hull imperfections 2002 sante

[louismblais]

I found many spots with little bumps on the bottom of my boat while whashing it, it sort of looks like goose bumps. They are in several spots on the hull. The boat is new to me so i can't tell how long that's been there. Does anyone understand what I'm talking about? Should I be concerned?

Also I found a couple hairlines, are those anything to be concerned about? It's not a brand new boat so I imagine there's a chance some of this is normal!

[nms1991]

RE: hull imperfections 2002 sante

It sounds like osmosis blister on the bottom of the boat. They are from when the boat sits in the water all the time and the water seeps thru the gelcoat and forms a blister between the gelcoat and the fiberglass mat. One way to fix it is to grind out the blister and clean it good and refill the spot with new gelcoat and allow it to harden and then sand it down and polish it to a gloss. The stress cracks you talked about where are they at?

[louismblais]

RE: hull imperfections 2002 sante

One stress crack is about in the middle lengthwise and on the bottom right near the side of the hull. I don`t know if this is clear. The hull has an about 11/2 inch wide groove on either side of the bottom, the crack is right in front of it.

Are the osmosis blisters urgent to deal with or can they wait the summer without much risk of worsening?

[DavidF]

RE: hull imperfections 2002 sante

None of the issues are urgent. You can ignore them indefinately if you want to.

Old boats are going to have stress cracks here and there. No big deal.

Gelcoat is porous, so water can get in and cause the blister if left in the water for long periods of time. This used to be a common occurance, but less and less so with more modern and better gelcoats.