[Public-list] blister repair

[Randy Katz]

Greetings, Larry,

    I've done this on my boat.  I can't tell you how much anxiety I had
about this as a new boat owner-- thought my boat was rotting away, it'd sink
in the first big blow.  In nearly every case, though, this is a simple and
minor task to repair, and it doesn't indicate that the hull is "bad." I now
understand that having been through it.

I grinded out the blisters using a grinder with sandpaper disk (coarse).  I
went through the outer layer of fiberglass (mat?) to the woven layer-- it
was about an eighth of an inch or so.

    On my 1967 boat it appeared that whomever laid up that first layer (the
layer that went against the gel coat inside the hull mold) did a pretty
uneven job of wetting it out.  I understand that the quality of layup varies
quite a bit from vessel to vessel, perhaps depending upon the diligence of
the college kids they'd hired that summer.  (See Daniel Spurr's book HEART
OF GLASS for intriguing details regarding the earliest fiberglass boats:
http://www.amazon.com/Heart-Glass-Fiberglass-Boats-Built/dp/0071435468/ref=s
r_1_2/t/102-1555575-9954530?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1179873147&sr=1-2)

    It's recommended to wash that area with hot soapy water and let dry as
long as possible.  I rinsed with fresh water, dried for a few days.

    West System epoxy with filler material-- I forget the number, but I used
the kind that was higher adhesive level. (They have a very good booklet on
doing exactly this kind of repair-- costs $3 or so).  I filled leaving a
 slight indentation.  Added a second, finer coat (thinner) later, and sanded
a little.  The stuff sets up like rock so being careful first time around is
worth it.  Keeping sanding to a minimum is worthwhile for health reasons.

    Don't even think about doing this work without a good mask/respirator--
the fiberglass dust and, especially, the epoxy and solvents, are very bad
stuff.

    I applied bottom paint over that.  The repairs have held perfectly for 6
years so far with no sign of deterioration.

Hope this helps,

Randy Katz
#249
Seattle/Bellingham WA

on 5/22/07 1:49 PM, public-list-request at lists.alberg30.org at
public-list-request at lists.alberg30.org wrote:

> Message: 6
> Date: Tue, 22 May 2007 12:26:45 EDT
> From: LDGCYBERNET at aol.com
> Subject: Re: [Public-list] Blisters
> To: public-list at alberg30.org
> Message-ID: <c4f.15ceec63.338473c5 at aol.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
> 
> We have a few quarter size blisters on the bottom. Any suggestions regarding
> repair.
> 
> Larry
> #276



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