Blisters again

[Pbologna]

1980s LHB 44 2023 survey revealed 500+ blisters after a previous blister job in 2015 (best guess). Some blisters size of palm and larger. See pics.
Hull solid otherwise. Salvageable? and @ what costs? Overall project boat @ best.

[Fore and Aft]

Pbologna I think your at the stage where you need a full peel back to good fibreglass. Whichever way you go DIY or paying for it the cost is going to add up.
I have observed a guy over a few months do a good osmosis repair. He purchased a no name brand electric planer, peeled the hull himself, grinding the areas he couldn't reach. Once the hull was dry he paid the boatbuilders to lay some new fibreglass on the bottom. Then he took over the fairing painting etc. Saved a few bucks and ended up with a professional job.
Cheers

[psk125]

What is an LHB 44?
LHB is the HIN number code for Hinckley, which seems unlikely in this case.

[boatpoker]

I suspect its likely that you have hydrolysis deep into the the laminate.
If you peel right down to good glass there won't be much left.

Depending on climate. It could take up to a year for it to dry out enough for new epoxy/glass to bond properly. I've seen this done with up to 10 new layers of glass.

I once refused to survey a vessel I had known to have this done 3 times already.

If you start this job I see only two possible outcomes.

1. You spend a fortune and in a a year or so it might be ok. You'll spend the rest of your life waiting for it to come back.

2. You spend a smaller fortune and eventually give up and abandon her.

[Bowdrie]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

Depending on climate. It could take up to a year for it to dry out enough for new epoxy/glass to bond properly.

About 20 years ago a fellow I knew did that with his boat, a 30-footer.
It was built in the '60s and the hull was quite thick.
He, because of business connections, was able to use some space in a building free of charge.
The gelcoat was removed from the waterline down and then a "tent" was hung from the waterline down to almost the floor.
They set-up fans and some heaters under the boat and let it sit for almost a year.
Over that period of time, it was figured that many gallons of water came out of the laminate.
Epoxy and barrier coats were then applied, and all still seems to be ok.

[Franziska]

To speed up things, you can peel her wash though with freshwater. Let dry and then vaccum bag the underwater for several weeks to extract moisture.
Helps if it's warm, too.
Vacuum pumps are not very expensive.

[El Pinguino]

No sign of the OP so I am having to guess that the boat is a Little Harbour 44 which seems to be a boat that - in good condition - has some value.
I'm also guessing that the previous 'treatment' was a 'grind and bog' affair.

My experience. Blisters not quite as bad as shown but bad enough. Yacht value in good condition maybe $120K australian. Cost of a proper job 9 years ago $30K New Zealand.
Professionally stripped , HotVac dried out, and then Vinyl Ester.

IMO well worth the money. YMMV

First pic is boat next to mine.

[alamoana]

I would buy a peeler, make DIY hotvac, buy a warm pressure washer and a moisture meter, Peel gel coat, wash daily with warm water AM and PM. Measure humidity weekly until it starts to come down, then epoxy barrier coat. It will be like new

[rognvald]

It depends on how much time you're willing to commit to the project and how soon you would like to sail. So, there's no quick fix so forget about that based on your pix. However, if the boat has real value and you're willing to wait, you can get what you want. Here's a DIY alternative:
1.) sand/soda blast all gelcoat from the bottom
2.) powerwash the bottom once a week with fresh water for a minimum of 6
months. One year would be optimum.
3.) after the boat is fully dried/washed, fair any obvious voids, then fair bottom
4.) apply your choice of barrier coat(West/Petit,Interlux/Seahawk) and after a week
apply bottom paint
However, one caveat: if you're in the Tropics/S. Fla. finish your fairing/bottom coat and bottom after Summer when humidity levels are the lowest.
So, nothing is ever 100%, but unless you want to hire the pros with the same chance of success/failure and serious costs, you should get good results. And, if you're outfitting the boat, you can concentrate on other projects while it's drying out. Good luck. Rognvald

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by rognvald

It depends on how much time you're willing to commit to the project and how soon you would like to sail. So, there's no quick fix so forget about that based on your pix. However, if the boat has real value and you're willing to wait, you can get what you want. Here's a DIY alternative:
1.) sand/soda blast all gelcoat from the bottom
2.) powerwash the bottom once a week with fresh water for a minimum of 6
months. One year would be optimum.
3.) after the boat is fully dried/washed, fair any obvious voids, then fair bottom
4.) apply your choice of barrier coat(West/Petit,Interlux/Seahawk) and after a week
apply bottom paint
However, one caveat: if you're in the Tropics/S. Fla. finish your fairing/bottom coat and bottom after Summer when humidity levels are the lowest.
So, nothing is ever 100%, but unless you want to hire the pros with the same chance of success/failure and serious costs, you should get good results. And, if you're outfitting the boat, you can concentrate on other projects while it's drying out. Good luck. Rognvald

Harsh ... but true.