Welcome to the forum. I can only relate my personal experience. I had bad blisters on my 1986 36 MK I about 18 years ago. They covered the entire bottom. I was lucky living in SoCal because Frank Butler owned a boatyard in Oxnard and I got a "real deal" at the low low price of $ 100 per foot (:eek:) to remove the gelcoat, dry the hull, apply an epoxy barrier coat and then repaint. The local quotes were running around 5 grand, so it was worth the trip up & back (great sail both ways). My '91 MK I just came out of the yard last month. It had been 7 YEARS since the last bottom job (L.A. real estate market kept me pretty busy) so I was waiting for the bad news. Not ONE blister....never discount the power of prayer. So, I think it's a luck of the draw kinda thing. One thing I would recommend is to use a yard that air dries the hull rather than tenting and running heaters. I had several old timer yard managers tell me that this is the best way. Problem is it takes weeks to dry out assuming nice weather & no rain. Not sure how much it costs these days, but I would keep tying if I were you.:D

I feel for you. I passed on a very, very nice C34 due to a significant blistering problem because the owner and I couldn't come to terms. I think your options are to grind and fill and expect to do so every haul out as new blisters appear or pay a high percentage of the value of the boat and hope you don't get blisters again though as I understand even a full peel and re-coat is no guarantee you've seen your last blister.

If I have to cross that bridge, I think my plan will be to fix them as they appear and plan to make an adjustment when I go to sell the boat.

Good Luck.

Here is a link to a pretty good article on blister repair.
[URL="http://www.zahnisers.com/blisters_hydrolysis.htm"]http://www.zahnisers.com/blisters_hydrolysis.htm[/URL]

[QUOTE=JBWelna;3264]$350-$450 per foot here in Rhode Island for a peel and repair.[/QUOTE]

Holy moley, I had no idea it was that expensive, though it makes sense based on what I paid 18 years ago. There was a lot of talk at that time that Catalina was trying different resins to fix the problem. That might account for my blistered '86, no-blister '91, and your blistered '96. I had so many that if they had drilled and filled, they would still be at it today. I had no choice but to go for the peel. The key to the longevity of the fix is to really let the hull dry out, thus my mention of air drying over a period of weeks. However, with a price like that I can't say what I would do if I were you. I might be looking for deep water and a ride home.;)

Hi
See [URL="http://www4.snapfish.co.nz/slideshow/AlbumID=146648902/PictureID=3714984..."]http://www4.snapfish.co.nz/slideshow/AlbumID=146648902/PictureID=3714984... for the test patch on Wind Star. You can clearly see the blisters go to a thickness of about 2.5mm. We had her completely re-glassed below the waterline. One reason was we found our early hull is very unusual in that it has layers of 'Coremat' and the blisters were affecting a substantial proportion of the laminate. See [URL="http://www4.snapfish.co.nz/slideshow/AlbumID=146648902/PictureID=3715119..."]http://www4.snapfish.co.nz/slideshow/AlbumID=146648902/PictureID=3715119...

If we had solid glass we may have just ground out the blisters... or maybe not... :(

P.S. we spent $23,000NZ, or about $18,000US in 2008...

[QUOTE=JBWelna;3289]I only saw dime sized blisters (or smaller)........and definitely less than 50.[/QUOTE]

I can't imagine having to do a complete peel for 50 blisters. I had more than 50 PER SQUARE FOOT when mine was done. I think you're wise to get a few more opinions.

Mike

Here in Florida were we use our boats year around
blisters are common. This past summer when Caprice was hauld she had about 7 or 8 dime sized blisters. Last haul out, two years ago she had no blisters. The time before that she had about 30 blisters, about half of them were on the rudder.

Each time the yard lightly sanded them out, let them stay for a few days then filled them in and painted the bottom with two coats. It does not appear that any blisters re-appeared in the spot where the old blister was sanded out.

I had a surveyer tell me it is unusual for blistering to be anything but cosmetic and he would cross an ocean with a boat with blisters. Eight years ago I sailed to Central America and back on a yawl that was loaded with small blisters a few inches apart. That boat is still in the water with no problems.

