Thanks for the infomation regarding the worn rudder. It was helpful. But now after futher investigation I've found Blisters under the existing bottom paint! They seem to be small, measureing 1/4" to 3/8" dia. But there lots of them. I'm thinking about grinding all of them down and using the WEST SYSTEM epoxy barrier coat on the hull below the waterline. Has anyone used this before?
And where is the proper waterline on the CD25? I have two! Guess the fellow that had the boat before me did'nt take her out of the water, and she got heavy. So he just painted on another waterline!
But I really don't know which is the correct one. Again, if there are any plans for the boat I would love to a copy.
Thanks, and happy sailing.
Rflamore@yahoo.com
Blisters
Moderator: Jim Walsh
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Ken Cave
Re: Blisters
There are blisters-and there are BLISTERS!! If you are on the hard, you might let the hull dry out for a few days and see if these babies are blisters behind paint, and not under the gelcoat, or worse-in the glass itself.
If you are able to pop them, then squeeze a liquid that smells like acetone, then you have a blister problem that is under the gelcoat. If not, you might be lucky and it must might be paint blisters.
When I had my 28 CD painted, we found six blisters which were just under the gelcoat and easily ground down and patched-about a fifteen minute job, as they were not in the glass as yet.
Hope this helps
Ken Cave
bcave@whidbey.net
If you are able to pop them, then squeeze a liquid that smells like acetone, then you have a blister problem that is under the gelcoat. If not, you might be lucky and it must might be paint blisters.
When I had my 28 CD painted, we found six blisters which were just under the gelcoat and easily ground down and patched-about a fifteen minute job, as they were not in the glass as yet.
Hope this helps
Ken Cave
bcave@whidbey.net
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Ken Cave
Re: Blisters
Follow up on blisters! If you got time and are interested in the most useful site I have found on the internet, try www.yachtsurvey.com/
David Pascoe, a yacht surveyor out of Florida, has written some of the most wonderful articles on boats, including engines, gel cracks, blister problems (Avoiding the Blister Blues), and surveys on boats he would not even put into his bathtub!
Great reading-will keep you at your computer for hours!!
Ken Cave
bcave@whidbey.net
David Pascoe, a yacht surveyor out of Florida, has written some of the most wonderful articles on boats, including engines, gel cracks, blister problems (Avoiding the Blister Blues), and surveys on boats he would not even put into his bathtub!
Great reading-will keep you at your computer for hours!!
Ken Cave
bcave@whidbey.net
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Jim Umbreit
Re: Blisters
After re-glassing the rudder on my '77 CD25 (see Worn Rudder thread on 6/20), I started stipping all the bottom paint from the hull. The starboard side of hull was in excellent condition. The port side had large patches of blisters as you described, more like patches of rash than blisters. The boat had not be in the water for over eight years.
Sanded the blisters with a palm sander and 150 grit and sanded right through the gel coat. I sanded throught the gel coat several times on the port side and not just where the blisters were found. The gel coat on the port side was incredibly thin. Yet the starboard side was healthy.
I am in the process of sealing the entire rudder and hull with West epoxy. The have a great mini-book (pamphlet) on the process and it really is the easy part of the job. The hard part is stripping the bottom paint and prepping the hull.
This is the third boat (different manufacturers) I've stripped and sealed. I've seen blisters but have never seen such a thin gel coat, even more strange that it's only on one side of the hull.
lumbreit@mcw.edu
Sanded the blisters with a palm sander and 150 grit and sanded right through the gel coat. I sanded throught the gel coat several times on the port side and not just where the blisters were found. The gel coat on the port side was incredibly thin. Yet the starboard side was healthy.
I am in the process of sealing the entire rudder and hull with West epoxy. The have a great mini-book (pamphlet) on the process and it really is the easy part of the job. The hard part is stripping the bottom paint and prepping the hull.
This is the third boat (different manufacturers) I've stripped and sealed. I've seen blisters but have never seen such a thin gel coat, even more strange that it's only on one side of the hull.
lumbreit@mcw.edu
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Ryan Turner
Barrier Coat
I don't know a lot about barrier coating but I did run into the following information about it. Check out the link and decide for yourself.
rturnertec@aol.com
rturnertec@aol.com
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matt cawthorne
Re: Blisters
Rene',
Try using the search feature of this board. There have been many postings in the past on blisters, 'pox', and barrier coating. I had similar problems to yours back in '93. I barrier coated with West products everywhere except at the waterline. It turns out that my waterline was higher than the original painting (extra anchors, chain, refrigeration, larger batteries, tools etc.) Since the boat sat lower in the water a few blisters appeared where the West system was not. I then went back and did the thin strip, including 4 (or was it 6?) above the true waterline. The boat has been blister free for 7 years. One thing that I would do differently is sand after the barrier coat is down. Then I would go back with two layers of copper loaded epoxy. That way you can use a minimum of ablative paint and keep your total paint thickness small. If you wear through the ablative material your copper layer will protect from barnacles.
If your blisters are not bad you can wait until the winter and then let the boat dry properly before barrier coating.
Good luck,
Matt
mcawthor@bellatlantic.net
Try using the search feature of this board. There have been many postings in the past on blisters, 'pox', and barrier coating. I had similar problems to yours back in '93. I barrier coated with West products everywhere except at the waterline. It turns out that my waterline was higher than the original painting (extra anchors, chain, refrigeration, larger batteries, tools etc.) Since the boat sat lower in the water a few blisters appeared where the West system was not. I then went back and did the thin strip, including 4 (or was it 6?) above the true waterline. The boat has been blister free for 7 years. One thing that I would do differently is sand after the barrier coat is down. Then I would go back with two layers of copper loaded epoxy. That way you can use a minimum of ablative paint and keep your total paint thickness small. If you wear through the ablative material your copper layer will protect from barnacles.
If your blisters are not bad you can wait until the winter and then let the boat dry properly before barrier coating.
Good luck,
Matt
mcawthor@bellatlantic.net
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Jeff Schmoyer
Re: Blisters
Jim,Jim Umbreit wrote: I've seen blisters but have never seen such a thin gel coat, even more strange that it's only on one side of the hull.
Funny you should say that.
I have the exact same projecting going on my 78 CD 27 and what do you know...
the Starboard side is essentially pristine (one quarter sized blister and two small "rash patches" that don't penetrate through to the mat).
The port side, the length of the keel to the rudder, is about 50% "rash", with pin hole to pencil eraser size pitting. My sanding job also scuffed almost all of these down to mat.
I can only imagine the circumstances which lead to this...one side of
the shop colder than the other? One gel coat guy lazier than the other?
Anyway, since blister anywhere on the boat goes deeper than the gelcoat, andactual hull, where I've drilled thruhulls, is in wonderful shape, it's really not a big deal.
This weekend I filled all the rash patches with West thickened w/ alumimum and low density filler. Am going to do 5 coats of West Marine barrier (need to save some $ vs. west!) next weekend.
Good luck!
Jeff
jeff.schmoyer@iff.com