Blister repair possible?

Sandy Stone · Nov 22, 2016

I used to own a P26. Every 2-3 years when I hauled out for new bottom paint I would sand the bottom, pop the worst blisters, let them dry a few days, fill with thickened epoxy, fair, & paint. Never a problem. Usually I had to touch up the cast iron keel in places, too. Still no problem. I mean, the rest of the time I was sailing, right? It's not like I ever thought the boat was going to sink from under me.
Now, as far as the rudder play, that was a fairly tricky one-time fix. On my boat, the rudder shaft was aluminum and had worn down where the plastic bearings rode on it. I had to pull the shaft and the bearings, then used an etching solution on the shaft to prep it. I applied vaseline *liberally* to the inside of the bearings, built up the worn spots on the shaft with thickened epoxy, then slid the greased bearings onto the shaft as a kind of mould for the epoxy. After the epoxy set I broke the bearings free and re-installed everything. Lasted as long as I owned the boat. And it was a great little boat, too. Just one thing, if it looks like you're getting into rough weather, don't hesitate to put in the bottom companionway hatchboard. The combination of no coamings and a low companionway sill can be a little disconcerting if the boat gets laid over.

Crazy Dave Condon · Nov 23, 2016

MaryEllaRose
I looked at the photos of the original post and comments. As a former dealer for Hunter and Catalina and others, I came across this type of blistering with new boats and sadly had to address it. We called it pit blistering which basically was in the gel coat, not fiberglass or the manufacturing of sailboats. The problem was due to the manufacture of the gel coat. After it started occurring, Hunter addressed it and went with a new style gel coat which solved that issue. Catalina also followed suit. This occurred and not too sure in the late 80's and early 90's. As for earlier years, this I am not sure about but it was the gel coat. When new is better comes out, I always warned everyone to test that first before going full blast. Behind the scenes there were a lot of legal issues to resolve but it was the formulation. Not sure if the resin was polyester or vinlyester but I always said vinylester resins were the only way to go below the water line. So true was that comment.

I would first let the hull dry out for a length of time. Some used meters but the old timers told me to tape a piece of plastic over the hull and after several days, no water behind the plastic, hull was dry. The key here the hull has to be dry. I used Watertite (two part epoxy slow dry curing) but found that was the best to fill in and then sand smooth. I then barrier coated at least five to six coats and then applied anti fouling paint. I was never fully reimbursed by the manufacturers for the work but they too felt the pain going after the gel coat mfg. Every time manufactures changed the formulas, here we go again. Everyone jumped the gun blaming Hunter and Catalina but they too were jumping thru the hoops as well.

I hope this gives a better insight as to what occurred and how many of the dealers resolved the issues.

BigEasy · Nov 23, 2016

That's my timeline. 1988 Hunter 33.5 purchased it in '98 with boat pox. Surveyor assured me that it could be repaired; price renegotiated before purchase. Sailed it for 5 months after purchase. Hauled out day after Thanksgiving and had gelcoat removed . Dried hull for 5 months and ground out blisters. Filled & faired and barrier coated with named brand vinyl ester resin. All work was professionaly done in yard. Blisters returned within 2 years. Continued to use boat and contemplated selling as is or redoing blister repair before selling. Katrina solved my problem; boat totaled. That was the only positive thing that happened to me as a result of that storm.

Sandy Stone · Nov 23, 2016

On the rudder, that's probably going to be too much play, like when you get into waves the rudder will be clonking back and forth. Can be unpleasant.
On the blisters, on a $1500 boat, forget about drying the hull or applying barrier coat. It's way too much work for questionable results. Just fair out, apply bottom paint, & go sailing. You'll have to do it again in a couple of years when you haul out, but so what?

Gunni · Nov 23, 2016

Sandy Stone said:
On the blisters, on a $1500 boat, forget about drying the hull or applying barrier coat. It's way too much work for questionable results. Just fair out, apply bottom paint, & go sailing.

Huh? He is buying a boat that someone blast prepped the hull and dry stored for years! There is NO BETTER time to take advantage of all that effort and complete barrier coating, bottom work. He's goal and 7, 2nd down.

Sandy Stone · Nov 24, 2016

I have never seen a barrier coat job hold up more than a few years, but that could easily be a consequence of the rediculous humidity down here and the impossibility of getting the hull truly dry. YMMV.