What to use for hull ding/scratch repair

[Van W]

I need to know what the easiest and strongest way to repair these holes would be. I will probably be painting the hull within the next year or so...

I seen some people say marine tex, would I be able to match the gel coat if I used that? Also, which marine tex product there seems to be more than one...

Thanks!

[Van W]

Oh, and is it possible that those little circles are blisters?

Or I guess maybe they might be some sort of bottom growth... hmm

[PAR]

They look like blisters. Use a scratch awl and poke a few of them open. You should notice a nasty smell and probably some goo ooze out. If this is the case, you've got blisters and they need to be dried, ground, filled, faired, barrier coated and painted to fix it.

This is fairly common of certain brands and specific year built boats. What is the make, model and year of this boat?

[Van W]

1985 hydra sports 25ft center console.

[Steve W]

I agree with PAR, even if they dont turn out to be blisters you will want to do any filling with an epoxy filler and then barrier coat and then bottom paint(it was previously bottom painted right?) no need for matching the gelcoat as its buried under the barrier coat.
Steve.

[Van W]

It looks like it had bottom paint, but I don't have the boat yet I'm purchasing it. The owner says they aren't blisters so who knows.

What is the best for barrier coating, and then bottom painting? Keep in mind that I'm not the richest guy in the world either otherwise I'd have a NEW boat.

I'm going to try to replace all the wood with starboard, I take it's that is the best bet for things like trim, under gunnel rod holders etc?

Also, I plan on painting the deck etc. white, so I'd like to be able to paint the bottom white also. Hull is going to be either blue or green, not sure yet!

So being I'm going to paint the deck white do you think I should use black starboard? Man decisions decisions!

[PAR]

Unless someone was practicing with their shot gun about 50' away, it's likely the current owner doesn't want to admit it's blisters, because of what this does to the value of the boat (it drops like a stone). 1985 would place it right in the era of questionable resins, which caused blistering.

Starboard is good for making instrument panels, hatch covers, fish cutting boards and cup holders, but don't use it for anything structural. It's ridiculously heavy, very costly and can't even support it's own weight. It doesn't take fasteners well, can't be glued and it generally is a cosmetic material only.

Paint the hull whatever you like, but have a real boat guy look at the "questionable holes" the owner is trying to convince you isn't blisters.

If you go into a deal where you know the owner is trying to fool you about certain elements of the purchase, then you have to question the whole sale as potentially an attempt to rob you.

In other words, a blister is a blister and there's no hiding it. Boats don't step on pitch folks or run over dozens of buck shot laden shot guns. In this market, you can get good examples of just about any boat you want, so don't get married to this one, if you don't have to. You might end up with blisters on your wallet as will as the boat's bottom.

Read this:
http://www.yachtsurvey.com/blisters.htm
and the related articles.

Then decide if you like the risk.

Barrier coat is Epoxy in this case. Not cheap.

[Steve W]

What Par said about starboard,but i would add ,dont use black,a lot of thermoplastics have high thermal expansion.white just stays a lot cooler so doesnt expand as much.I would use a 100% solids epoxy as a barrier coat even though it is harder to use,there is no place for solvents in a barrier coat system.
Steve.

[Dan H]

Get a survey and that'll tell for sure. Probably find other things wrong as well.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

Looks to me like.

1. Someones had a go with a grit blaster in the past and filled with the wrong filler-Ive seen quite a few done with car bodyfiller.

2. Looks like your antifoul might be coppershield - in which case someone might have done an overkill job on keying up the surface before application.

Either way, approach with caution , the fact that there are so many bubbles in the laminate would indicate poor workmanship in the first place(often seen on older boats).

I think you only option here would be to have the hull grit blasted (the bit below the waterline) by someone who knows what they are doing-or at the very worst have it gel peeled and then laminated in epoxy before fairing and overcoating in epoxy. International gelshield works well.

Have fun
J