water soaking through the hull?

[fieromx3]

i knwo i ask alot of different questions and paranoid. but i read that a fiberglass hull can soak up water like a sponge... i have had some paint flaking from the bottom i never got fixed (though i am sending to a shop soon to get the whole bottom redone) i just had stringers and foam redone this past winter and now i am all paranoid that water could have soaked through the hull into my new foam and stringers i have only had the boat out 7 times this year and its trailered and longest days on the water were maybe 12 hours... should i worry??? 

 

picture of what its like

 

 

[YodaMage]

That looks like blistering in the pics?

[Kuba]

At this point I would check the integrity of the hull.

[lakebound88]

Blistering at its finest. A surveyor with a moisture meter can tell how far and wide spread the damaged area may be

Sent from my XT907 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[Chas0218]

From the second picture it looked like it was voids in the gel coat from when the boat was made.  I wouldn't worry too much about it and just make sure you have the bottom painted (anti fouling true bottom paint).

[fieromx3]

doesnt sound good.... if i remove portions of the gelcoat and take a look at the fiberglass is there a way to tell if the fiberglass is damaged?? now im even more worried. what do i have to do to fix all this

[jdox]

If it's just the paint layer you'll be ok. If it's through the gelcoat to the fiberglass with the little bit of use you've had you should be good to go. Find a good shop and take it in, they'll be able to help you. If you have absorption through the fiberglass (usually after a year or 2 of heavy use) the shop can fix it without replacing all of the foam, all it should take is a few holes to allow air to circulate to dry it out, fill them with fiberglass resign (I like to use the west system and add the fiberglass filler to it and apply with a syringe used to inject turkey's) then a good application of gelcoat and you should be good. I ran one of my boats for 3 years with a good size chip through the gelcoat to fiberglass and didn't have absorption through the fiberglass. Yours looks like failing paint/gelcoat and not hull damage you shouldn't have much to worry about

[smallboat]

You have a blistering problem.  This occurs when a boat is kept in the water as opposed to on a trailer and the fiberglass lamination becomes wet and separates from the gel coat.  I suspect the previous owner kept the boat in a slip. Yes, fiberglass hulls made using polyester resins can and will absorb moisture.  To repair, grind off the gel coat surrounding all of the blisters.  Allow the hull to dry out - use a moisture meter to verify.  Fill the blisters and areas you have sanded with a filled epoxy mix.  Since this appears to be a cosmetic repair, use glass beads or micro balloons as the filler. After curing and sanding, paint the entire bottom with a barrier coat paint - Interlux and others make them.  This is an important step.  Follow with a good topcoat paint.  You don't need a bottom paint unless you plan on keeping the boat in the water.  The new two part linear urethanes are extremely tough and will work very well.  Blisters are mostly a cosmetic defect but can lead to greater problems if the hull lamination becomes saturated.  Not typically a problem with trailered boats but fix the problem now.

 

Water absorbed into the hull lamination will not effect your stringers and foam unless you have a hole in the boat.

[John E Powell]

I was going to write a response, and while I was doing so, the person directly above me wrote and posted a more detailed and better response, so I deleted mine..

 

Just ignore this as I can't seem to totally delete this post.

Edited September 11, 2013 by John E Powell

[fieromx3]

thanks for the replies guys ive kept thinking about this all night... i have so much work into the boat now and thought i may have a really serious problem. im taking it to a shop and having them look at it and redo the bottom.

[mudflat]

Like Smallboat said, the "blisters" just need to be ground out, dry the hull and fill them in.  Not a major structural issue like the stringers.  If your trailering and not leaving the boat in a slip then it's mostly a cosmetic thing.   

 

After the blisters are repaired then make sure to apply a good barrier coat, like 4-5 coats of Interlux 2000E or equivalent.  This will prevent any further water absorption so that you don't have the same problem again, particularly if you're going to slip the boat for an extended period of time.  Anti fouling bottom paint will prevent hull fouling but will not stop water absorption by themselves. 

 

Check out Interlux's website for a full explanation. http://www.yachtpaint.com/usa/diy/default.aspx

[Knotlost]

 small boat gave you the right advice... Its not a big deal unless you ignore it..