Ozing Blue Goo

[John]

It's my first year with A CD. She was pulled about a week ago and today on inspection I noticed and touched ( ugh) tiny spots of ozing blue goo. Both on the hull and keel. Should I be alarmed?

Thanks for your help

John J

[Larry DeMers]

I understand that these are from improperly cured resin, which forms a little pocket just under the gel coat's layer. They usually appear in blisters on the hull or keel, and are evident when the blisters are punctured.
The seriousness depends on how large in diam. these are, as well as how deeply they have gone. Yes it is a problem..but how serious depends on the size, depth and number of blisters.
I do not have personal experience with this problem at all, so this is from reading only. Others may be more informative I hope..

Cheers!

Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer
Cape Dory 30

It's my first year with A CD. She was pulled about a week ago and today on inspection I noticed and touched ( ugh) tiny spots of ozing blue goo. Both on the hull and keel. Should I be alarmed?

Thanks for your help

John J

demers@sgi.com

[John J]

Thanks for the reply Larry. The sizes are small.... also haveing heard of these blisters, I looked and felt... doesn't really seem to be any "raised" blisters... just ozing blue goo

J

[Larry DeMers]

I would maybe get a book on blisters..each one has to be opened, cleaned and dried. Then barrier coated..or these critters will get larger -is my understanding.
Gougeon Brothers, makers of West System Epoxies, and other epoxy companies have some excellent material out on all types of repairs with their products. I use them and love the products.

Cheers!

Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer
Cape Dory 30

Thanks for the reply Larry. The sizes are small.... also haveing heard of these blisters, I looked and felt... doesn't really seem to be any "raised" blisters... just ozing blue goo

J

demers@sgi.com

[Dana Arenius]

John,

Please provide the model, year, the number of places, their size and location.....

Dana



darenius@aol.com

[Ken Cave]

If you are really interested in blisters, there is one great site that has great articles on this subject, as well as boat surveys, do's and don'ts, and other great stuff that will knock your socks off!

Try www.yachtsurvey.com for some interesting reading. Take a look at what David Pascoe (the author) says about a particular Hunter that he recently surveyed. Then you will know we really LOVE our Cape Dory's!!

Ken Cave



bcave@whidbey.net

[chuck yahrling]

It's my first year with A CD. She was pulled about a week ago and today on inspection I noticed and touched ( ugh) tiny spots of ozing blue goo. Both on the hull and keel. Should I be alarmed?

Thanks for your help

John J

Sounds like this may be the same thing as the so-called "purple-ooze" you'll see a lot of posts about in our archives. My CD-27 had the same when I bought it. The surveyor scared me into thinking it might be some product of saltwater in the keel cavity, but when I drilled into the weep holes I found nothing but good 'glass. They were mostly in the keel and a few ooze streaks came from the deadrise, but none were out of the bottom-painted area.

Based on a lot of web searching, I've come to the conclusion that the "ooze" is a by-product of saltwater ozmosis into unreacted resin, and is pretty innocuous. So before you put a bunch of gouges in your hull and keel like I did, let the boat dry out over the winter and then slowly excavate a weep hole with a 1/4 to 1/2" drill bit and see what you find. With luck, the discolored stuff will be gone in the first 1/8 inch of removed 'glass. If so, fill with epoxie paste, sand, and bottom paint.



cyahrlin@cisco.com

[Kurt]

In the fall of 1994 I removed all of the gel coat beneath the water line of my 1985 CD26. I used a 7" 2000rpm disk sander and 24 grit sandpaper. What a job! As I sanded through the gel coat I exposed hundreds of little blisters that bled blue liquid. The blue color comes from cobalt which is part of the chemical make up of styrene resin. The following spring I coated the hull with about 4 gallons of System 3 epoxy resin. Haven't had a blister since.



kjlgpw@aol.com

[Larry DeMers]

I suspect that Kurt downplays the work he went through here, and the work involved. I congratulate you on doing this yourself. It's good for self-confidence and general know-how too.
Can you describe how you removed the blue-goo..acetone wash? You dried it over winter too I believe..was the area covered? Did you use heaters? How deep were they?
Boy, I hope that this is one problem I do not get personal experience at. But it's good to know what is involved.

