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1974 and zero blisters, how lucky am I? ???

  • December 24, 2013 4:43 PM
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    Message # 1463178
    Deleted user
    W32 hull 191 factory, 1974. Never had a blister and I am now halued out and barrier coating with interlux Interprotect.
    That's my Christmas present.

    Last modified: December 25, 2013 2:53 AM | Deleted user
  • December 24, 2013 5:45 PM
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    Reply # 1463182 on 1463178
    Anonymous
    Carl Schaefer wrote:W32 hull 191 factory, 1984. Never had a blister and I am now halued out and barrier coating with interlux Interprotect.
    That's my Christmas present.


    Great! 

    Carl, we're hull 251 splashed in 1975.  We found that we had a lot of blisters when we hauled out.  Worried, we popped a few to find out what was going on.  As it turned out, the blisters were only through the paint and a layer of epoxy that was put on the hull back in 2000, but not a single one we could find went all the way into the layup.  The yard basically told us that the barrier coat must have been put on when the hull wasn't properly dried and bubbled up over time.  However, they also told us there was absolutely no structural problem and it was a cosmetic one. 

    I'd be careful putting a barrier coat on without making sure that the hull is dry. 
  • December 25, 2013 3:49 AM
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    Reply # 1463266 on 1463178
    Deleted user
    1976 Built and zero hull blisters.  But the rudder has had to be redone a couple of times with a rash of small bisters last haul-out in April 2013.
    Last modified: December 25, 2013 3:50 AM | Deleted user
  • December 26, 2013 9:26 AM
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    Reply # 1463600 on 1463178
    Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Carl:  Good Luck always counts  for sure... Bud has an observation in his manual that serious blister issues are quite rare in the Westsails but that blistering will occur unless the barrier coat is intact - over time.

    Please review his manual as it has a lot of good info on the issue.

    Jay
  • February 22, 2014 11:34 AM
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    Reply # 1503761 on 1463178
    Deleted user
    Sunrise has a terrifying amt of blisters. I don't know if it happened from soaking in Mexico for many years or if it's also because she was barrier coated improperly. Strangely I did not notice when I bought the boat (in a wild wooded, shady area) but when I got her out in the open and with light shining from a different angle she looked very bumpy, I dug a few out and they go about 3/8" deep. I'm going down to Florida to resume work on her in March. I was thinking epoxy putty?
  • February 22, 2014 6:55 PM
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    Reply # 1503920 on 1463178
    Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Matt:  As for repairs to blisters - I haven't had any experience with the issue so I'd recommend Bud's manual as well as online research.

    Some will want to peel the bottom below the water line and reglass = lots of $$ - I've also heard that drying the hull is very important before repairing. 

    Hope this helps to point you in the right direction 

    Jay

    Last modified: February 22, 2014 6:57 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)
  • February 24, 2014 11:35 AM
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    Reply # 1504862 on 1463178
    Deleted user
    We have had blisters for eighteen years and repaired them one each haul out. Therewere only a couple of blisters when we bought her.  But after moving her to the warm fresh delta water she blistered like the pox.  We had a blister job done in 2008 on Mexico at @$5,000 here they peeled off the gel coat.  In 2012 we hauled to do the Dave King mods and found the hull blistered again.  Unfortunately they had used West Systems with graphite and it was harder than concrete.  It took three days with  a 10" grinder and 20 - 18 grit disc. to get it off

    Here's the method we used:
    1) Coated the hull with two coats of West system epoxy.
    2) Filled and faired the hull with West Systems.
    3) Coated again with two more coats of West Systems.
    3) We applied 5 coats of barrier coat from West Marine,
        can't remember the brand but it is one of the well known     brands. Alternate white/grey colors.
    4) Applied two coats of Pettit Trinidad bottom paint. 

    We hauled a year later and had no blisters for the first time ever

    The owner of Ladds yard doesn't think drying does much good.


    Jim
  • February 24, 2014 4:35 PM
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    Reply # 1505108 on 1463178
    Anonymous member (Administrator)

    I'll jog Jim's memory...

    Here is the mistro himself mixing the Interlux...

    and during application - sans a respirator!

    I'll also add that unless you recoat the epoxy within a short period of time - see the West Systems instructions - you need to wash the blush off the epoxy between coats.

    Jay

    Last modified: February 24, 2014 4:36 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)
  • February 25, 2014 6:32 AM
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    Reply # 1505431 on 1463178
    Anonymous member

    If anybody here wants to contact me about the refurbishing of the bottom (including fixing blisters), please by all means do it.  I will share anything and answer any questions about this job as I did this by myself.  Pictures on my blog.

    T.
  • March 16, 2014 5:02 PM
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    Reply # 1518829 on 1463178
    Deleted user
    I just did blister repair and 5 interlux barrier coats last summer. I saw only a few blisters until I stripped the old bottom paint. There were hundreds of blisters hiding under paint that i dug out and let dry for a couple months. Not sure if i gave it sufficient time since i didn't have a moisture meter, but I'm hoping for the best. I used vinyl ester putty which was way faster than epoxy putty. It's a lot less messy, sands easier, and is approved for underwater. 3M premium marine putty if anyone is curious. The upside of all that work was that the bottom looked beautiful when it was done.