Velocity Girl came out of the water on lake Ontario and she has some serious blistering issues. When I bought her this spring she had some blisters which I planned on fixing this fall. When I hauled her this week she came out looking awful on the bottom. I am planning on sanding and grinding the bottom this fall and letting her dry out this winter. I am looking for advice or tips on materials to use and process. I feel like I might be looking at grinding alot of bottom off behind the keel. I am a do it yourselfer on a budget so any tips help would be appreciated! I want to get her light smooth and fast for next season.
Registered: 03/18/05
Posts: 111
Loc: Bellevue, WA, USA
Quote:
When I hauled her this week she came out looking awful on the bottom. I am planning on sanding and grinding the bottom this fall and letting her dry out this winter. I am looking for advice or tips on materials to use and process. I feel like I might be looking at grinding alot of bottom off behind the keel. Velocity Girl #278[/B]
From my experience with Rauzer II #448, the only area that showed blisters was where the core was wet underneith. You may have a larger problem than you think. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but these boats tend to develop areas where the balsa core soaks up water from any number of sources. You can grind, sand and patch the blisters this year and find a whole new batch next year. I would suggest going over the area with a good moisture meter to determine the size of the effected area, identify the source of the water intrusion and go from there. There are several posts on repairing wet core on this forum if that is what it comes to. Good Luck, AC
Originally posted by alcal1750: From my experience with Rauzer II #448, the only area that showed blisters was where the core was wet underneith. You may have a larger problem than you think. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but these boats tend to develop areas where the balsa core soaks up water from any number of sources. You can grind, sand and patch the blisters this year and find a whole new batch next year. I would suggest going over the area with a good moisture meter to determine the size of the effected area, identify the source of the water intrusion and go from there. There are several posts on repairing wet core on this forum if that is what it comes to. Good Luck, AC
I don't know if this is always the case. A friend recently purchased a J30 with a similar problem-blisters everywhere (mine is close but not as bad). He ground them out and after a week of drying the moisture meter readings have gone down considerably. We drilled test holes into the core in areas where the moisture meter pegged (also the areas of highest blister concentration) and the core is solid and dry. Excessive blistering can be the result of wet core issues, but It doesn't always mean you have a wet core. We are currently drying out the boat with a process called water out http://www.waterout.com/ that is great for drying flood damaged houses. It should take a couple of days and I will post the results if people are interested. Knowing that the blisters are not the result of a wet core, we will dry the bottom, repair the blisters barrier coat and paint. Hopefully this will prevent future blistering. If it works I will try it on my boat! Geoff Krru #413
Rhapsody #348
Class Co-President
Registered: 05/21/07
Posts: 1874
Loc: Portsmouth, RI
I just looked at their web site. Looks like it's easier to see how this applies to a building. How do they do a boat? Do they build a cocoon around the hull?
Originally posted by Rhapsody #348: I just looked at their web site. Looks like it's easier to see how this applies to a building. How do they do a boat? Do they build a cocoon around the hull?
The system is designed to dry buildings and houses. We are trying this as an experiment and so far the results seem good. We have tented the boat (like you would to spray the bottom. We are drying localized areas of wet core by drilling holes and monitoring moisture with a meter. Looks like it should take 4 or so days to completely dry. I will post results depending on the success.
Thanks to all for the info. I had the hull core tested before I bought the boat and it was dry this spring. I am investigating other caused and have been looking for "leaks" in the hull. So far so good on the "leaks". All your info seems great. I am interested in all the info you have supplied. I will keep you posted on Velocity Girl's progress. She is a good boat and I am looking forward to getting her up to speed for next summer. The season is too short up here on Lake Ontario.
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