Non Boat Specific moisture/mould/osmosis

  • Thread starter Stefan Tielsch
  • Start date
S

Stefan Tielsch

Hello to all moody lovers,
My friend and me found a 37 1985 in Uk. The boat got an osmosis treatement from Symblast. It looks good, fairly new rig/sails/furling.
What distracted us a little was the stuffy air inside. We didnt encounter mould on matress or padding but couldnt look behind the furniture of course.
The boat is out int the yard since February, was dried for osmosis treatement so should be dry..
The bilge seemed somehow dirty, could have been wet in wate before.

The question is: if there should be mould on the back of shelfes/furniture ect., how could we get rid of that?
And is it normal that a dry boat starts to smell mouldy after months of not being ventilated inside?
Leaking windows wouldnt bet THAT problem i gues..

Ps: The broker told us that osmosis seems to be a common problem (75%) of moodys..?
Or seems that just an excuse for the treatement to hide some other flaw of that boat..?

thanks and best -- Stefan
 
Hi Stefan,

Your broker is wrong. Osmosis is generally not a problem with Moodys, the opposite is true. Boats of your vintage, depending on how they have been stored may have a little, but boats don't sink because of it. However if it has had a professional treatment, then you should be ok but I would have a survey to confirm all is well. Your suspicions that the broker may be hiding some other flaw may be true, but a survey should reveal that.

Regarding mould, if the boat has been shut up and sealed, there may well be a little mould somewhere, and it will smell a bit, but if it is not on the soft furnishings, then some work with mild bleach or an anti mould chemical should solve that easily. Opening the hatches to the air and sunlight will help of course. If power had been available, then running a dehumidifier would have reduced that considerably. Most people, however, leave a couple of small hatches on the vent position to get some air inside.

The windows may be leaking causing water in the bilges - this is very common and most boats of that vintage will need their windows re-sealing (or reglazing and resealing). Leaking stanchion bases are another potential cause. If the bilges are dirty, then they have had water inside. If you can get at some part of the hull inside it would be worth checking how high the water got - probably not much but sailing distributes it of course.

Can you talk to the owner, not the broker, get a feel for how they have used the boat? Is there any paperwork for work done over the years, engine servicing etc?

A bit of due diligence doesn't cost anything!

Good luck

Kindest

Neil
 
thank you neil!
the osmis treatment could show up as a disadvantage: how well was it made? did they (symblast) fill all holes and put new fiberglass pads on?
6.000.- seems little small money for 37 feet..
and the 1-2 year guaranty they offer is also not usual.

do the moodys have a foam core which stores water?
 
Stefan Tielsch said:
thank you neil!
the osmis treatment could show up as a disadvantage: how well was it made? did they (symblast) fill all holes and put new fiberglass pads on?
6.000.- seems little small money for 37 feet..
and the 1-2 year guaranty they offer is also not usual.

do the moodys have a foam core which stores water?
Click to expand...
Stefan Tielsch said:
thank you neil!
the osmis treatment could show up as a disadvantage: how well was it made? did they (symblast) fill all holes and put new fiberglass pads on?
6.000.- seems little small money for 37 feet..
and the 1-2 year guaranty they offer is also not usual.

do the moodys have a foam core which stores water?
Click to expand...
and no: no contact to the owner and no paperwork till now.
 
we spoke with symblast and they told us that this boat was osmosis treated a few yesrs ago already. could there be something hidden behind?
and also he stated the moodys (37?) are laminated overall, so no foam or balsa sandwich construction.
is this true?

sorry for my amateurish double post..
 
Stefan Tielsch said:
we spoke with symblast and they told us that this boat was osmosis treated a few yesrs ago already. could there be something hidden behind?
and also he stated the moodys (37?) are laminated overall, so no foam or balsa sandwich construction.
is this true?

sorry for my amateurish double post..
Click to expand...
Stefan,
I'm no expert but my 37 hull is laminated I've just put in a new log and had to core through about 3/4 inch of solid fibre glass, the deck is cored. Does the boat have any paperwork re previous treatment, old surveys? I'd suggest you either need to get a survey from a reliable surveyor, if the survey brings up issues then you can use this in negotiations on price or walk away knowing that you've not missed a bargain.

Dom
 
Hi Stefan,

The hull of the Moody 37 is solid hand laid glass reinfofced plastic, with a generous gel coat thickness. The deck and coachroof is hand laid grp cored with end grain balsa for lightness and stiffness. In higher stressed areas where deck gear is mounted, marine ply is used in place of the balsa. This construction is common to most yachts built in that era and Moodys have a reputation for being more resistant than most to osmosis. The likely cause for this better resistance, in my view, is the fact that they were built in a temperatude and humidity controlled workshop rather than a draughty damp boathouse.

Symblast is an experienced cotractor who have probably done thousands of osmosis treatments over the years, both to remedy observed osmosis and to add an epoxy layer over unaffected grp to reduce the likelihood of future osmosis (preventive treatment). You have done well to contact Symblast and you might ask them whether their treatment was to rectify osmosis or preventive. The guarantee they offer is a reflection of their confidence in the high quality of their work and I would personally consider a treatment performed recently by them as a positive in a grp boat of this age. I do not think they would carry out the work to "cover up" some deficiency as that would be a risk to their reputation. I should add that I have no involvement in the Symblast Company and have never used their services myself.

If the boat looks cheap, that's a sad reflection of the current market for 2nd. hand yachts. When buying an older yacht nowadays, the question you need to ask is not can I afford to buy her but rather can I afford to run her and maintain her properly.

Peter.
 
Last edited:
thanks for all replays! we will report our progress regarding this special boat..
 
Sadly to tell that we withdraw our offer because of the lack of vat prove by the owner.
It was build 1985 and thats the year the vat started to become relevant for boats..
We think its too dangerous to sail without paid vat..
 
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