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My 1999 Bavaria 38 which I bought new has suddenly developed a serious staining problem on the interior white GRP surfaces. These are mostly in the heads but also the aft cabin frwd bulkhead and the galley walls. Some of the deckhead panels are beginning to show signs. The staining is also under labels that have never seen the light of day and do not result from cleaning or use. When the surface is sanded they remain. There is no sign of this on the hull which is sound. My yard says it is a serious fault in the gelcoat layup when bavaria built the boat and needs to be widely publicised since it is likely to show on other boats.
The stains are brown lines as though from a brush or cloth and look a complete disaster.
I am not sure of my rights on a 12 year old boat and therefore wish to explore every avenue to investigate the problem before contacting Bavaria.
Has anyone seen this before and have any solution to the problem.
Tony
Hi Tony,
Do you have any photos that we can look at?
Without seeing the problem I think I would try some Y10 or some Oxalic acid mixed with wallpaper paste on a small patch to see if the staining can be reduced/removed by attacking the discoloured surface. I am aware you have tried sanding but it might be that sanding may only expose a new stained layer of gelcoat hence why it is not giving you the answer to the problem.
A few more questions, have the stains only appeared over the winter, are they all on the same side of the vessel, are all the streaks in the same direction?
Cheers
Paul.Hi Tony
Sorry to hear about your GRP staining.
I also have a GRP problem on our 38 Ocean, built early 2000, just before Bavaria moved into the new factory. The gelcoat in places on the deck and cockpit is just too thin, resulting in areas of ‘grey’ showing through, which are made worse by light sanding etc.
I started a thread in the 38 Ocean folder (http://www.bavariaowners.co.uk/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=7) some years ago (which mainly resulted in a discussion on wobbly and leaking stanchions!) but it petered out so I am living with the problem. The problem looks worse on grey days; in bright sunshine you hardly notice it.
The only solution, I think, will be to paint the deck, but I don’t relish doing that. I suspect the grey patches might put a few people off when I want to sell Playtime, though.
How extensive is your problem? Could you paint the exposed GRP to cover the stains?
Roger
Thanks for the replies Paul and Roger.
The boat was built in the original factory and delivered in March 1999.
I have tried Y10 and other concoctions of Oxalic acid to remove the staining but to no avail.
My boat has been in the Med since new untill 2009 and some signs of staining first appeared in the heads during August 2009 after leaving the boat in Denia Spain for 2 months
In Dec 2009 I took the boat to the Caribbean and in July 2010 laid up ashore in Tortola, BVI until now.
I returned to the boat in Feb 2011 for a month and found the staining to be severe and to cover many other area’s below. These include more in the heads, the aft cabin frwd bulkhead (aft cockpit panel), the galley/ cockpit panel and some headlining. The streaks look as though someone has wiped the panels with a cloth with vertical stripes, but horizontal stripes outline around the outside of the panel.The staining has become apparent on the 2 occasion it was laid up in very hot weather. Yard workmen think it may be due to the heat revealing a gelcoat problem. For some reason I returned home and as is the way, have lost the photos.
I will be returning to the boat in April and have now decided to sail back to UK in May and to try and get it fixed. I will post a photo before leaving.
The hull is fine and I have not seen any grey shading. The hull and deck gelcoat seems to be thick enough and it sounds as though there was a lack of quality control in the old factory. My side decks are teak and the poor quality caulking had to be replaced in 2007, like many other boats of that vintage. The coachroof “treadmaster” type moulding area’s have suffered from broken nodules revealing a black underside. These have been very difficult to fix due to colour shading problems. Some stanchions are loose because underside nuts are not accesible.
The problem with the staining is that it may lead to questions about the hull and would make it very difficult to sell. It will be very difficult to paint since the sink is part of the moulding and there are few natural joints between other panels.
But for this problem I think B38O was one of the best boats produced for the price.
Tony
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