240 Joe wrote:
Thanks to all above for your advice. I think I will keep this boat for several more years. I didn't mention that 2 years ago I had the decals removed and the exterior wet sanded. It's shiny again and looks really good after good detailing and a lot more up to date without the scraped decals.
Has anyone painted the exterior?
I took it to a shop highly recommended by my dealer for boat painting and saw several higher dollar boats he had painted there in his shop. He quoted $5,500 to paint the exterior black sides, the white exterior above the black, and the rear swim platform (except for the rough area where you stand). But upon inspection of the boat he would not do the work. As many have noted on this forum, the H-240s list to the starboard when in dock. Mine has always listed enough that about 2 inches of the black side is under water at rest. The shop owner noticed the list, contacted the paint manufacturer who would not grant a warranty if any part of the paint that was below water on a regular basis so he declined the job.
I'd like to hear from anyone who has painted their boat.
What brand of paint was used? Any blisters? How long did it look shiny, like new?
If you still want to do this, you can have the bottom done and run the paint up the sides above the water line. Now if you don't need bottom paint where you are I can see not wanting to do this, but for us in the salt pond, bottom paint is 100% necessary, or a necessary evil I guess you could say. So after you've had the boat in the water mark the actual water line and maybe add an inch to be on the safe side. Then the bottom paint will keep the Imron from getting wet constantly and I've had no problem with blisters with it being in the water for 6 month long seasons. The price you got is actually pretty good for the work being done, here it would be more I'm sure. The Imron will keep its gloss better than colored gelcoat, but of course it can still scratch so you have to be careful with docking, fenders (keep them clean) etc. But not having to wet sand, buff etc, is a beautiful thing! When I had our boat done my neighbors thought I bought a new boat, its now 32 years old....