I recently bought a 1989 Prindle 18-2 and have sailed it a few times and have been having a blast. I've been doing some research on here but have a few questions:

1) Since sailing in the bay the hulls and rudders seem to have been stained from the water. I tried washing the hulls but the stain won't come out. Is there a certain cleaning agent that will help take the stain out? Also, the front of the starboard hull is still white (see image), is this just from that area previously being waxed or repainted??




2) How serious are these cracks? I know it's a little late to be asking since I have already bought it but I am hoping they are just mostly cosmetic cracks in the gelcoat. The hulls take on very little water while sailing normally. I flipped it last time I went out and the starboard hull took on a lot of water, but using the soapy water trick I found that both inspection ports leak pretty badly. No bubbles came from any of those cracks. From what I have read it seems like just re-sealing with silicone sealant should do the trick.



3) I have been toying with the idea of possibly repainting the hulls after this season (assuming this is a boat worth putting money into and I haven't overlooked something seriously wrong). How would that work the the deck panels (the textured area in the picture above). Are these part of the hull or just attached onto the deck? How would you prep that before painting?

Thanks in advance for the help! This has been a great resource!

I have the same boat. That was a great find. I had a Prindle 18 before and the hull was quite stained and oxidized. I used 400, 600 then 1000 grit sand paper to get the stains out and bring the buff back. No need to paint. Your hulls will shine like the day they came out of the showroom. Then I used rubbing compound and finished up with some high quality marine wax. Others will recommend something like poligow and other similar products.

Your cracks appear to be gelcoat. I have similar ones I need to tackle this year. Look on youtube, there are tons of vids for gelcoat repair. You may find more damage when you grind the gel away, but it is hard to tell until you take that step. Its only fiberglass, very easy to repair.

Pete

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New Prindle 18-2 Owner
Former Prindle 18 Owner
Multiple Hobie 16s
Boylston Massachusetts
Webster Lake Indian Lake Narragnsett Bay in Rhode Island
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For stains like that, I would start with Ajax and a scrub brush. If that doesn't work, move up to oxalic acid, toilet bowl cleaner, or bleach and a scrub brush. As a last resort, you can wet sand the gelcoat (up to 1500 grit) to remove the stains. To prevent future stains, apply two coats of wax at the beginning of each season.

The hairline cracks that you see are most likely just gelcoat cracks. First thing I would do would be to coin tap test around the cracks (rap on the hull with the edge of a coin). If you hear a dull sound, then it may be worth investigating further. If it is a solid, crisp sound, then the underlying hull structure is most likely sound. You can also lightly pressurize the hulls and then spray the cracks with soapy water to see if any bubbles form. Of course the only way to know for sure that there is no internal damage would be to grind off the gelcoat and inspect the fiberglass, but that is probably more extreme of a measure than is worth at this point.

Generally speaking, painting the hulls is not a good idea. Unless you really know what you're doing and are willing to put in the time to prep and do the job right, you're much better off restoring the existing gelcoat. With a decent amount of wet sanding, polishing, and waxing, you should be able to bring the old gelcoat back to nearly like-new condition.

sm

i use a rust stain remover on my boats and it removes the stain. the gelcoat is porous and will restain. my 18 square has the hulls alwgripped but the rudders were not and stained and i had to use rust remover till i got a can of spray paint and painted them. that eliminated the porosity and they did not restain.
marc

Dogboy

For stains like that, I would start with Ajax and a scrub brush. If that doesn't work, move up to oxalic acid, toilet bowl cleaner, or bleach and a scrub brush. As a last resort, you can wet sand the gelcoat (up to 1500 grit) to remove the stains.

Agreed.
First Ajax, next Bar Keeper's Friend (Walmart), then if it still has some staining, sand it incrementally.

I have been collecting data on the 18-2.
Here's the link:

http://www.thebeachcats.com/pictures?g2_itemId=88542

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Sheet In!
Bob
_/)_____/)_/)____/)____/)_____/)/)__________/)__
Prindle 18-2 #244 "Wakizashi"
Prindle 16 #3690 "Pegasus" Sold (sigh)
AZ Multihull Fleet 42 member
(Way) Past Commodore of Prindle Fleet 14
Arizona, USA
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I noticed all the staining appears to be below the decals. I had the same problem on my '84 Super Cat below the hull stripes. The stains would return after cleaning. I removed the hull stripes using a variable temperature heat gun, lacquer thinner, and a scotchbrite pad. I found the decals were holding the staining agents. I scrubbed her down with Boat Mate On & Off hull cleaner (strong stuff!) and a brush. Then a scrub down with white vinegar and a scotchbrite pad. This removed the stains. I'll have to wet sand her prior to polishing. I have some cosmetic gel coat repairs to do before I sand her. Everywhere there was a decal I now have a raised, smooth, gel coat where it was protected. GH

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'82 Super Cat 15
Hull #315
Virginia
Previously owned: '70 H14, '79 H16, '68 Sailmaster 26, '85 H14T
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I had that kind of staining, although not as bad, on my nacra shown in my avatar to the left. instead of sanding, which removes gelcoat, I started with oxalic acid in a product named FSR made by Davis. It only sits on the surface for 15 sec and the stain just disappears. But the trick is, unless you rinse it off, dry the hull and apply a good marine wax, the stain will reappear the next time you hit the water. Wax it twice a year and you won't have the problem again.



as far as that white bow, I would guess it had a gelcoat repair and the newer gelcoat is better at resisting the staining since it's probably less porous. just a guess.
j



Edited by arch on Apr 10, 2015 - 10:18 PM.

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Aquacat 12 (sold)...'87 Nacra 5.8 (sold)...'03 Nacra Inter18 (sold)
Venture 15 (sold)....'89 Nacra 5.8 (sold)...'91 Nacra 5.8NA (sold)
'99 Nacra Inter20 (sold)
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My friend gave me a product call Slimy Grimy and it will clean off that stain in seconds......

Slimy Grimy,Inc.
Katy,Texas
1-800-922-3097

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Bill 404 21SE
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Quote

Also, the front of the starboard hull is still white (see image), is this just from that area previously being waxed or repainted??

looks like the front of the hull may have had a repair and re-gelcoat (newer gelcoat stands out when the older gets darker) OR some waxlike product but then they decided to NOT do the entire inside of the boat?

I use sno-bol toilet cleaner to remove stains (i don't like scrubbing or sanding)
then i use new glass2 on my hulls to restore a gloss and seal the pores - good for 6 or 7 months here on the surface of the sun (florida) and then i need to recoat