BLISTERS - ahhh, HELP!

templerj

templerj

New Member
Dec 8, 2009
27
San Francisco Bay Area
Boat Info
1978 Sea Ray SRV300 Weekender
Engines
Twin gas inboard 350 Chevys
Well, just had my 1978 SRV300 hauled out yesterday for survey (just bought it) and was very unhappy to see all of the blisters on the bottom.

This is my first fiberglass boat, and all I have heard is how bad blisters are. This boat unfortunately was not taken care of before I got it, and I doubt was hauled out for the last 10 or 15 yrs.....

Here is a picture of the blisters (some of them) on the port side...... I don't have a lot of money to have this fixed, and the dry dock the boat is in won't let me do the work myself, so I'm wondering should I be worried about these or ?

Any tips/info is much appreciated. I'll know more after the survey this morning..... pics below..... :huh:
 

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It is unclear from your post but sounds like you bought this boat prior to having it surveyed. If this is not the case and this is a pre-purchase survey you have a lot more options - like walking away. Please clarify so that you can be appropriately advised or chastized.
 
Sorry for not being more clear about this 'situation'.

I got the boat for FREE from the marina I'm berthed in with my other boat in trade for some labor I did there.... As-is, no survey prior to getting the pink slip.

I wouldn't have 'paid' for the boat without a survey but couldn't argue with $FREE$
 
"Free" I think you got had and your labor was not really "free". The marina knew no one would buy it because of all the blisters.

My advice, give it back to the marina, for free.
 
#1 - I haven't been 'had' - the marina hadn't seen the bottom of the boat since it had been berthed there for 10 yrs, so they had no idea of the condition.... they offered the boat in trade for labor and I took it, no warranties implied/etc.... it was just one of those chances you take... I had no idea what to expect.

#2 - The purpose for this post was not to justify how or why I got the boat to anyone, but rather to find out everyone's opinions and possible solutions to the problem at hand, which is the blisters.

So, if anyone has any INFORMATION, please feel free to respond. If you want to question me about how I got the boat, etc - don't reply. Thanks.
 
Have you made sure that the blisters are in the gel coat? Every once in awhile there in the paint? This year typically have fewer blisters but much bigger in diameter. Even if they are gel-coat blisters your boat is a solid glass and very thick hull, if the rest of the boat is solid and worth updating you can probley keep using the boat with this bottom as is without doing any more harm till you can afford to correct it. All boats that are moored in water will have some blisters at some point in there life its just a matter of when.

Good Luck
 
velooce said:
Have you made sure that the blisters are in the gel coat? Every once in awhile there in the paint? This year typically have fewer blisters but much bigger in diameter. Even if they are gel-coat blisters your boat is a solid glass and very thick hull, if the rest of the boat is solid and worth updating you can probley keep using the boat with this bottom as is without doing any more harm till you can afford to correct it. All boats that are moored in water will have some blisters at some point in there life its just a matter of when.

Good Luck
Click to expand...


Thanks velooce! Today I will know more after the survey. It appears that the blisters/pox are only in the bottom paint but not sure at this point. I want to find out from the surveyor if we do bottom paint, put back in water for a couple yrs til next haul out, if they will get worse or if its okay and we can deal with the problem at that time..... will see what he has to say?! Thanks for the feedback. Love your boat by the way!
 
Those are simple osmotic blisters. They are in the fiberglass, not in the paint. Mash on one of them and it will squirt water.

The fix is pretty easy work, unfortunately, you have a lot of it to do. Due to its neglect and condition, the bottom needs to be stripped to bare gelcoat, up to the waterline. Be thinking sand or soda blasting. Every blister has to be opened by grinding out the blister. If you sand blast the bottom, an experienced guy with the sand blaster can open up the blisters with the sand blast nozzle as the bottom is blasted. Once open, the fiberglass must be allowed to dry thoroughly, so it is going to be a time consuming repair. Once dry, the blister can be filled........very small ones with resin/cavisil, larger ones may require building up with a layer or so of glass cloth. When the filled blisters cure, the bottom can faired with resin/cavisil or a suitable marine filler.

Next, this boat is not vinylester resin, so you need to barrier coat the bottom to seal it with an epoxy primer which will stop a lot of future blistering. Finally, re-paint the bottom and go boating.

Here is a tip.........open only the blisters. Don't go nuts with a grinder or planer. The idea is to only remove the blister and leave as much of the solid surface as you can. That way smoothing off of fairing the bottom to its original shape will be a lot easier.

If you are handy and don't mind work, I'd move the boat to a do-it-yourself yard or work a deal where you are so you can do the work yourself. Paying a boatyard for this big a blister job is going to turn a free boat a very expensive one since there will be just a few hundred $ in materials involved in a job that is almost all labor.


Take your time and do it right. This is one of those boat repairs where cutting corners or short cuts trying to hurry up the drying process only means a do-over.

