blisters....to fix or not to fix, that is the question

[mjohnh]

Just took delivery on 3005 28 TE about 3 weeks ago........knew that there were many blisters "pencil eraser in size". Nice boat and really like it....I have read conflicting articles on the www about this.......many talk about how to fix.......not many talk about whether they SHOULD be fixed........Is it only a cosmetic issue.....or.....is it a potential real problem........should it be addressed now...or watch and wait?

Any thoughts on this will be appreciated....I want to do the correct thing, but I do not want to be sold an expensive service that is only addressing a cosmetic problem all below the water line......

[Chris & Dale]

mjohnh,
What did your surveyor have to say? Above or below the water line? If on the freeboard, is the hull painted or gelcoat? Are your sure they're actually blisters? Just went through a bit of a deal w/a friend above the waterline where it had been painted about 5 years ago. The guy who painted it said it was blisters, but it really looks like there might have been some moisture on the hull when painted. Anyway, more information is needed for sure, and pictures are always an aid. Good Luck!

[mjohnh]

Chris & Dale.....thanks for the reply........the surveyor said ....almost verbatim......."hundreds of small blisters the size of pencil erasers"...below the water ling......nothing above the water line....the hull is a dark blue and is the original finish......I believe it is a "gel coat" finish.........there are many articles on the web about how to do it.......etc.....but, not many about WHETHER it should be done in all cases......I read one article which said, essentially, it is a great tempest in a tea pot.......nothing bad will happen if you just live with your blisters.......these are apparently "tiny".......my present intention is to have the boat pulled for winter inside heated storage (in Michigan) and examine the hull very carefully......then, before it is put back in next Spring....examine it closely again........I read that these things actually sometimes collapse and virtually disappear........but, if it is still significant have the work done next year after it is pulled in the Fall of 2015..........but, if the hull is going to look like swiss cheese in the near future, I will fix it this winter.........

[Carl]

I just went through this with my 2006 28. I purchased boat new and had it barrier coated before bottom paint. The last couple years a few blisters would appear when it was pulled in the fall for the winter layup. They would disappear in the spring prior to me painting the bottom before launch. Last fall when the boat was pulled there appeared to be about 20 blisters, some larger than you describe. I decided to have the bottom soda blasted to remove paint layers to see if the blisters were in the barrier coat or the gel coat. Plan was to repair the 20, new barrier coat, and paint. The vendor called me after soda blasting and said that I needed to come see what he exposed. There were hundreds, and the blasting had opened them all up exposing the next layer below the gel coat. I had two different fiberglass "experts" inspect the hull, and they both recommended that the gel coat be stripped and built back out. All blisters were dry, none were oozing anything which they both said was unusual. Moisture readings were normal except around the bow thruster where the tube joint had a crack in it. Would have never seen this without having the paint removed. The vendor that ultimately did the work used a type of planner to remove all of the gel coat, then sanded. It took about 12 coats of vinyl ester, approx 35mils, and lots of fairing and sanding to build it back out. Both vendors that looked at it said they had not seen these type of blisters before, meaning they were dry. They thought it might have been some sort of contamination during the layup process. I was very disappointed to say the least, when researching these boats before my purchase, Albin never had these issues with their hulls. That being said, I would do it all over again, as these boats are built like tanks. Albin was in the beginning of its demise when these hulls were laid up, maybe their quality control was the first first team effected. I plan on keeping the boat for a while so I chose to bite the bullet and fix it now, and to hopefully fix it once and be done. If you go this route be prepared for a big bill, it didnt come cheap. I chose a vendor that has a very good reputation and is known for quality work, and therefor charge accordingly. It is guaranteed for 5 years, but he said that if I have any problems within 10 years to bring it back.
Now to answer your question. In my research and talking with many people about this, this is what I learned. They need to be looked at more closely. Open one up and see what you find. If it is oozing smelly yellow liquid, they need to be fixed before they compromise your core. This can be done one at a time if you are handy and have the time and a controlled environment. If there are hundreds your prep time will be considerable to say the least. You might want to consider having it soda blasted so you can really see whats going on, and this will help out with the prep time. I wish you luck!
They say 1 in 4 boats will have blisters, no matter who makes them. This is why I never buy lotto tickets.
Hope this helps, Carl

[Russell]

My 2005 model also has several small bumps on the bottom part of the hull. The surveyor said they were probably in the paint and would go away when the boat is hauled for a time. I will find out when I return to Florida in the fall where the boat is on the hard while we are in Pennsylvania. But in any case I suspect that these are not the typical osmotic blisters that are filled with fluid. Whether or not they are gone, I plan is to wait and see if they get worse before doing anything.

