I have been reading the discusions in the Forum for a while now. I see that there is great information and many topics. My "First Mate" has had a few episodes of skin cancer. So that is my motivation on getting a different craft. I have looked at a few Commanders and a few Roamers. In the next week or so I will be heaed to Michigan to look at a 1966 33' Riviera. It looks a though the boat has had some steel replaced. I do have a ccouple of concerns. This would be my first steel hulled boat. How does one "inspect" the parts of the inside of the hull that are hiding under floors of behind panels? I understand there are coatings that can be applied to the inside of the hull to retard rust. Are these long term fixes? I notice that the shaft truts are welded to the hull. In other boats if something were to go wrong with the struts, they could be unbolted and replaced. On a steel hull, how much of the hull should be replaced if the strut needs to be replaced? I suspect that if there are weak areas, one would need to "cut out" enough hull material to get to good steel. The above the waterline area of the hull has been sprayed with Imron. Again, will this be needing an above normal maintenance schedule? This should be a good challenge. The lines of this boat have been among my favorites for a long time. It would take about a 5 hour over the road trip to get it to my local Marina/Yard.
First and foremost hire a Marine Surveyor. He should have an Audi Gauge to check the hull plating thickness below the waterline, this will give you an idea fo the condtion on the plating in those hidden areas. As far as surface coatings for the bilge, there are lots of good epoxy coatings that will work well in these areas, the key to making them semi permanent is surface preperation ie; no rust. This can be accomplished by (a) sandblasting the best method but not practical inside a boat. (b) grinding with a follow up with an application of OSPHO which is a chemical that neutralizes rust. As far as the struts are concerned unless the shell plating around them are in poor condition or they are bent there should be no reason to cut them off. Steel is a good meduium to work with but like anything else maintainence is the key , if you see a spot of rust address it as soon as possible.
m2m gives some good advice above, I'd like to add that when you hire a Surveyor make Sure that He or She has steel hull experience, many don't, and overplateing makes the job more difficult. Common problem areas are under the battery trays, under the fuel tanks and inside stem. And of course wherever it's been overplated. Kiwi
Thank you for the replies. I will beging searching for a surveyor in the Saugatuck/Douglas Michigan area! Sometimes its not the final destination, but the trip that makes things interesting! I found the boat on the "Net". There were some pictures that showed it to be worth a look.
The past few days have been interesting, informative, and a little intimidating. I can certainly understand the need to have a metal hulled boat fully surveyed. ( maybe any boat for that matter). For an educational exercise I looked at a few Roamers in my neck of the woods. It amazed me what a nice coat of bottom paint can hide. I am understanding more and more about the rust on the inside of the hull. While a person can do some rust removal on the inside of the hull, getting access to some of those areas can be a real challenge. When ever I would chat with some of the local boaters and mentioned that I was looking at an older Roamer, I would always get a riased eyebrow, and a mild warning, " ya know they rust from the inside out". I was told that you just can't get a "gas axe" out and cut away hull material. The oriiginal coatings on the inside of the hull might get a little excited when that type heat is involved. I have located a few Marine Surveyors in the Saugatuck Michigan area. That Audio testing would be critical. I haven't been scared off yet. But I will move ahead with a little more caution than I would have before I began reading this forum. The search continues.....b
