OH NO!!! BLISTERS

[EagleOCNJ]

I agree you should grind them out. Ive had some big blisters on another boat where I drilled them out and they drained smelly water. Ive encountered others that seem to be like what you describe and they may just be a result of air void. Grind them out and verify that they are dry. Next when you know its dry, thicken up some west system with collidal silica and trowel it on with a spackle knife.

If these are deep and large youll need to add some fiberglass cloth first though. You really need to post some pics and describe them better, indicate dampness, etc.

After the hull is stripped and repaired correctly then definitely do the interprotect system. I always do that in your situation; why not you have a clean bottom to start with! I usually use less than the manufacturer recommends, say three coats and you can usually do all three in one day with decent weather.

[Tensho]

You know that is more along the lines of what I am getting. I am using a marine stripper but I am now wondering if what my boat has might be a result of the stripper. The blisters are not soft, and fluid filled. They don't really pertrude to much from the boat and are only really evident visually on the port side water line and a few on the transom. On the hull I can only slightly feel them but aren't visually obvious. I will be posting pictures tomorrow for everyone to evaluate and help me out.

I want to thank you all for your insight, I really appreciate it.

Just want to get this done and get that boat in the water and fishing.

Take care,
Tommy

[nestorpr]

I remember from an episode on ShipshapeTV the exact same problem he tackled on a Bertram 31. The blisters were small, hard and fluid filled (smelly). He actually stripped the whole gelcoat off the bottom and then ground open all the blisters that were still closed. Then they had to let the hull sit for a while while the blisters dried out before sealing them and re-gelcoating the bottom. Apparently, no matter what you do, it's a long, tedious process.

[paulfurnari]

I wound up power washing most of the bottom paint off and just sanded the rest off. A lot of the paint was loose and flaking anyway. I didn't want to take a chance to do any damage to the hull if it was caused by the stripper.-PF