[mjohnh]

Blisters...had the boat hauled out today and pressure washed. I finally got a good look at the blisters. There are 3 "ridges" that run various lengths down the hull below the water line. 95% of the blisters are on the ridges and cover at least 70% of the surface area pf the ridges. There are almost no blisters on the large flat areas, except for a few sparsely located ones within 3 to 9 inches of the bow thrusters. There are none above the water line. There is a surface paint covering the hull below the water line of the same color as the blue gel coat hull and has a surface which is more of a non-skid like paint. None of the blisters are in areas above this paint or coating. I have not poked any to see if they have foul smelling fluid in them. They are small about 1/4 inch in diameter ..many smaller and a few larger, but almost none large than 1/2 inch. I think that they are below the gelcoat as they are very hard and will be difficult to penetrate with a knife. The marina wants to fix them. They do not know whether the surface is gel coat or "imron" .....this issue seems important to them as the fix method will be different for one type of surface than for the other....they say. Quite frankly, the integrity of the surface over the blisters seems to be as hard and tight as any place on the boat. I do not want to authorize a fix I don't need or that will make matters worse over time, which in my inexperienced mind seems possible....once the surface is blaster or ground the integrity of the gel coat will be compromised it seems to me. Any thoughts or suggestions..........is the surface of a 2005 TE gel coat or imron? I intend to call a dealer on the east coast that has been mentioned on this board as being "great" and pick their brain...or the dealer that sold it originally that is also on the east coast. Replies will be greatly appreciated.

[Carl]

Original bottom was gelcoat, same color as your hull sides when new, unless someone ordered it different. White boot stripe was also gelcoat, not paint. If your hull sides are not fading and you dont have to wax twice a year to keep it looking good, it has been painted. What you describe is exactly what mine looked like. The lifting strakes were the worst, then a few around the trim tabs and thruster. Also a couple on the keel, but the majority on the strakes. I will send John some pictures to post here of mine during the fix process as I am challenged in that department. My thought process was this, if I chose to fix them individually after soda blasting, filling, sanding and then the cost of new barrier coat and paint, that the same thing might happen again down the road. I will be interested to hear what your people have to say after further investigation. I hope I am wrong but if you soda blast the hull, there might be more than what you are seeing now.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[Carl]

Told you I was challenged, no way can I figure out how to flip them.
The reason they look wet in the first photos "after blasting" was, I had to launch the boat and take it to a different vendor to do the repairs which was across the bay. I sealed them all with a coat of epoxy before making the trip to keep things dry.

Maybe someone can flip these?

[mjohnh]

Carl: Thanks....I found an old survey done in 2007 on my boat and the condition is described. The boat was 2 years old at that time and he describes the same condition in the same places to the same extent as it is today. The surveyor described it as "gel coat like blisters" and said that several were opened and found to be dry with no chemical residue. He believed that they were the result of "inadequate roll out of air bubbles in laminates at time of lay-up in mold or possible debris contamination". He recommended that the ridges, called "lifting strakes" be opened, sanded and backfilled and faired to repair voids. Then marine epoxy barrier coating be applied to areas addressed before painted. Obviously, this was not done. My lay conclusion is that these are not "blisters" such as those which develop due to prolonged water contact which apparently develop with smelly fluid. Whether they are a problem which needs fixed; or, whether they will just continue without change is beyond my pay grade.....just not knowledgeable. But, my impression is that if they are "blebs" in or under the gel coat from time of manufacture, they are probably not the kind of thing that will cause damage to the core. Still not sure what to do...I hate to disturb the gel coat just to get rid of what may be a cosmetic issue....

[filer]

Maybe someone can flip these?

Done.