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Blisters

  • June 17, 2011 7:39 PM
    Quote
    Message # 624371
    Anonymous member
    Hi Bud,
    We are doing a major refit on our K32 Daemon in Thailand at present (warning to everyone - check your stainless fitting - we were alarmed at the number that had stress cracks & crevice corrosion and have replaced nearly everything) and have some blisters on the hull bottom. We had a few before we left NZ 5 years ago, which we repaired as suggested in the Westsail manual. These have not recurred, so that fix seems to have worked.

    The blisters seem to have penetrated the gelcoat (which is badly crazed), a layer of chopped mat and the first layer of woven mat, but no deeper (they seem almost to be concentrated on three horizontal lines along the hull, so I'm wondering if it is a layup thing with the placing of mat widths). We ground them out about 2 months ago and they have dried out well without any seepage.

     My question now is whether you have any updates on this method before we do the same thing and then give the whole hull beneath the waterline several coats of epoxy to seal it off before priming, undercoating & antifouling.

    Thanks,
    Jill


  • June 18, 2011 3:19 PM
    Quote
    Reply # 624660 on 624371
    Anonymous member

    Jill Upchurch wrote:

    Hi Bud,
    We are doing a major refit on our K32 Daemon in Thailand at present (warning to everyone - check your stainless fitting - we were alarmed at the number that had stress cracks & crevice corrosion and have replaced nearly everything) and have some blisters on the hull bottom. We had a few before we left NZ 5 years ago, which we repaired as suggested in the Westsail manual. These have not recurred, so that fix seems to have worked.

    The blisters seem to have penetrated the gelcoat (which is badly crazed), a layer of chopped mat and the first layer of woven mat, but no deeper (they seem almost to be concentrated on three horizontal lines along the hull, so I'm wondering if it is a layup thing with the placing of mat widths). We ground them out about 2 months ago and they have dried out well without any seepage.

     My question now is whether you have any updates on this method before we do the same thing and then give the whole hull beneath the waterline several coats of epoxy to seal it off before priming, undercoating & antifouling.

    Thanks,
    Jill



    Jill,

    I don't have any new ideas on taking care of the blisters, beyond what you have already done.  The only concern is to try to get the laminate dry before applying any epoxy.  Difficult if you only have a short time hauled out.
  • June 18, 2011 9:56 PM
    Quote
    Reply # 624942 on 624371
    Anonymous member
    Thanks, Bud. We've been hauled out for 3 months now, most of the time in a weatherproof tent in the yard ( for the new Awlcraft topsides paint job) with temperatures over 100 degrees F most of the time, so she has dried out really well. Hell, I'm desiccated as well! 

    All the best,
    Jill

  • June 19, 2011 11:13 AM
    Quote
    Reply # 625199 on 624371
    Deleted user
      Jill, we saw the same with Satori.  We had a "band" about 18 inches starting about 12 inches below the water line. After drying out for two months we used West Systems 2000/2001. We put 5 coats below the waterline and 2 additional coats over the "band". Then we used a hard bottem paint (VC Offshore). When Randy (new owner) hauled the boat and stripped off the hard paint he reported no blisters. Ken 
  • June 20, 2011 5:21 AM
    Quote
    Reply # 625720 on 624371
    Anonymous member
    Bud,

    I have a couple of blisters too, but I have no plans to go up on the hard for more than a week in the foreseeable future.   What's the best course of action?

    Leave them alone?

    Sand them down, then seal without prolonged drying time?

    Thanks,
    Dick
  • July 12, 2011 4:03 PM
    Quote
    Reply # 651730 on 624371
    Anonymous member
    My boat seems to have some small blisters which appear to be within the gelcoat itself, i.e. between two layers of gelcoat. Is this how blisters start, or is this a different phenomenon?

    Frank
  • July 13, 2011 10:52 AM
    Quote
    Reply # 653488 on 651730
    Anonymous member
    Frank Scalfano wrote:My boat seems to have some small blisters which appear to be within the gelcoat itself, i.e. between two layers of gelcoat. Is this how blisters start, or is this a different phenomenon?

    Frank

    I have seen these small blisters appear in the gelcoat.  Don't know why, but they are probably just a cosmetic problem.
  • July 17, 2011 8:59 AM
    Quote
    Reply # 656985 on 624371
    Deleted user
    Dick, the boat accross the dock from us tried that and the repair failed. He then felt like he had to haul and dry which he did.  He said he wished he had just left them alone because they had not changed for the three previous years before the "fix". Ken
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