Free is good...........enjoy your project.
 
templerj said:
#1 - I haven't been 'had' - the marina hadn't seen the bottom of the boat since it had been berthed there for 10 yrs, so they had no idea of the condition.... they offered the boat in trade for labor and I took it, no warranties implied/etc.... it was just one of those chances you take... I had no idea what to expect.

#2 - The purpose for this post was not to justify how or why I got the boat to anyone, but rather to find out everyone's opinions and possible solutions to the problem at hand, which is the blisters.

So, if anyone has any INFORMATION, please feel free to respond. If you want to question me about how I got the boat, etc - don't reply. Thanks.
Click to expand...


Fair enough - didn't mean to offend. I guess the boat wasn't necessarily free as you have lots of work and expense to overcome.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
 
FWebster is right on target with his description of your blister problem. Couple of things; 1. The liquid inside your blisters is actually a very mild acid that smells like vinegar when you pop them - be sure to wear eye protection if your do this yourself. 2. Before you begin filling the voids left behind from the blisters, there is a neutralizing solution you should apply to stabilize the glass. 3. It will take a very long time to dry out - you need a couple of months of hot, dry summer weather to get the moisture level down or you need to apply mechanical heat and dehumidification to the affected areas. Interprotect epoxy products work well on this type of repair.
 
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What marina if I could ask JT? I am also curious as to what labor was traded. It may be a good deal if you can move the boat and take your time repairing it after it is sandblasted...
 
fwebster said:
Those are simple osmotic blisters. They are in the fiberglass, not in the paint. Mash on one of them and it will squirt water.

The fix is pretty easy work, unfortunately, you have a lot of it to do. Due to its neglect and condition, the bottom needs to be stripped to bare gelcoat, up to the waterline. Be thinking sand or soda blasting. Every blister has to be opened by grinding out the blister. If you sand blast the bottom, an experienced guy with the sand blaster can open up the blisters with the sand blast nozzle as the bottom is blasted. Once open, the fiberglass must be allowed to dry thoroughly, so it is going to be a time consuming repair. Once dry, the blister can be filled........very small ones with resin/cavisil, larger ones may require building up with a layer or so of glass cloth. When the filled blisters cure, the bottom can faired with resin/cavisil or a suitable marine filler.

Next, this boat is not vinylester resin, so you need to barrier coat the bottom to seal it with an epoxy primer which will stop a lot of future blistering. Finally, re-paint the bottom and go boating.

Here is a tip.........open only the blisters. Don't go nuts with a grinder or planer. The idea is to only remove the blister and leave as much of the solid surface as you can. That way smoothing off of fairing the bottom to its original shape will be a lot easier.

If you are handy and don't mind work, I'd move the boat to a do-it-yourself yard or work a deal where you are so you can do the work yourself. Paying a boatyard for this big a blister job is going to turn a free boat a very expensive one since there will be just a few hundred $ in materials involved in a job that is almost all labor.


Take your time and do it right. This is one of those boat repairs where cutting corners or short cuts trying to hurry up the drying process only means a do-over.

Free is good...........enjoy your project.
Click to expand...

Frank, THANK YOU for this helpful information - it is much appreciated! And I agree with you - doing it myself is the only way to go, I would imagine this can get very expensive to have someone else do. The yard where the boat is currently at dry dock said they can sand blast it for us, and they know how to blast it so as to open the blisters as you mentioned...... we'll see what the surveyor says today
 
2K WINGIN' IT said:
What marina if I could ask JT? I am also curious as to what labor was traded. It may be a good deal if you can move the boat and take your time repairing it after it is sandblasted...
Click to expand...


Ken, I would really like to tell you the name of the marina, but unfortunately there are a lot of 'politics' involved with this deal, so I can't really say. Sorry about that, hope that you understand. :(
 
templerj said:
Ken, I would really like to tell you the name of the marina, but unfortunately there are a lot of 'politics' involved with this deal, so I can't really say. Sorry about that, hope that you understand. :(
Click to expand...

Just trying to get an idea where you are. How about we try this....what city are you living in or what city is the boat in? :huh:
 
C-SIDE said:
Fair enough - didn't mean to offend. I guess the boat wasn't necessarily free as you have lots of work and expense to overcome.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
Click to expand...


Not a problem, I just felt like everyone was more focused on how I got the boat and incinuating that the marina gave me a piece of junk (which it may be, but I am confident they had no idea about the blisters). And yes, I have a TON of work and expense ahead, so it really isn't 'free' i guess... LOL..... Guess I'm just anxious about these and lashed out.... thanks for understanding!
 
2K WINGIN' IT said:
Just trying to get an idea where you are. How about we try this....what city are you living in or what city is the boat in? :huh:
Click to expand...


Ken - just out of curiousity, where is your boat at? SF Bay Area I think your profile says? Whereabouts? Nr Emeryville?
 
templerj said:
Ken - the boat is in Emeryville.
Click to expand...

I picked mine up in Alameda but it was slipped in the delta since new. I have it in Antioch now in a covered "fresher" water berth.
 
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