[QUOTE=JBWelna;3289]...here's a real interesting read about the problem, written by a chemist:
[url]http://www.smithandcompany.org/GRP/GRP.html[/url][/QUOTE]

That was very interesting!

Yes, I for one also have the white epoxy which has been carefully applied (read:slopped on:D) in the visible bilge areas. It pretty much stops where the guy couldn't reach anymore as I can see when I look up the hull from the bilge. In the 80s when the blistering was really the talk of the town (lawsuits, etc) it was pretty much decided that the interior hull coating was not the issue. Seems it was all about the resin & gelcoat being used by Catalina. I thought they solved it by the early 90s with the new barrier coat, because I remember wishing I had it. However, maybe I'm mis-remembering the date when they started applying the new barrier coat.

Are you sure that's epoxy coating in the bilge? On our 1990 28 the bilge appeared to be coated with gelcoat (so said the surveyor) but it actually was thick bilge paint that would come off pretty easily with sandpaper. The stuff in our 36 looks the same as what was in the 28. It would be nice if it was epoxy though.

[QUOTE=JBWelna;3289]I took a look at the bottom yesterday, and I'm a little skeptical of the yard's assessment that the problem is significant. Other than the Catalina smile and a lot of loose antifouling, I only saw dime sized blisters (or smaller), primarly in the area of previous poppiting, and definitely less than 50.

I'm going to have a disinterested third party surveyor take a look at the issue before I go with the yard's recommendation. The surveyor I did talk to was very surprised to hear that my years boat was reported to have a significant problem.

Out of curiousity, what was the year C34 you were looking at? What was the asking price? How would you describe the blistering problem in terms of number and size? An what did you consider a reasonable price reduction for the problem?

Although I have read about 100 Googles on the problem in the last day or so (and boy am I tired of that) here's a real interesting read about the problem, written by a chemist:

[url]http://www.smithandcompany.org/GRP/GRP.html[/url]

Thanks for your thoughts[/QUOTE]

I want to say it was a 1990 or 91. It was the first year they had a walk through transom on the 34.

He was asking high 50's. The blistering was described as extensive to me by a surveyor who had surveyed the boat for a previous potential buyer. Based on that, I was looking for an adjustment close to 1/2 the SWAG for a full peel. The surveyor gave me such a thorough assessment of the boat I had considered forgoing my own survey if we could have come to agreement on price.

Other than the blister issue the boat was immaculate. The boat had not been hauled for any length of time for several years though and I think may be a factor. I one of those that thinks its a good idea to haul the boat for a few months at least every other year.

JBW, Could you describe in more detail number, size and location of your Blisters. On my 1993, no blisters were found during the survey in Sept, 2003. When I hauled the boat in Oct, 2003 for the winter, I found ten or so small, 1/4" blisters located at the waterline for the first 12 inches aft of the bow and on the stb side, the dide that faced the sun. I drilled and filled those blisters and have noticed each fall at haul-out the same small waterline blisters progressing further back each year, and only on the stb side.
During the haul-out this October, the blisters have moved as far back as the to the center of the boat, and just starting on the port side near the bow.
Last month I finally bit the bullet and decided to raise the waterline 2 inches and also sanded for 4 inches below the waterline. I drilled and flushed all the blisters, 50 or so , and they are now drying out so I can fill with epoxy thickened silica in the spring and apply 4-5 coats of VC Tar2 to the sanded areas before the VC 17 bottom paint.
After sanding, I was surprised to find that my hull had been barrier coated with Interlux 2000, probably at commissioning.
The bulk of my blisters were in the white stripe at the waterline. In fact, the bulk of these were just slight bubbles in the gel coat. This boat has always been on the Great Lakes.

Jack F Stewart
1993 C36 #1233 "Windancer"
Port Clinton, OH
Port Clinton, OH

SWAG (swag) [I]n[/I], a cost estimate admitted upon first hearing not to be believable, but later recognized as even worse, the product of an estimator who had his/her head up his/her butt; way up; actually an impolite acronym, probably of aviation origin, believed to be coinage of Orville Wright when the brothers first entered the sales phase of the development of the airplane, which occurred at roughly 2100 hrs on December 17, 1903 following consumption of a couple of martinis; will not be fully explained here due to profanity concerns, but roughly translatable as S**** Wild-Ass Guess.

