# Actual Awlgripping costs



## Zanshin (Aug 27, 2006)

I have searched this forum and google to see if I could find some site or reference that tells me roughly what it would cost to awlgrip a 43 foot hull. I've seen pricing on the actual Awlgrip; but realize that the professional labour costs are more significant. The boat is in the Caribbean now and I can sail it to a location with cheaper labor - but not at the cost of getting a good job done. For those of you who have already had Awlgripping done on a boat of comparable size what did the final price tag work out to?
Thanks!


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## k1vsk (Jul 16, 2001)

$7500 but that was a few years ago for my 41. Priced included redoing the non-skid. Work was done by hinkley


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## Zanshin (Aug 27, 2006)

thanks - now I have a ballpark to play with. Do you recall the ratio of paint costs to the total or was there no breakdown in your price tag.


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## jrd22 (Nov 14, 2000)

We had a 34' boat done last year with Awlcraft, complete job including a new bootstripe was 2K incl materials. Done near Seattle at a private shop. Excellent results. Research threads here for discussion about reasons to use Awlcraft instead. Halekai gave some great info. Sorry, don't have the link.


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## k1vsk (Jul 16, 2001)

Zanshin
Can't recall how the price was broken down but the labor was far more than the material. Also, Awlcraft and Awlgrip are often used interchangeably but there is a difference - you might want to discuss the differences wth whoever you choose to do the work as each has it's advantages and disadvantages. I know hinkley has their preference.


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## sailingfool (Apr 17, 2000)

Prices in New England run from $125 to $200 a foot, you can get a decent job done for $150 a foot. My current boat was painted Imron 15 years ago somewhere in Venezula at a fraction of US costs and even today from 15 feet away the hull looks like a new boat.


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## speciald (Mar 27, 2007)

Prep is more important than the actual finish coat and should be a large part of the cost of the project. All dings and scratches need to be repaired and the hull should be re-preped after the primer and base coat are applied. The finish is dependent on the hull prep and remember that all defects will be magnified by the new shiny paint.Ask what type of hull prep is included in the project. As this prep is labor intensive, much better prices can be had where labor is cheap - like in Trinidad or other locations in the Caribbean.


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Zan...East coast prices for your boat with a professional job in an enclosed space will run 8-10k I believe. Be VERY careful about getting a cheaper job done way down island as there are many tales i've heard about thinned out awlgrip being used and looking good initially but degrading in a year or two. I would be there to sign off on each prep step AND the paint job if you go that route. 
I would also second the consideration of AwlCraft as an alternative per Halekai's excellent prior posts on the subject.


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## the1much (Oct 6, 2007)

at hinckley's the cost ratio is more labor then anything else,,works out ta more cost for your tape,plastic,and sandpaper,thats after just the labor,,the paint dont cost them much at all hehe they pay like $58 a gallon for awl-grip


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## Zanshin (Aug 27, 2006)

My problem is I have to find a place I trust as I won't be there for any of the work stages - the awlgrip shop at the boatyard where I am currently on the hard doesn't look too reputable but there are 2 companies on Tortola that I might ask; but I wanted to get a feel for the price range first before deciding on whether or not I want that royal blue or red color to distinguish myself from the charter crowd


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## nightowle (Aug 2, 2006)

JRDD -- which Seattle shop did you use? My boat is at Ballard and I may be considering this job on on it. Thanks.


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## georgebanker (Jun 28, 2006)

*my .02*

We had a boat painted at Tortola Yacht Services in the 80's that came out well. Can't tell you what the current situation is however. If you are in the Virgins you might want to talk to Jeff Cook who works out of Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbor and get a recommendation from him. Also might want to check with Bill and Georgia who run a yacht management company out of Sopers Hole, West End, Tortola.


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## georgebanker (Jun 28, 2006)

*Red Color?*

By the way, red a about the quickest fading color in the Caribbean sun. You might want to rethink that one. We had our boat painted "Bahama Blue" which is a light color.


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

Zanshin said:


> ....I wanted to get a feel for the price range first before deciding on whether or not I want that royal blue or red color to distinguish myself from the charter crowd


I'd second the not-Red suggestion, but Royal Blue and Forest Green hulls really stand out nicely without quite the perfection of surface required for black. I suppose you need to decide if a dark colour in the tropics would, in fact, cause the boat to heat up more readily. I think if you keep the decks light it would be fine.


