Hull Blistering

Drummer Boy · 09-25-2005, 08:38 PM

I am interested in knowing if anyone has been experiencing blisterting of the gelcoat on the hull of their boats on the lake.

I brought my boat in today for storage and the marina called me after cleaning the bottom that I had some serious problems. I went back to the marina and checked it out. Some are worse than others but one spot in particular was all the way through to the fiberglass. It looks like this has been going on prior to this year.

The boat is a 1998 that I bought new. It has never been near any rocks or sandbars and is at a slip all summer.

PROPELLER · 09-26-2005, 08:09 AM

I did have blisters on a previous boat but nothing serious. My present boat had a few, maybe half dozen very small ones at the beginning of the season, will be curious to see whats there when its hauled this season.

With my previous boat I was able to get the manufacturer to pay for some blister repair because it was very new. I never fixed it because Unique Boat Restorations in Moultonborough advised waiting a few years for the blisters to run their course & then they would repair them & apply a barrier coat which at the time many manufacturers recommended if you left the boat in the water for more than 2 weeks at a time. I traded to another boat so they were never repaired.

Many times they are only surface blisters that do not affect the structural integrity of the hull but it sounds like yours could be more serious & given the age of the boat I doubt the manufacturer will contribute to any repairs.

Many of the manufacturers are now using much more advanced gel coat materials that resist blisters much better & manufacturers are standing behind the gel coat with better warranties against blistering because of the success of these better gel coat materials.

You will want to take your boat to a reputable fiberglass repairer to assess your blisters & determine the best course to remedy the problem. Back in 98-99 Unique Boat Restorations was charging $100 a foot to repair the blisters & apply a barrier coat to prevent new ones.

Woodsy · 09-26-2005, 08:43 AM

Blistering has nothing to do with rocks, scratches or sandbars. By its nature, the gelcoat on your boat is somewhat porous. Water gets into the gelcoat and sometimes causes blisters. Thats why most manufacturer's do not recommend a boat to be sitting in the water for more than two weeks. Do to advances in chemicals, blistering is not as common as it once was. It won't be cheap to fix. I don't know of any manufacturer that warrants a hull against blistering.... that said, they might help out with a good will repair on a new (less than 1 yr) boat.

Call Unique Boat Restorations and ask them if they can go look at it...

Woodsy

09-25-2005, 08:38 PM	#1
Drummer Boy Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 40 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Hull Blistering I am interested in knowing if anyone has been experiencing blisterting of the gelcoat on the hull of their boats on the lake. I brought my boat in today for storage and the marina called me after cleaning the bottom that I had some serious problems. I went back to the marina and checked it out. Some are worse than others but one spot in particular was all the way through to the fiberglass. It looks like this has been going on prior to this year. The boat is a 1998 that I bought new. It has never been near any rocks or sandbars and is at a slip all summer.

09-26-2005, 08:09 AM	#2
PROPELLER Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 340 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I did have blisters on a previous boat but nothing serious. My present boat had a few, maybe half dozen very small ones at the beginning of the season, will be curious to see whats there when its hauled this season. With my previous boat I was able to get the manufacturer to pay for some blister repair because it was very new. I never fixed it because Unique Boat Restorations in Moultonborough advised waiting a few years for the blisters to run their course & then they would repair them & apply a barrier coat which at the time many manufacturers recommended if you left the boat in the water for more than 2 weeks at a time. I traded to another boat so they were never repaired. Many times they are only surface blisters that do not affect the structural integrity of the hull but it sounds like yours could be more serious & given the age of the boat I doubt the manufacturer will contribute to any repairs. Many of the manufacturers are now using much more advanced gel coat materials that resist blisters much better & manufacturers are standing behind the gel coat with better warranties against blistering because of the success of these better gel coat materials. You will want to take your boat to a reputable fiberglass repairer to assess your blisters & determine the best course to remedy the problem. Back in 98-99 Unique Boat Restorations was charging $100 a foot to repair the blisters & apply a barrier coat to prevent new ones.

09-26-2005, 08:43 AM	#3
Woodsy Senior Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Weirs Beach Posts: 1,949 Thanks: 80 Thanked 969 Times in 432 Posts	Blistering has nothing to do with rocks, scratches or sandbars. By its nature, the gelcoat on your boat is somewhat porous. Water gets into the gelcoat and sometimes causes blisters. Thats why most manufacturer's do not recommend a boat to be sitting in the water for more than two weeks. Do to advances in chemicals, blistering is not as common as it once was. It won't be cheap to fix. I don't know of any manufacturer that warrants a hull against blistering.... that said, they might help out with a good will repair on a new (less than 1 yr) boat. Call Unique Boat Restorations and ask them if they can go look at it... Woodsy