I hope this helps.

[I used to sell airplanes, that's how I know.]

[QUOTE=bboggs;3312]The boat had not been hauled for any length of time for several years though and I think may be a factor. I'm one of those that thinks its a good idea to haul the boat for a few months at least every other year.[/QUOTE]

Purely anecdotal, I know, but since my boat wasn't hauled at all for 7 years and no blisters, I'm not sure that this is a factor. I still think it was "luck of the draw" with resin & gelcoat at Catalina during that time.

Mike

[QUOTE=dejavu;3320]Purely anecdotal, I know, but since my boat wasn't hauled at all for 7 years and no blisters, I'm not sure that this is a factor. I still think it was "luck of the draw" with resin & gelcoat at Catalina during that time.

Mike[/QUOTE]

Do your know if you boat had a barrier coat?

I think that's another part of the equation, but you are correct that some boats never seem to have a problem.

[QUOTE=bboggs;3321]Do your know if you boat had a barrier coat?

I think that's another part of the equation, but you are correct that some boats never seem to have a problem.[/QUOTE]

I don't know what kind of barrier coat it might have had since I bought the boat used. However, I remember clearly that around the time that I was getting my '86 fixed, it was 1990-1991 and Catalina was promoting their new barrier coat to combat the MANY blistering problems which were occurring. I remember wishing my boat had it. Since my '91 was actually built at the end of 1990, it might have been built right when they were doing this new barrier coat. Either way, I apparently got lucky with this one.

My '97 blistered over the entire hull. Fortunately, it was after the 1st season and Catalina covered every penny. Peeled, relaminated and West System barrier coated. Have not had any since (oh wait, my boat gets hauled today; better not say that..!).

My '88 C30 also blistered after 4 seasons, very small, but covering the entire hull. Since I still had the last year of warranty, I decided to get it done. Had it peeled, relaminated with vinylester resin and West System barrier coated. Had it for at least another 5 years before trading it on my current C36.

I've seen others in the yard grinding/filling blisters, some of them enormous, like a silver dollar. Guess it's a crap shoot.

Three years ago I found 3 small blisters on the port side of my 1994 C36 when we pulled the boat out in the fall. I carved them out with a knife and before launching in the spring I plugged them with an epoxy putty and tapped the stuff with a hammer. They appear to be permanently fixed. Every fall I get a little nervous looking for any additional blisters. There have been none. The boat does not have a barrier coat only VC 17 every year. I am not sure if it is the cold water of Lake Michigan, just lucky or Catalina did it right, but so far the hull is clean.

[QUOTE=JBWelna;3365]My yard manager describes several hundred quarter size or smaller blisters from the waterline down 2 or 3 feet all the way along the port side. He says there is nothing on the bottom and nothing on the starboard side.

All of this seems very odd, as I did not see them when I checked the boat after the initial report of blistering. I don't think the yard is trying to pull one over on me, as I did when I first looked at the boat, but I am very surprised that I could have missed something so significant.

Oh well, I'm meeting with the yard manager tomorrow and will report back what he shows me.

Big toe has been re-tied to the anchor.[/QUOTE]

I've heard of that before. The theory I was told was that the water might be warmer on the side where the sun hits and that might make a difference in the rate of blistering.

As far as the yard seeing them and you not, they might have been more noticeable when the hull was drying. Maybe if you wet down a section to see if it makes them more noticeable.

Good Luck.

Concur with Mike on our Floridian blisters.
Tara had the zits for a few years (small dime to quarter sized).
During the last overhaul, some were beginning to get soft and weep while on the hard, so I added blister repair (grind out, epoxy fill, sand, and paint) to the litany of other work being done. Labor costs in West Florida have followed the economy down spiral, so negotiating a fair price is possible.
Fair winds,
Chooch
Tara 389

PS: SEAMAN! Y'all gotta be kidding me... Oh, that's right, my plethora of postings was on the old website... Never Mind,
Anyway, I'm Baaaaccckkk!

CHOOCH!

Welcome to the Forum. Ha! Just kidding...welcome back! It won't take you very long to be rated Captain.

Hi Chooch! I don't think I'm alone in wanting to see some more pics of that beautiful boat of yours. :p