Textured boat bottom

[JimFromTN]

Kind of a weird title but I was wondering if anyone had seen this before. I am in the market for a new used bass boat and I came across a triton that looks like it may have been wrecked and repaired but not sure. It looks like the entire bottom of the boat had a layer or 2 of fiberglass added to it and instead of sanding it down smooth and repainting so it looks like it came off the showroom floor, they left it somewhat textured and repainted it. A keel guard was added also. It reminds me of when I had an old 1970's fiberglass boat that leaked and I patched it myself and repainted with some gelcoat except this is the entire bottom of the boat. It was definitely professionally done. The company that did it put their stickers on the boat. It is being sold by a dealer and they have no idea.

 

[JimFromTN]

I googled it and there is something called gorilla hull which sounds like what was done to the boat.

 

[JimFromTN]

There is a moral to this story and that is research a boat before you buy or sell. I contacted the company who does gorilla hull and asked how I would be able to tell if they did the boat. They told me to email them pics of the hull and the boat which I did. I got back an email from them that they did the boat. This is a $3600 enhancement for the boat. It is a protective coating that protects against scratches and gouges. It comes with a lifetime warranty and I found out that it actually helps performance a little rather than hurts it. When I got this email back from the company I decided I would go buy the boat. I went to buy the boat friday and noticed there was a lime green colored dust on the ground when I got there. I did not think much of it until I spoke with the owner and he explained that his guy spent 2 days sanding it off. I wanted to throw up was my first reaction. I then explained to him what it was and how I sent pictures to the company and they said it was their work. I could see in his eyes that he realized what he had done. I still kind of wanted the boat so I asked that he start it up for me. It cranked right up but the water pump never kicked on. He swore it worked but would not guarantee it. I still kind of wanted it so I asked about the price and he raised it up $500 from a few days earlier because he had to pay the guy to sand it. At this point I could take it no longer even though it was a good price on the boat and I walked away.

 

[Dbllunger]

I think you made a good decision here. He may have paid the guy to sand it but he devalued the boat in the process. Also the water pump wasn't working. If anything, he should have dropped the price.