by Michael Field, Sunday Star Times
Glitzy yacht marinas throughout New Zealand are hiding a dirty little secret – thousands of worthless boats riddled with “pox”.
Pox affects many of the older New Zealand-made fibreglass or glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) boats that created a cheap entry to what was previously a rich person’s pastime, in the 1980s and 90s. Pox makes the hull look like it’s covered in blisters but the end result is a hull that will eventually let in water, creating the floating equivalent of a leaky building.
Pox, or osmosis, is similar to rust in a car – treatable, but expensive. “Osmosis isn’t the kiss of death, but it is kissing away $30,000 on a 40-foot boat. It’s curable but it costs money,” says Christine Bird, of Auckland’s Busfield Marine Brokers.
Pox, coupled with a downturn in those entering the market for a boat since the 2008 global financial crisis, has created a band of owners with unsellable boats.
“The market is pretty sad,” Bird says.
“Auckland is still a city of sails but there are a huge number of used boats on the market.”
Marine Inspections’ Mike Menzies, a specialist in GRP boats, is equally gloomy. “They are shabby and tired,” he says of the old GRP boats, “they are just worn out. The fleet is getting to the age where time is catching up.”
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