On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 20:51:04 -0500, wrote:

Hi,

I'm considering buying a houseboat with a steel bottom. New steel
was put on 4 years ago, and treated with coal tar epoxy, supposedly.
I was told that the coal tar treatment will last for a long time. Can
anyone tell me if the coal tar treatment is really good for a long time,
like 30 years or something? If it is, then why doesn't everyone use
it? It it's not, then how long is it good for, what to do, and when, in
the future?

It doesn't work well in some applications.

Coal tar expoxy and composites are very common.

The last time somebody asked the coal tar question, they found this
page very helpful.

http://www.epoxyproducts.com/coaltar.html

Good luck.

Later,

Tom