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Zan...the heat with dark colors IS a real issue in the tropics. Something to consider even though a dark flag blue is really the prettiest color on a boat!! (g)


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## Zanshin (Aug 27, 2006)

Actually, I've dealt with Geoff Cooke a lot (he helped me get a rudder replacement and did the installation work). The yard on Virgin Gorda doesn't have anyplace to really paint the boat outside of the wind; one main reason I don't want to get it done there. The recommendation I've gotten is for the company out in Nanny Cay (can't recall the name right now).
Finally - I was kidding about the red; but am leaning towards the darker blue. Owners in the BVI that I've talked to about the heat issue say it really isn't one for them; then again, they might have airconditioning running 24x7. I did have to do some re-gelcoating on an aircraft once because a square meter or so had been painted a dark color. Luckily, it wasn't on the airfoil but on the fuselage but it did take many, many hours of work to get rid of the painted and crazed section.
I will have a week stay in St. Maarten for other installations so perhaps might look there - but at the price ranges I've seen in this thread I think that I can safely wait another couple of years before the boat really needs a new covering and I'll just keep the charter boat camouflage coloration for the moment.


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

Zanshin said:


> .....I think that I can safely wait another couple of years before the boat really needs a new covering and I'll just keep the charter boat camouflage coloration for the moment.


Just don't have a red UV cover on your furled genoa  ... that's a dead giveaway!


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## Maine Sail (Jan 6, 2003)

*You could try this color...*

Very sharp and classic looking yet cooler than dark blue or green..


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## TSteele65 (Oct 19, 2006)

Slightly O/T, but does anyone do Imron anymore? Seems like all the shops locally just do Awlgrip.


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Halekai...I've said it before...I really think that color looks beautiful on a nice boat like yours. What is it actually called?


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

Zanshin, to find a place you can trust you will pay top dollar. You will be able to recognize the place when you see mirror-finished hulls around the paint building--and the paint building will be a building, or at least a large fully closed shed, because unless it is temperature and humidity controlled and fully enclosed, they can't ensure a 100% job.

The workers will be wearing respirators with positive airflow, or bunny suits. And, the prices are gonna hurt--but the shops that do work outdoors and just deal with things, are never going to give you more than a 95% job.

With any paint or ink, red does fade fastest in high UV, including sunlight. You'll want to make sure you use whatever UV protectant (aka "our special protectant never wax" haha) is available for it. And of course, once you paint you must always repaint, typically in ten years. Once you scuff any color--there's a prominent white scuff showing, where plain boring white wouldn't show it as badly. And the guys are right about those beautiful dark blue colors--dark colors make a measurable difference in temperature in the boat in the tropics. 

How durable the job is, also will depend on how thick the shop throws the coating. Again, I'd guess the guys in the bunny suits probably have more training and more control over how thick the coating is--because "too thick" is probably as bad as "too thin".

Tell 'em you want to shave in the reflection from the boat, and if they don't invite you to look at three other hulls they've done right there in the yard or area that have a mirror finish--you'll know you are compromising.


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## Maine Sail (Jan 6, 2003)

camaraderie said:


> Halekai...I've said it before...I really think that color looks beautiful on a nice boat like yours. What is it actually called?


Cam,

It's called Stars & Stripes Blue. It's one of the semi custom colors and is not currently on the color charts.

P.S. Many shops still work with Imron but Awlcraft 2000 is Akzo's version of Imron. Imron and AwlCraft 2000 are both acrylic LPU's, with very smilar properties, vs. AwlGrip which is a polyester LPU. Imron and Awlcraft 2000 can be buffed and repaired much more easily than polyester LPU's can and thus can and do last longer if properly cared for. Polyester LPU's are not designed to be buffed...


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

Stars and Stripes Blue?!

A provincial colonial might think that would be the deep flag blue of the "Stars and Stripes" flag...I wonder how the heck THAT color paint got THAT name attached to it.

It's a beautiful color, I just don't figure it is used on anything that has stars and stripes. More like what the paint companies call "federal blue" in house paint, no?


