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Hello all,
A minor problem, relative to the East coast boats and boats in the islands dealing with Mathew…
But: Blue Moon is out of the water and I was truly disheartened to see the number of blisters. It seems to me they cropped up in the last few months, because when I have dove the boat prior to a few months ago, they were not bad. Anyway, the plan is to break them open and let them drain for a couple of weeks while I paint the hull (topsides). Then fill, fair, prime with Primocon (Interlux) and apply new bottom paint. That is all I can manage at this point. Next time we are out for bottom work, I plan to soda blast, let sit for couple of weeks, apply 11 coats of Interprotect 2000 epoxy (Interlux), then bottom paint. Hopefully this will hold the blisters at bay for a bit.
Any comments or suggestions?
PS> Removing the boat from the water was interesting. We wound up going in bow first, with the forestay removed and stowed. Even at that, we could not get the straps to the aft sling points, but it was close. I wound up diving the boat, manually positioning the aft strap above the prop, against the hull, up against the forward edge of the strut, and lifted the boat. Worked ok, but harrowing for me. This was a rather shortened Travel lift, but with plenty of capacity. The fact it was short contributed to the problem. Should be easier putting the boat back in the water.
David
Blue Moon -
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I had blisters on my boat. Thousands but most relatively small +/- 1/2″ but a few almost quarter sized. Fortunately all very shallow, just under the gel coat. After hours and hours (and hours) of reading dozens of opinions and “expert” recommendations I decided to shave the bottom instead of soda blasting and was very happy with the results. Only took a few hours and left a really good, smooth surface for sealing. Saved many hours of filling and fairing.
If you plan to do the job in NE Florida I have a guy that I can recommend.
Skip
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Skip
What do you mean by sjaving the bottom, I have a small handfull of small blisters and was thinking of addressing them this winter when I pull her for bottom paint. I read all those articles and am more confused than before I read them, they are all under 1 1/2-in diam. And liok to be shallow.
Paul Cygnus #80
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Thatâs good poop, Skip. I am assuming that soda blasting is much cheaper than shaving, but maybe a false economy if the filling and fairing is taken into account. Buddy of mine had his Southern Cross 28 soda blasted and was happy with the resultsâ¦but, it did result in a lot of filling and fairing. And I have to wonder if he is more susceptible to a re attack of the blisters than if he had had the shaving done.
Can you give me a sense of how much shaving costs? I have no idea, but assumed it was astronomical. Once shaved, do you simply start back with barrier coats, or do you have to build up the bottom with gel coat or something else? How long ago did you have this work done, and have you had any blisters since? Do you see how ignorant I am on this process?
Work continues on Blue Moon. Primed the hull sides today, sand tomorrow, and topcoat with Oyster White Awlcraft Friday, if all goes well. Next week, the blue boot stripe and sheer stripe.
David
Blue Moon, in NW Florida
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Also called peeling on the mainland as well but some do call is shaving. The whole process is a peel and seal. Catchy name eh?
The good news, I had mine done about five years ago and so far not a single blister. The bad news, I only launched about three months ago.
The peeling left a very smooth surface, barely a ripple when the guy was done. You use a tool like a very heavy duty power planer. The depth of cut can be adjusted to take off more or less depending on how bad and how deep the blisters go.
At least one article I read by one of the many “experts” claimed peeling was much better than soda blasting as it didn’t make all the pits and break the cloth structure as much. Of course just about every article I read differed with the one before so who knows. I even read one that said it’s a waste to do a bottom sealing job unless you take off at least three layers of glass and build it all back up from scratch.
Cost. I just paid for the whole process, peel and seal so don’t have a breakdown. However, it only took him a few hours, maybe 3-4 if I recall so if you wanted just that part done and the rest DIY I’m making a wild guess at under $1000. I can ask the guy if you like. He’s coming to finish some more work for me. I pulled off the eyebrow and he filled the screw holes and matched the gel coat so they’re almost invisible.
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All,I bought a marine shaver pro – forget the price, but it’s easy to find on Google, and a hepa vacuum. My boatwright used it and charged me about $1500 to strip the hull to bare laminate. We then let it sit for 6 months and only recently began to repair the laminate with sections of new biaxial and epoxy filler. Total bottom job isn’t cheap.
With humility and gratitude.EwanAttachments:
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Sweeping the bottom with soda, sand or any other media won’t penetrate shouldn’t penetrate the exterior laminate, usually the gel coat. This is done to remove all the exterior coatings. Often it is also when you find out you have laminate issue such as blisters.
The type and depth of the blister determines how much if any laminate needs to be removed. If they are in the laminate and not in the gel coat the peel depth will correspond to the schedule in the laminate where the failure resides. The area is built back up with glass mat and resin, filled sanded and readied for paint.
Chuck
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