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Why Avoid DIY Restoration on Your Yacht

With all the craze about DIY projects it’s no wonder why you might be considering to restore your yacht all on your own. There are so many articles online about how to repair or refurbish your yacht and they promise absolute success. However, yacht restoration is no walk on the park. It should be left to professionals and at Chi Yacht Refinishing, we’ve seen way too many DIY restoration fails that’s why we always recommend to not do it yourself. Let’s dive right into the common DIY restoration mistakes you should avoid on your yacht.

 

Choosing the wrong type of varnish

A common mistake among many yacht owners who believe they can do it themselves is that they think they could choose any varnish, apply it, and that’s it. However, there are a lot more factors that can influence the efficiency of the coat. Such as, taking your yacht our on salt sea water or even too much sun exposure. These are important factors and not taking into consideration the type of varnish you need, can damage your yacht. It’s not your job to know every single thing about your yacht, that’s why times like these it makes sense to leave the job to the professionals. We have all the knowledge necessary to choose even the simplest task like type of varnish, specific for your yacht without causing any damage. If you choose to still do it yourself and you choose the wrong varnish you will be in for more damage control than you would want.

 

DIY paint job

Restoring your yacht’s color is not like restoring an old dressers color. Just like choosing the right type of varnish, it’s crucial to do your paint job right the first time or you will waste both your time and money. We don’t recommend a do it yourself paint job because anything can go wrong. You could have everything perfectly done but the slightest dust or debris come flying your way, it will be glued onto your yacht for quite some time if not forever. It’s not worth the pennies you could save because in the end if something goes wrong, you will have to pay a whole lot more to have it in good standing.

 

Excessive Caulking

Picture this: your yacht was in storage for a couple of months when you notice that you can see light through the joints. What’s the first thing most yacht owners do? They add caulking to the boat, thinking that will fix the problem.

A wooden yacht tends to “deflate” when the hull lacks moisture. Even if you can see light through the seams, the chances are that once your yacht is back in the water, it will swell tight. Instead of adding an unnecessary layer of caulking, you should try to moisturize the dried-out frame.

 

Leave the restoration of your yacht to the pros

At the end of the day, you own a yacht to enjoy your time and be out in the open water. You don’t own your yacht to have more headaches than expected. So why consider all the DIY headaches when you can leave the restoration to the pros? Our team at Chi Yacht Refinishing will take care of your refurbishing needs and we will leave your yacht looking better than ever with ZERO headaches. You will be able to take your yacht out with no worries whatsoever.

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