Is BLISTERING a bad thing?
 

Well, ive been looking at boats recently, and havent really decided on one thing in particular. Today I get an email back from a guy about a boat that he owns, that sounds like a pretty decent deal--except the fact that the boat he said was "blistering". What exactly is that? Here is his description of it--
"YES UNFORTUNATELY THE HULL STARTED BLISTERING TWO YEARS AGO BUT THEy ARE LIKE MUMPS UNDER THE WATER LINE NOT BROKEN BLISTERS. DOES NOT HURT PERFORMANCE OR FUNCTION ONLY COSMETIC LOOKS."

So is that a really bad thing or not? Here is a description of the actual boat--

"1994 Baja Outlaw , 24' Eagle Double Axle Trailer with surge brakes. 502 Mag EFI-225 Freshwater hours on boat and engine; new gil thru hull offshore exhaust, 23 pitch balanced and blueprinted Mirage prop; new hydromotive nose cone professionally installed; new Warlock drive shower; new trim on throttle; Kiekhaffer controls; Faria gauges; dual ram trim tabs; dual batteries new in 1997; new installed heavy duty guest battery charger/doubles as shore power; Clarion CD player/amp 4 speaker system; Uniden offshore radio head; Full gray mooring cover; sunbrella sunshade; boat bumpers; anchors; power hatch; Halon; compass; meticoulsly maintained; very good overall condition."

he is asking $20k, is it worth it even though its blistering, or should i avoid a blistering boat like the plague?

blistering is when water gets in between the gelcoat and the fibergass. Blisters usaully mean it spent alot of time sitting in the water i think...

Is it expensive to fix?

I do not know.. I have never had to deal with it.. I just know its not a good thing :(

Here's a fantastic site which pretty much covers all there is to know about blisters.
http://yachtsurvey.com/blisters.htm

(Remove the blisters.htm and you have a great resource covering all issues of boat-building.)

Blisters are a nasty cosmetic plague which can and will infect much of the boat if allowed to. Blisters are not all too uncommon, yet should not occurr when the proper requirements are met during boat-building. It is not isolated to any one manufacturer, as problems can occurr any-time humans are involved in manufacturing. It mainly has to do with an error or product defect within the gelcoat. It can be bad materials from the gel vendor, it could occurr because of poor cleanliness on the mold, contaniments, environmental factors, on and on...Basically the gel is not adhering to the glass properly and is not fully cured. As it cures over years it out-gasses and results in blisters. While easy to fix, if neglected and they begin to seperate and peel or burst naturally water will intrude and jeopardize the fundamental resin matrix in the fiberglass hull. Take a look at the boat and if it is still repairable, it might not be a bad deal. Determine how wide-spread it is and see if you can wheel and deal with the seller. Worst comes to worse, get a survey and get an estimate. Might make for a nice discount!

[ 01-28-2002: Message edited by: Baja Daze ]

Well my 97 Baja 272 did it, I got an estimate of $6,000,,, I cried complained and threatened to buy a competetors boat next time and they are warrantying it for me. Now I can buy the 342 instead of having to go to a PQ.

Traviss is right!
I've heard Baja boats have a little problem with this.
Blisters are usually the size of a quarter and depending on the sevarity, can be repaired for a decent price. They are repaired by gringing off each "blister" and the surrounding area, applying resin or glass (depending on sevarity), fairing out and then applying a vynilester (sp?) primer and finish coat.
Blisters don't mean the end of a hull, just a few $$ to fix it right.
While looking at used boats recently, I have seen several 40-42' Sport Fish boats that had blisters, being fixed for around $5000.
Shop around for repair shops & a good price!

Use an anticeptic cream until the swelling goes down.

:D :D :D :D :D

blisters are bad. Just ask CHRKR (i think that is his name lit is very similar)

AKA "Blister Boy" just ask him about the donzi or look back a few weeks for the thread on his boat.

:D :D :D