Please Help! Buying a fully kevlar yacht with BLİSTERS bigger than 5" in Dia

[ETSailor]

Hello,

İ need urgent advice as i am being pushed into a deal to buy an ocean racer which has been buuilt n 94, i was the yacht it is in good condition ,well apart from the somehat huge blisters that come and go (according to her owner) on the topsides of her hull and deck.

Her owner keeps saying this is due to an air entrapment between the final layer of the structural kevlar layer and the layer of paint or gelcoat. İs this ans easy & cheap problm to be fixed ?

İt also shows slight tendency to corrosion in the rod-spreader-mast connections.

İ am running late to make a decision to fulfill the requirements of a minor PR campaign. , Please send me your valuable comments and advice !!!

[CDK]

If entrapped air is the cause, the blisters do not come and go but stay; just the curvature changes with the air pressure.
The present owner surely would have repaired it if there was an easy fix, so I think it is safe to assume there isn't any. Injecting a resin or cyanometacrylate will bond the blister to the kevlar, but because it takes up volume, the blisters will become permanent.

Another thing is, that these are production faults; how do you know the same mistakes weren't made when they produced the hull?

[ETSailor]

İ do agree on your approach to think if there was an easy way to fix it the owner would have done it already, however, i have a very low -good deal on this yacht.

the owner claims the surveys have been carried out and these blisters have been found as a non-structural problem.

the owner states that number and size of the bubbles have not increased since deck and hull were restored and painted , also declares that he has never seen any sign of delamination.

in an area (15 x 15 cm) where the deck beam meets the hull in the forward section of the bow on both sides, outside, apear small, superficial cracks. the owner claims these are due to slight movements of the hull when hitting waves with its high freeboard. these movements/cracks bear no structural danger.

İ have simply no idea if these were mistakes done when they produced the hull.

[Frosty]

Ask to see the report and talk to the surveyor. No one will be able to answer your question without even a photo.

I don't know the reason for such a rush purchase and that makes me suspicious but get a quote from a yard for a full repair and make sure your clear.

Cracks is stress there is no other reason, be it structural or not.

You got to ask yourself if the boat is in need of a full repair would you still buy it. When you value an item that might have a fault you have to consider that fault as 100% fault, not that it might be Ok.

If it turns out it does not then your a winner. If it turns out it does then you knew about it and had accounted for it.

[tunnels]

Originally Posted by CDK

If entrapped air is the cause, the blisters do not come and go but stay; just the curvature changes with the air pressure.
The present owner surely would have repaired it if there was an easy fix, so I think it is safe to assume there isn't any. Injecting a resin or cyanometacrylate will bond the blister to the kevlar, but because it takes up volume, the blisters will become permanent.

Another thing is, that these are production faults; how do you know the same mistakes weren't made when they produced the hull?

This would be a good way of using vacuum and gently sucking the lumps flat with a small bag over the top . First drill some small holes to let out the air and be able to inject epoxy infussion resin in and suck it flat again even if you have to place a piece of something flat and hard on the top of each lump to get it flat again Filling would need to be done through a couple of holes drilled just into the layer so the resin could be sucked in or injected as long as there is no moisture involved all should be sweet as !!. you have all to gain and nothing to loss by trying a couple first

[wet feet]

There are plenty of other boats out there with no faults.Why are you being pushed hard to buy one with very visible problems?I would walk away and tell the guy selling it that if it is such a good boat,another potential buyer will be along soon.

[Herman]

Indeed, steer away from this boat. There are better boats. I am sure you can find better boats for the same amount of money in the current market. Just make some offers to boats you like.

Over here boats that have an asking price of 100.000 euro sell for 40.000 euro or less.

Boats with 6" dia blisters in aramide laminates will probably have an array of other (not visible) defects, which all are expensive to solve, as aramide (Kevlar (r), Twaron (r)) is a pig to work with, and only a small amount of boatyards will do it, and at a premium.

On top of that: boats that crack on the topsides because of some slamming loads? Scary.

[tunnels]

Originally Posted by Herman

Indeed, steer away from this boat. There are better boats. I am sure you can find better boats for the same amount of money in the current market. Just make some offers to boats you like.

Over here boats that have an asking price of 100.000 euro sell for 40.000 euro or less.

Boats with 6" dia blisters in aramide laminates will probably have an array of other (not visible) defects, which all are expensive to solve, as aramide (Kevlar (r), Twaron (r)) is a pig to work with, and only a small amount of boatyards will do it, and at a premium.

On top of that: boats that crack on the topsides because of some slamming loads? Scary.

Sound like simple bad workmanship and scimping on Resin , Like herman said let it go !!! Dont touch it !!! Its telling you something so listen carefully !!!:(.

[Herman]

The only advantage of aramides, is that it burns away completely. So what you have left after you burnt the boat, can be taken to the metal scrap yard...

[themanshed]

Just a note Kevlar does not sand well it fuzzes up and will never look good. As far as drilling holes and sucking the laminate back down means you have no structural integrity in your laminate. Kevlar was noted to absorb moister and is not used very wide in boat building as the primary laminate.