Blisters
Well, as usual, Don pretty much has hit it on the head when it comes to the process, but there's a practical side to the issue of blister repair. Some of Don's methodology, although exactly accurate, might pose a problem from the standpoint of time, yard cost -- given whether you can set you boat on the hard someplace that doesn't charge you -- and how long you want to be landlocked. Yards here in Texas charge about $6,000 to $7,000 to totally strip the old gelcoat off the bottom, repair the major blisters, let the boat sit for awhile to maybe dry out as much as it can and then work their way back up to the point where they can put on the bottom paint. It could cost more or less depending on the problem. I've got a 23-year-old boat and I've got blisters and below-the-waterline gel coat problems that I just manage. I don't have any "sucking chest wound" type blisters, but it just becomes part of your annual costs and something you want to watch. If you are having these kinds of problems, you might want to haul your boat, clean off the bottom and then kinda map out and prioritize the worst problems in order to keep an eye on them and then work on them when you can. Good luck.