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

HS...apparently it is named for the color used on a rather famous Stars& Stripes sailboat!


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## rhaley (Jun 18, 2007)

I belive it was once called "Gunsmoke Blue", but was changed ala Cam's post above.


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## Maine Sail (Jan 6, 2003)

*Cam is...*

Cam is once again correct. The color was custom mixed & created for the Connor / Cup challenge boat USA-55. Since that time the color has become somewhat more popular even though it's not on the Akzo (parent company of AwlGrip) color charts..


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Think about FLAGG BLUE!


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## Maine Sail (Jan 6, 2003)

*Well from someone who had that color..*



bfdtpkt said:


> Think about FLAGG BLUE!


Been there done that NEVER again! Flag Blue shows everything and although it's a very beautiful color, keeping it clean and dried salt free, is next to impossible. Lighter colors don't show the dried salt or scratches nearly as bad a darker colors and if you're down south darker colors are a no, no anyway...


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## k1vsk (Jul 16, 2001)

Even dirty, in my opinion, dark blue is still the best looking color followed closely by dark green or any dark color.


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## steelboat (Dec 28, 2007)

*awlgrip stars and stripes blue*

Hello all: new to this forum but have been lurking for a while, and couldn't resist posting about this awlgrip color. I had liked it for a while, but was concerned about it being a little dark, and therefore hot, so when I (finally ) painted the boat I had spent half my life building, I added 2 quarts of arctic white for every gallon of stars and stripes blue, and came up with a color which is quite unique, and which varies a lot depending on the light and the color of the water around it. People seem to like it; and the boat remains quite cool, even in 90 plus degree July weather. I don't find it too hard to keep clean. Won't let me post a link because I don't have enough posts, but pictures can be seen on the web site, sv-restless.com. Hope this helps, Bob


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Beautiful Bob!


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## Maine Sail (Jan 6, 2003)

*Link..*



steelboat said:


> Hello all: new to this forum but have been lurking for a while, and couldn't resist posting about this awlgrip color. I had liked it for a while, but was concerned about it being a little dark, and therefore hot, so when I (finally ) painted the boat I had spent half my life building, I added 2 quarts of arctic white for every gallon of stars and stripes blue, and came up with a color which is quite unique, and which varies a lot depending on the light and the color of the water around it. People seem to like it; and the boat remains quite cool, even in 90 plus degree July weather. I don't find it too hard to keep clean. Won't let me post a link because I don't have enough posts, but pictures can be seen on the web site, sv-restless.com. Hope this helps, Bob


Guys here's a link to Bob's boat it looks great!!

http://www.sv-restless.com/launch_day.html


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## steelboat (Dec 28, 2007)

*thanks*

Thanks, camaraderie, for the comments, and thanks, halekai36 (or maine sail) for posting the link. I appreciate it. Bob


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## SimonV (Jul 6, 2006)

Even with the tonning down its hard to distinguish the two colours both very nice boats, it is a classie colour.


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## paich (Dec 29, 2007)

*Chipping and scratching*

First time posting here. I was pleased to see this discussion, as I am thinking about repainting my Bristol 40 yawl. Was last done in about 1995, I would guess. I had assumed that Awlgrip was the way to go, but another Bristol owner noted the difficulty of touching up nicks and scratches and said he would not be using awlgrip for this reason. I had another boat that was awlgripped and I tried to use a touch-up kit on some scratches and it looked awful. So my question is, is there a two-part high gloss, high abrasion resistance finish that can be touched up? I was hoping maybe this was what "awlcraft" was; but no clear indication. Indeed, no one seems to want to talk about this problem, except for a woman who posted on a Hatteras net and raised the question. Any thoughts? Thanks, Paich


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Paich-

Awlcraft 2000 is probably the paint you're thinking of. It is also a two-part linear polyureathane paint. Halekai will probably respond to your question in a bit.


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## paich (Dec 29, 2007)

*Two-part topsides paints*

Thanks sailingdog: I looked for halekai's prior posts, couldn't find them yesterday but got lucky today. By far the most informative so far, and I think I am now more inclined towards the acrylic two-parts for their easier patchability. (I don't seem to be able to avoid getting the odd scratch and nick!) I will look forward to anything further halekai wants to add. Happy New Year! Paich


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