what's wrong with my boat?

[1988bomber]

Here is a pic of the bottom of my boat (1988 bomber). This pic was taken at VERY close range, so the bumps you see are not that big. The big one in the middle is about the size of a dime if that helps give a perspective.<br /><br />Anyway, these bumps are ALL OVER the bottom of my boat. They appear to only be below the water line. What are they? Are they blisters? Are they harmful? Anybody know how to fix this?<br /><br />-Thanks <br />88bomber<br /><br />

 

[boatingfool]

Re: what's wrong with my boat?

Looks like some kind of corrosion.<br /><br />I am not familiar with your type of boat.<br />Is it Aluminum or fiberglass??

 

[1988bomber]

Re: what's wrong with my boat?

It's a 16' fiberglass bass boat.

 

[snapperbait]

Re: what's wrong with my boat?

Boat Pox.. Yes, they are blisters.. <br /><br />They can be quite harmful causing structural damage to the fiberglass laminate but not very likely...<br /><br />Blisters are caused by porosity in the gelcoat.. Basicly, initially water seeps in the tiny pores and disolves any leftover chemicals causing the water in th pores to become acidic... Then by osmosis more water gets in and the volume of water begins to push the gelcoat away from the fiberglass causing the bubbles.. <br /><br />How long was the boat left in the water?<br /><br />In any case, if the rest of the bottom is as bad as the picture, your looking at having to remove the gelcoat from the bottom and either re-gelcoating or epoxy coating and painting the bottom... The possibility of some fiberglass work to repar any damage to the fiberglass is not out of the question either...

 

[Reel Appeal]

Re: what's wrong with my boat?

Bomber,<br /> My guess would be blisterus alloverus (blisters).Those blisters may have small amounts of water in them,maybe not.Try poking one with a ice pick(or something like that and watch for signs of water).From what I know,that is usually caused by water permeating the outer gel coat,either through osmosis or a worn/damaged area.Water pockets stuck between the gel coat and fiberglass hull.The only way to cure this is to sand heavily to remove the blisters,let dry,prep and apply a barrier coat(such as VC tar,etc.),then bottom paint,etc.It's a big job.If left un-repaired,could lead to delamination problems possibly down the road. Appears to be alot of crazing(super fine cracks)in the gel coat.An orbital disc sander w/coarse 50 or 36g resin backed discs should work best.

 

[1988bomber]

Re: what's wrong with my boat?

Thanks for the info guys!<br /><br />The boat was never left in the water to my knowledge. I do know that the previous owner left it outside for several years uncovered. Not sure if that could have caused it.<br /><br />It sounds like a very expensive/time consuming project. Should I just nurse it along until it gets really bad? Or am I already to that point? How can you tell whether delamination is occurring or not?<br /><br />Thanks again!