PDQ OWNERS FORUM

Hi , Iam looking at purchasing A 1996 PDQ 32 ,but there is an extreme amount of corrosion on the boom , mast and crossbeam , has anybody experienced this before on there boats .If so did you get repaired or replaced and what where the problems and the costs involved.Can anybody tell me where to get new replacements from, any help is appreciated as i would really like to become a PDQ owner and cruiser.I believe its from stainless steel fittings attached to aluminium without any barrier being used creating a Galvanic reaction , any suggestions?
I have managed to upload some photo's to Flickr , can you take a look and let me have your comments.
Thanks Huggi21

http://www.flickr.com/photos/huggi21/

I believe the original cross beams, masts , and booms were made by Offshore Spars.
Later masts and booms were made by Selden the cross beams by Offshore.

Local repairs to the coatings and re-fitting a few parts should do it. Also, many areas are far from fittings, like the front beam. I closer inspection by a professional with test equipment makes more sense, to me, since you do not seem comfortable with the situation or making your own judgment.

Painting aluminum is tricky and it looks to me like it was not done properly. Not very serious but quite annoying. However, I am quite sure it is not primarily electrolisys. That would be far more localized.

Thanks guys, i contacted Offshore Spars, ( Mike ,very helpful ) he tells me the major problem to get the exact size replacement , is that few a years ago they all used one extruding company to produce their tubes even though they all had different proprietary shapes. That extruding company is now closed and with that all of their dies were gone.
Also the transport costs from are very expensive and the probability of the mast arriving undamaged are slim. Even with having to package the mast and crossbeam in a wood crate the chances of no damage are slight.
So it seems the only option at the moment is to refurbish the existing components. At the moment i have rough estimate of around $10000 if i can get the boat to the yard.
As far as the reaction on the crossbeam , it seems to because of the slides holding the trampoline on are made of Brass and they are reacting with the aluminium , any body seen this before.

You can get those in SS from Sailrite... or West Marine for more money.

Still, the damage is probably superficial.

If you do remove paint, use strippers, NOT blasting of any type. I would then leave the paint off. It causes far more trouble that the painted apearance is worth. I have had boats both ways, and I would NEVER paint an aluminum spar.