HI, I am in the procees of purchasing a 1988 Hunter 33.5 and the owner has advised me that the boat has approx. 30-60 blisters, small in size. Can anyone tell me more about blister. Can they affect the structual integrity of the hull. Please supply any information on blistering and advised to stay away from certain boats with blisters. thank you!
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Michael Cohn
Not good
I would suggest you get a professional surveyor to inspect the boat and estimate the cost of repair and prevention of future blisters before committing to anything. Blisters are not good. MC
I would suggest you get a professional surveyor to inspect the boat and estimate the cost of repair and prevention of future blisters before committing to anything. Blisters are not good. MC
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Pete
blister info
try reading articles on blister and wether or not to buy a blistered boat on web site www.yachtsurvey.com. this guy pasco seems to know his stuff even if he seems overly critical of things. lots of good info about boating in gereral.my thoughts are to avoid buying any boat with problems
try reading articles on blister and wether or not to buy a blistered boat on web site www.yachtsurvey.com. this guy pasco seems to know his stuff even if he seems overly critical of things. lots of good info about boating in gereral.my thoughts are to avoid buying any boat with problems
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Alex Pascu
It might be a real problem..
So many blister ON the surface , usually mean many of them UNDER the gelcoat , still in the forming proccess which will show up next season.. Usually this Osmosys proccess- or actually Hydrolysis - will in time cover large part of , or all of the hull . Local treatment will be good , but for limited time .Professional total treatment might cost several K dollars for a 30 footer!!. Be aware that many 'middle of the road' production boats of the eighties , might develop at 10+ years of age Osmosys , less so-or just later..- ones that were :1.professional epoxied from ANEW , and 2. had the boat out of the water yearly for at least several weeks. Hopefully the newer gelcoats and newer resins-venylesther, etc. might help. But what will REALLY matter- according now to top professionals - is better laminating proccess WITHOUT VOIDS of the fiberglass layers; more man/hour work per square/feet of laminate , professional work and/or modern laminating procedures (vacum,forced-feed ) in cleaner and dryer enviroment and chimicals of high grade purity . All this can explain why some boats don't get Osmosys , even after 15 years , but some do after 5-6 years. Frankly , only real 'bad boats' do get Osmosys before 5-6 years , so most buiders giving a 5 years warranty on the hulls ,has little meaning , except that the laminates are of basic acceptable quality ... Look for the ones that give unconditioned warranty for 10 years against blistering if you espect high quality..
So many blister ON the surface , usually mean many of them UNDER the gelcoat , still in the forming proccess which will show up next season.. Usually this Osmosys proccess- or actually Hydrolysis - will in time cover large part of , or all of the hull . Local treatment will be good , but for limited time .Professional total treatment might cost several K dollars for a 30 footer!!. Be aware that many 'middle of the road' production boats of the eighties , might develop at 10+ years of age Osmosys , less so-or just later..- ones that were :1.professional epoxied from ANEW , and 2. had the boat out of the water yearly for at least several weeks. Hopefully the newer gelcoats and newer resins-venylesther, etc. might help. But what will REALLY matter- according now to top professionals - is better laminating proccess WITHOUT VOIDS of the fiberglass layers; more man/hour work per square/feet of laminate , professional work and/or modern laminating procedures (vacum,forced-feed ) in cleaner and dryer enviroment and chimicals of high grade purity . All this can explain why some boats don't get Osmosys , even after 15 years , but some do after 5-6 years. Frankly , only real 'bad boats' do get Osmosys before 5-6 years , so most buiders giving a 5 years warranty on the hulls ,has little meaning , except that the laminates are of basic acceptable quality ... Look for the ones that give unconditioned warranty for 10 years against blistering if you espect high quality..
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Terry Arnold
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Tom Lincoln
No Big deal but
Blistering is almost as common as dirt. Reasonable repairs can be made. Find a yard in your area that has a good reputation for fiberglass repair and in particular blister repair. Get a firm quote from them and use this cost as well as anyother things your surveyor may find and negotiate a reduction in the selling price.
Blistering is almost as common as dirt. Reasonable repairs can be made. Find a yard in your area that has a good reputation for fiberglass repair and in particular blister repair. Get a firm quote from them and use this cost as well as anyother things your surveyor may find and negotiate a reduction in the selling price.
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LaDonna Bubak - Planet Catalina
Don't be scared off
Blisters aren't really that big of a deal unless you're lookin gat large ones causing delamination, etc. 60 small blisters? I wish my boat only had 60!!! I had several hundred! It gave me a great bargaining tool & I fixed them myself. They're a snap to fix, though time consuming. There are plenty of good books covering the subject, such as "This Old Boat", etc. Blisters are not structural and do not indicate whether the hull is structurally good. They are almost without fail cosmetic. The only problems you could be facing is if they permeated the fiberglass. Even then you're just looking at grinding them out & letting the hull dry out - hey, since it's winter, you're probably not going to be doing much sailing anyway. You'll definitely want to get a professional survey done anyway, but my guess is he'll say the blisters really aren't a big deal structurally but could bring the asking price down. Use it to your advantage & fix 'em! LaDonna
Blisters aren't really that big of a deal unless you're lookin gat large ones causing delamination, etc. 60 small blisters? I wish my boat only had 60!!! I had several hundred! It gave me a great bargaining tool & I fixed them myself. They're a snap to fix, though time consuming. There are plenty of good books covering the subject, such as "This Old Boat", etc. Blisters are not structural and do not indicate whether the hull is structurally good. They are almost without fail cosmetic. The only problems you could be facing is if they permeated the fiberglass. Even then you're just looking at grinding them out & letting the hull dry out - hey, since it's winter, you're probably not going to be doing much sailing anyway. You'll definitely want to get a professional survey done anyway, but my guess is he'll say the blisters really aren't a big deal structurally but could bring the asking price down. Use it to your advantage & fix 'em! LaDonna
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