Cheers!

Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer
Cape Dory 30 ~~~Buried on Lake Superior~~~~;^)

In the fall of 1994 I removed all of the gel coat beneath the water line of my 1985 CD26. I used a 7" 2000rpm disk sander and 24 grit sandpaper. What a job! As I sanded through the gel coat I exposed hundreds of little blisters that bled blue liquid. The blue color comes from cobalt which is part of the chemical make up of styrene resin. The following spring I coated the hull with about 4 gallons of System 3 epoxy resin. Haven't had a blister since.

demers@sgi.com

[M. R. Bober]

Protect yourself. The goo is tough on skin and worse in the eyes.
Mitchell Bober
RESPITE
CD330

[sloopjohnl]

been there, done that, threw the t-shirts away! makes sanding the bottom paint off a walk in the park.
did not encounter the "blue goo" though, just thousands of blisters - pox!

In the fall of 1994 I removed all of the gel coat beneath the water line of my 1985 CD26. I used a 7" 2000rpm disk sander and 24 grit sandpaper. What a job! As I sanded through the gel coat I exposed hundreds of little blisters that bled blue liquid. The blue color comes from cobalt which is part of the chemical make up of styrene resin. The following spring I coated the hull with about 4 gallons of System 3 epoxy resin. Haven't had a blister since.

[Kurt]

I sanded about 8 to 10 hours a week (I live 10 minutes from the boatyard) for a month or more. I worked in 2 foot square areas...then would come back 24 hours later to find the blue liquid had leaked to the surface...but once the gelcoat was removed and the hull washed...no more blue...the blistering seemed to lie between the gelcoat and the layer of fiberglass mat immediately behind the gelcoat. The viscosity of the blue ooze seemed to be that of water...I suspect it's the same water that penetrates the hull to form the blisters in the first place. The final cleaning was to power wash the hull with lots of plain water and then let it dry over the Michigan winter...outside with no heaters...5 months later I had the boat moved inside to do the epoxy coating. Even though I used epoxy as my barrier coat, I've read that vinylester resin has superior MEE (moisture exclusion effectiveness) but is trickier to use.



kjlgpw@aol.com

[sloopjohnl]

eleven years later and i haven't had another blister. six rolled-on coats of slightly thickened west system epoxy and two coats of barrier
additive got my ty back in shape. sure wish peel-away had been around then!

I sanded about 8 to 10 hours a week (I live 10 minutes from the boatyard) for a month or more. I worked in 2 foot square areas...then would come back 24 hours later to find the blue liquid had leaked to the surface...but once the gelcoat was removed and the hull washed...no more blue...the blistering seemed to lie between the gelcoat and the layer of fiberglass mat immediately behind the gelcoat. The viscosity of the blue ooze seemed to be that of water...I suspect it's the same water that penetrates the hull to form the blisters in the first place. The final cleaning was to power wash the hull with lots of plain water and then let it dry over the Michigan winter...outside with no heaters...5 months later I had the boat moved inside to do the epoxy coating. Even though I used epoxy as my barrier coat, I've read that vinylester resin has superior MEE (moisture exclusion effectiveness) but is trickier to use.

[Rene']

In the spring of 2000 piror to launching "Gromet" our CD25, I found lots of small blisters. I stripped the rest of the paint off with the West Marine paint remover. Then I constructed a large tent (boat shed) over her. I let her dry out over the summer and this winter. This spring we intend to apply the new bottom epoxy, either System 3, or Interlux barrier 2000/2001. I also found that the rudders leading edge has started to separate, and needs repair. I guess I'll to remove the rudder shoe at the keel to get the rudder off. I plan on posting photos of the whole job.

In the fall of 1994 I removed all of the gel coat beneath the water line of my 1985 CD26. I used a 7" 2000rpm disk sander and 24 grit sandpaper. What a job! As I sanded through the gel coat I exposed hundreds of little blisters that bled blue liquid. The blue color comes from cobalt which is part of the chemical make up of styrene resin. The following spring I coated the hull with about 4 gallons of System 3 epoxy resin. Haven't had a blister since.