bottom boat restoration

[thiago]

Hello to everyone. I have been reading this forum for a while since I am a new boat owner and I am making my dream come true. It is so many information on this forum that I got kind of confuse. I mean what the gelcoat exactly is? I know what it is for I just don’t know how it looks like. Can you please take a look at pic 1 and tell me if the gelcoat is the white stuff or the brown that is under the white.

I am restoring the bottom of 23 ft boat. The boat is from 1974 so I believe that gelcoat is made from epoxy resin and I am going to stay with product base on epoxy resin. The boat has 2 blisters. I opened them to dry. They are kind of big like a top of soda can [pic 1]. I am going to fix it with epoxy resin and some fiberglass. I also have some small holes and I believe that is osmosis. [pic 2 and 3] the boat was covered with kind of blue paint [pic4] I believe it was antifouling. I remove it with paper 80 and then 120 grids. Now, to fix the osmosis will be enough to put barrier coat paint on the white stuff I have on the boat? Should I remove the white material? The side of the boat above the water line is made from the same material pic 5. Should I cover that area with barrier coat as well?
I hope I did describe my questions clear and I am looking for any information.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

The first picture shows the glass mat surrounded by the brown resin that originally saturated and covered it but not yet removed. Outside that is the white gel coat.

 

[thiago]

Ok I see... I wasn’t sure if white stuff is a gel coat or barrier coat. So, now putting barrier coat on this boat is a good idea? After fixing the blisters and preparing the boat for painting of course. Will barrier paint fill up small wholes? The boat is off the water for over a month so it should be dry.

 

[RichH]

Before you get into a back-breaking bottom restoration that may only fail in the future: http://www.yachtsurvey.com/blisters.htm

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Ok I see... I wasn’t sure if white stuff is a gel coat or barrier coat. So, now putting barrier coat on this boat is a good idea? After fixing the blisters and preparing the boat for painting of course. Will barrier paint fill up small wholes? The boat is off the water for over a month so it should be dry.

Fill and fair the holes with an epoxy containing filler first to obtain a smooth hull. The barrier coat, which is always a good idea, cannot be applied except in a uniform thickness so the hull needs to be faired prior to the barrier coat.

Depending on the weather and ambient temperature, one month may not be long enough. A quick trick to check the moisture content is to tightly tape a piece of plastic over the area and check on a day or two to see if any moisture forms inside the plastic.

 

[Squidd]

Before you get into a back-breaking bottom restoration that may only fail in the future: http://www.yachtsurvey.com/blisters.htm

Wow, that's a pretty dismal outlook for blistered boat "owners"..

Fine if your a surveyer /buyer and can walk away, but what do you do with the boat you already have...??

Soda blasting/sand blasting/water blasting is "out"...?

Fillers/micro ballons are "out"...?

No such thing as a reilable barrier coat that is actually a water barrier..?

And no real good long term or short term solutions offered...?

"Unrepairable" and "waste of money" came up several times...

So what's a fellow to do..nothing..? The boat still floats, it's a little "Crusty" on the bottom but it's gotta have a few years life left...

Obviously can't sell it as it is (not with these guys reccomendations)..

Gotta be a middle ground..."life support" type... ongoing repair/maintenance program available.

 

[thiago]

Fill and fair the holes with an epoxy containing filler first to obtain a smooth hull. The barrier coat, which is always a good idea, cannot be applied except in a uniform thickness so the hull needs to be faired prior to the barrier coat.

I want to fix the blisters and small holes then sand it undusted it and use wax remover and then put barrier coat on the entire boat. Here I have one more question. Side of the boat above water line is cover only with gelcoat [pic5]. Is it a good idea to put barrier coat on the side as well? Or it is not necessary and just color paint will be enough? Since it is above the water line do I have to put same number of layers of barrier paint as on the bottom part?

Depending on the weather and ambient temperature, one month may not be long enough. A quick trick to check the moisture content is to tightly tape a piece of plastic over the area and check on a day or two to see if any moisture forms inside the plastic.

I am in Florida and it has been sunny and hot all the time but I will do the moisture test as you suggested.