[C38] Hull blistering - ouch!

[les]

No one yet.  

	Come on guys, JACE is a great boat.  
	The mast needs work and that is why the low price.  

	The mast pull and paint in the local yard at Driscolls is beyond my
budget.  


Thanks, Les H


On Sun, 2011-07-10 at 11:38 -0600, Max Soto wrote:
> Good to hear that Les!!! 
> Anybody interested on Jace yet????
> 
> Regards, 
> Max
> 
> Sent from my iPod
> 
> On Jul 10, 2011, at 11:10, les <hlhowell at pacbell.net> wrote:
> 
> > We just had JACE hauled and the bottom stripped and repainted.  The
> > surface was much better than I remembered.  I had waited a bit too long,
> > so some additional surface prep was required before the new bottom paint
> > could go on.
> > 
> > I forgot to take photos, but the broker apparently did take some.  The
> > bottom looked great.  Hull Tech did a good job.
> > 
> > Regards,
> > Les H
> > On Tue, 2011-05-03 at 10:57 -0700, les wrote:
> >> JACE had developed a number of very small blisters over patches on her
> >> bottom when we purchased her.  After speaking to many experts, we
> >> decided to leave them alone.  So from 1997-2008, we watched them, and
> >> there was no change.  Then in 2008 at the haulout for the new bottom
> >> paint, we noticed that they had spread and gotten larger.  At that time,
> >> we checked the options again, to see if anything new had come about.
> >> 
> >>    After getting the various options checked, the apparent best solution
> >> for our case was to have the bottom peeled and a new bottom put on.  We
> >> used Hull Tech in San Diego.  The peel only had to go one or two layers,
> >> and the glass below that was really solid.  I saw it after the peel and
> >> prep for the new glass and it was smooth and unblemished.  When I saw
> >> the new bottom, it looked OK, but a bit rough in places.  Then I was
> >> told that a "racing bottom" would have cost 50% more.  With all that
> >> said, the bottom is good, the performance doesn't appear to have been
> >> changed at least for our uses, so we are happy and we got a 10 year
> >> warranty on the new bottom.  The boat is going to have bottom paint this
> >> year, shortly, so we can let you know then what we find, and send
> >> photos.
> >> 
> >>    The general consensus from all the research I did, was that small
> >> infrequent blisters can be fixed by patching, but that in most cases,
> >> unless the mixing of the resins is good, and the coverage of the gelcoat
> >> or other topcoat is totally impervious, it will slow, but not stop the
> >> osmotic process that causes the blisters.  The problem is that
> >> essentially fiberglass is sort of a slow hydrophilic compound,
> >> attracting the water, this causes hydrolysis. There is a good article
> >> here: http://www.zahnisers.com/repair/blister/blister1.htm.  Blisters
> >> are the natural result.  This lead the industry to develop various means
> >> to force the epoxy into the glass mat, such as vacuum bagging.
> >> 
> >>    From what I have read, all boats at some time develop bottom blisters
> >> to some degree.  Some manufacturers have proven remarkable results, but
> >> even those folks have some blisters.  It is part of the environment.
> >> Sailors put the most expensive thing they own in the most corrosive
> >> environment on earth and love to keep it "ship shape."
> >> 
> >>    Catalina has a pretty good reputation in this regard, and our boats are
> >> long lived and reliable due to their attention to such things.
> >> 
> >>    I am sure there are other opinions on what to do.  It is a choice you
> >> will have to make.
> >> 
> >> Regards,
> >> Les Howell
> >> 
> >> On Mon, 2011-05-02 at 20:56 -0400, Marci Brown wrote:
> >>> I just discovered a few blisters on our hull. Would anyone like to
> >>> share their experiences with this dreaded subject matter?
> >>> 
> >>> 
> >>>