We am in the process of purchasing a 1993 h35.5. We have had the survey done and a issue that the marine surveyor brought up to us is the info that Hunter put some sort of wax on the bottom of this hull at delivery to original owners and it created difficulty in getting a smooth finish on the hull and getting anti-fouling paint adhere to the hull. it appears that ablative paint flakes away creating rough finish and after just two years the marine growth in Puget Sound became quite attached to the hull and the keel.

Does anyone know of this problem and have first hand knowledge of fixing it. The surveyor recommends stripping the boat to the bear hull and starting from scratch.

Thanks for any input.

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Wax from the mold

is what the surveyor is describing. Apparently they use a particular wax to release the hull from the mold when it is first laid up. This has to be stripped before bottom paint is applied. Its been discussed here at HOW many times, and you will more info in the archives.

Surprising that a 13 year old boat would just show evidence of this problem. There have presumably been many layers of bottom paint applied through the years and the flake off is pretty significant from what Ive read here. Problem could also be incompatible paints, or just plain ole age on the paint. If its ablative paint it does, after all, wash off over time.

Whatever the cause, youve got to get the paint off before putting a new coat on. Whether its to bare hull is an additional question. Talk to your boat yard and get some quotes for stripping, etc., and subtract it from your offer price. Its not rocket science, but it can be time consuming.

See also what others here say. Multiple opinions are very helpful, just dont let em drive you crazy.

Don s/v Tellico
Annapolis/New Bern
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Poor mans solution

1 Scrape what you can while its out of water.
2. Coat the bare spots with the Interlux stuff thats designed for just this purpose(precludes sanding the bare spots and violating the gelcoat).
3. Go sailing all summer, worry-free.
4. Repeat next year as needed in new spots.

Bill ODonovan
Deadline

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Told the same thing

Had our inspector said the same thing on our 89 35.5. He suggested that after sanding as you normally would for painting to wipe those areas with aceteone to remove the wax. It was just in a couple of spots so we have not bothered.

It seems from the picture what you have is much more widespread.

Jon RIley
Seattle

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Could be oversanding

I have a 92 - 35.5 and I have had the same problem which I believe was somewhat self-inflicted.
While trying to do repairs to patches where the bottom paint had flaked off I believe I oversanded and took off the barrier coat. The ablative paint will not bond properly to the bare hull and needs an epoxy undercoat before it will bond.
At 13-14 years I think I need to completely redo the bottom, keel and all. This will involve stripping, sanding down to bare glass, 3-4 coats of interprotect barrier coat and then 3 coats of bottom paint. I have seen it done before and after the barrier coat they applied a coat or red ablaive paiont followed by 2 coats of blue - the idea being when you start to see red its time to redo the bottom paint.
It is a major project that needs to be done but I am trying to put off for as long as possible.

Don
White Rock

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Sure wouldnt...

let it be a deal breaker on one of the BEST boats Hunter ever built. Taking a bottom down to gelcoat isnt that big a project.

Honeyman
St. Andrew Bay

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Thank you for input

Thank you for your input on this issue we continue to persue this boat, and try to come to some agreed terms w/ the owner.

It was mentioned that the wax release material that needs to be removed has been discussed at length here at HOC.

I found one of two single mentions concerning it. Does anyone know what key words one might use to get a more complete list of discussion from the forum archives, our any technical data links by hunter or hunter associations concerning this issue.

Thank you again.

Roger
Portland