Oh crap, blisters

S

seabew

Member
Joined
Jul 27, 2006
RO Number
22559
Messages
55
Hi All,
During a haul out for a new shaft I found some blisters just below the waterline on one side after removing the paint. Most of them are small about pencil eraser size but in one spot the gel coat is missing in an area several inches long and a few inches wide. I know the best way is a long dry out but how about a quickie repair? I saw something about an epoxy that could be used even on a wet or damp hull. The boat has never been out for more than 2 weeks at a time for the ten years that I have had it. Thoughts?
Thanks
 
Greg,

I just dealt with some blisters myself. My boat is foam-cored and none of my blisters had popped. I opened them up, cleaned them out. Then, I rinsed well with fresh water (the acid that is inside of a blister is water soluble, but will not dry on it's own and needs to be removed before repairs can be made). I let it dry for 24 hours and then applied epoxy (I used Marine-Tex as I'm familiar with it). After another 24 hours I re-painted. After a month in the water I hauled to inspect and all was well. I'll haul again in a couple of months to further inspect.

Note: Wear eye protecting when popping blisters. That acid is nasty.
 
Always felt that any boat that stays in the water year round should be barrier coated. Taking a chance otherwise.
 
Mixman,
Thanks for the reply. Sounds good but I wonder if it might be too brittle for the hull
CRay,
I'm sure that barrier coating is the best way to go . But unless the problem is wide spread I'm not sure that I want to start the process of stripping the entire bottom to barrier coat. After all the boat made it almost 30 years before showing the first blisters!
 
Just fix the blisters that are there and enjoy the boat. The right kind of epoxy is flexible enough for a full barrier coat. The problem is that you need to -- as you said -- not only strip the bottom but force dry the hull for awhile before applying the epoxy. Big job, lots of time out of the water.
 
quote:
Originally posted by CRay

Always felt that any boat that stays in the water year round should be barrier coated. Taking a chance otherwise.

Click to expand...


Barrier coats are only good for so many years.
 
quote:
Originally posted by seabew

Mixman,
Thanks for the reply. Sounds good but I wonder if it might be too brittle for the hull

Click to expand...


Too brittle? Not a chance. This will give you some helpful information:

http://schrothfiberglass.com/BlisterRepairsArticle.htm

And from that article concerning Marine Tex:

"None of the blisters we have repaired, as described below, with Marine Tex has failed. Some of those repairs have soaked in the warm waters of Lake Travis for as long as 24 years."

Do not miss the importance of rinsing the blisters with fresh water. From Petit:

http://www.pettitpaint.com/fileshare/tech_bulletins/GelcoatRepairandPrevention.pdf

. Rinse the entire surface with fresh water to remove the water#8208;soluble contaminants leaching from the blistered areas
and let dry
 
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