt=rud

I gave up on sanding with all the different sanding media, and that was on my then, little 26 stink boat, admittedly most of the work was on your back for that project. Blasting with sofa blast is really the answer, it is just one of those jobs the ardent DIY has to accept as a no brainer. Now, if you go ahead, make sure you blank off every thru Hull, I didn't and on the Searay ended up with black crud all through the engine bilge, nasty messy.
If you are going to hand remove the AF, SCrapping with a old fashioned paint/ varnish scraper with plenty of blades and a file to keep sharp, google it that's what I have seen used.

cheers Richard

Thanks Richard, I'll keep all that in mind.