Popped Blisters and Pox - can I use it for the season if I paint?

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RonRelyea

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Sep 2, 2009
339
Hunter Vision-32 New Hamburg, NY
I've got boat pox and a number (around 20) of larger fluid filled blisters on my hull below the waterline.
I've decided to get the gelcoat planed off and the fiberglass guy I talked to said it would be OK to just "slap some paint on it" and use it for the season and then peel the gelcoat in October and let it dry out over the winter ...

1) is planing the best approach or maybe soda blasting? (followed by barrier and bottom paint)
2) am I running a risk of doing more damage to my hull by just painting it and using it for 5 months?

Thanks!
 
Chuckbear

Chuckbear

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Jan 3, 2009
821
Marine Trader 34 Where Ever I am
Ron, In all my years in the business, I have never known a boat to sink or self destruct from blisters. Go ahead and sail it. As to repairs, you need to save yourself a lot of heartache and expense. Make sure you are dealing with a reputable company that has lots of experience in repairing osmosis damage. If your guy is giving you an option to blast it or peal it, move on. There should be no question that it should be pealed and if he does not know that you need to look elsewhere. Do your research and be sure you are comfortable with the company you are dealing with. Chuck
 
M

MagothyBoy

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Oct 27, 2009
18
Morgan 321 Arnold, Maryland
I would simply deal with the blisters you see with some 3M filler, paint and go sailing. If you need to deal with the bottom, you can do that in preparation to sell or negotiate on price when you do.

Kevin
 
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RonRelyea

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Sep 2, 2009
339
Hunter Vision-32 New Hamburg, NY
Chuck .. thanks ... they glass guy is a planer/peeler ... the marina owner mentioned blasting ... two different sources. The planer guy did the hull of the boat next to mine on the hard ... the owner of that boat is a racer and his hull looks astounding. He's the one who recommended the planer ...
 
Ken Honeycutt

Ken Honeycutt

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Dec 27, 2005
500
Hunter 36 Chicago
Ron,

I've got a couple hundred small gelcoat blisters on my 2008 H36. After talking to Hunter, my local boatyard and the dealership where I bought the boat, I decided just to sail the boat until after next summer when the warranty gets closer to experation so that any blisters that develop over the next 2 summers will be covered. Just curious - what did your gelcoat guy quote as a price for peeling? My boatyard quoted 15K for peeling and epoxy barrier..I doubt if Hunter will pay for this.
 
Bad Obsession

Bad Obsession

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May 23, 2004
3,319
I'm in the market as were . Colonial Beach
If I had blisters on my 2008 boat I would be LIVID!!!! I would make sure that the manufacturer paid for the repair and made it right since it is under warranty.

Blisters are the Boogeyman. They are mainly cosmetic in nature.

Is this something that you can fill and then barrier coat? It is best to let them dry out for a while (like over the winter) and then fill and do the other steps with them.
 
Ken Honeycutt

Ken Honeycutt

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Dec 27, 2005
500
Hunter 36 Chicago
I've been round and round with Hunter over the blisters. Per the customer service rep, they will only dremel out the blisters and fill them with epoxy..no peeling of the gel coat..I'm pretty PO'd about their solution but I'm not sure what my recourse is. I want the hull peeled and barrier coated since I know Hunters' repair is just a bandage.
 
Ken Honeycutt

Ken Honeycutt

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Dec 27, 2005
500
Hunter 36 Chicago
Steve,

I was hoping that the blisters were just paint, but the fiberglass guy at my boatyard took a look at the blisters and reccommended peeling and barrier coat. He seemed to me to be knowledgeable and I have no reason not to doubt his judgement...then again maybe he see's a profit for the boat yard..who knows?
 
R

RonRelyea

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Sep 2, 2009
339
Hunter Vision-32 New Hamburg, NY
blisters are in the gelcoat

Steve Dion said:
Many blisters are in the paint and not in the gelcoat.
Click to expand
Steve ..wish it were true that it was just the paint. I bought the boat July of last year. When I started scraping the hull this spring ... I find that the one of the PO had done a barrier coat already .. apparently without totally addressing the blister problem, so now the blisters are pushing out the barrier coat. I popped a number of the larger blisters and they were fluid filled and down to the glass mat.

To answer Ken's question, the planer guy is an independent contractor who does work at many marinas. The work is done in place where my boat is pulled and stored at the marina. His quote for just the planing (not including fairing, filling, coating or painting) is only $30 a foot.
 
druid

druid

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Apr 22, 2009
837
Ontario 32 Pender Harbour
I'll go against the grain and say you may not need a peel. The reason I say that is that the reason for the peel is that the fibreglass under the gelcoat has become waterlogged and mushy. But it your boat is only 5 or so years old, I suspect this hasn't happened yet. I know moisture meters are "questionable" but maybe you can get someone to check the moisture level in the hull - if it's good you probably don't need a peel. But you SHOULD pop and seal up the blisters asap, and apply an epoxy sealer "soon" before the hull DOES get waterlogged.

druid
 
kenn

kenn

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Apr 18, 2009
1,271
CL Sandpiper 565 Toronto
... um, are you guys saying that boats built since 2000 are STILL subject to osmosis and blistering? :eek:

(I cannot get my head around a 2008 hull showing blisters after a season or two in sweet water)

I thought this issue had been identified and licked by the manufacturers. Is this not the case?
 
Hermit Scott

Hermit Scott

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Sep 25, 2008
2,288
C30 Event Horizon Port Aransas
Ron-If I had a choice to fix it now in a few weeks and then put her back in the water, or slap some paint on it now, sail it for the season and then take your time drying it out in the winter, I would say that there is no question that the better of the two choices is to sail now, peal it at haul out in winter and in the spring wait until a few weeks before you intend to launch her before finishing the job. Let her have the winter to dry out with the skin off.
 
BobM

BobM

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Jun 10, 2004
3,269
S2 9.2A Winthrop, MA
The boat is a 1990 Vision 32.

If you are going to peel her I'd skip any blister repairs, slap a coat of bottom paint on and sail as much as possible this season. You will likely spend a lot of next season fairing the hull so you better build up a reserve of sailing!
 
sailingdog

sailingdog

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Oct 22, 2008
3,502
- Telstar 28 Buzzards Bay
Get a surveyor to look at them and recommend a fix... and then mail the recommendation to Hunter and tell them you'd like the blisters repaired properly and will take them to arbitration via BoatUS if you have to.
Ken Honeycutt said:
I've been round and round with Hunter over the blisters. Per the customer service rep, they will only dremel out the blisters and fill them with epoxy..no peeling of the gel coat..I'm pretty PO'd about their solution but I'm not sure what my recourse is. I want the hull peeled and barrier coated since I know Hunters' repair is just a bandage.
Click to expand
 
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