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Feeling better about my sole!

Dferr

Member II
Reading through the E32 threads, I read about some blistering problems on some Ericsons that where manufactured in Mexico. The years of the boats are that of what I'm looking at. Is this a real problem or is it a lot of hype? Would the serial number tell anything on where it was manufactured? The boat has been sitting on the hard for two seasons now. I don't know if a blistering problem would be noticeable now. Also, the first thing I noticed when I approched the boat was the distinctive paint crack line between the hull and keel. I read something about that as well, not sure if that's a concern. I would appreciate any info or concerns.

Thanks,
Don
 

wurzner

Member III
Don,

If the boat has been on the hard for 2 years, you won't be able to discern any blisters since they will have all evacuated any moisture that may have been entrapped. If you are interested in the boat, I would suggest you do exactly as I did. I would have the bottom peeled by someone who has a gelplanner (about 900 bucks). I would rinse the hull down for a week or so every other day and and then give it another week to dry out. I would then put down about 4 coats of interlux followed by about 6 boats of westsystem and you will be in great shape. I would suggest this since the total cost would including peeling would be under 2k with bottom paint. I would do this EVEN if it doesn't have a history of blisters since she's already pretty dry from sitting out for 2 years. I had mine on the hard for 6 months +. The application of epoxy took a few days since I put it down while it was still green (semi cured so it didn't need to be sanded). A lot of folks put barrier coats on new boats directly from the factory and your already 80 percent the way there. On the other hand, even if it does have blisters, they are almost always gel coat blisters opposed to delamination and as such, more of a cosmetic issue unless you really plan on racing. As mentioned, your boat is dry so I would strongly suggest the barrier coat after peeling since this would effectively eliminate the blister issue for years to come.

Having done the job, it can easily be done over 2 weekends.

my .02 cents.
shaun
 

Guy Stevens

Moderator
Moderator
A Much better application method for Epoxy

For the epoxy barrier coat, I too would recommend the West products. However application can be significantly seeded up and a thicker set of only two coats applied by using a Rubbermaid (TM) paint pad. No need to apply it green or anything else. Use the Rubbermaid (tm) paint pads and you should get the recommended 10-16 mils of coating in two coats. This beats the 6-8 coats you will have to apply with the standard roller method. It also ends up very fair and the only sanding necessary is to scotch bright the surface before applying the bottom paint. Or you can apply the first coat of bottom paint to the still slightly green epoxy, although that is not recommended by either West or the bottom paint manufactures.

You must use the Rubbermaid (tm) pads, the other ones dissolve in the epoxy and make a complete mess.

We have done it this way on quite a few boats now, and have been extremely pleased with the results.

Guy
:)
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Gel coat and Geography

Hi Don,
I would advise keeping some perspective on annecdotal evidence concerning osmiotic blistering... whether Ericsons or ANY other brand of sail boat built after the changes in resin chemistry spurred by the oil crisis in the mid 70's.
Remember that all individual narratives are probably sincere, and that extrapolating them into general condemnations or praise-worthyness is, as Mr Spock would say, "Highly Illogical."
:rolleyes:

Our '88 model may have had the hull itself laid up in Mexico, but I have no direct knowledge. The HIN will not show the source of parts, only the manufacturer ID. And like the mast or the engine, the hull is a "part." Final assembly was likely in Irvine, CA, if I remember correctly -- just like our E-built boat.

When we bought it in '94 it had one area of light blistering about a foot by four feet on one side of the bottom. This was ground off and faired with some sort of resin mix, by Mariner Boat yard in SF. The problem never came back.
My previous boat, an '81 Niagara, was from a very high-end Canadian builder and had quite a few large gel coat bottom blisters that we filled with high quality polyester-with-thickener and they never re-occured. ;)

I would probably follow the advice of a local builder, one of the true pioneers in FRP boat building (Tom Green, co-founder of Yacht Constructors) who always advised customers to just grind out the gel coat blister only, clean and dry it, and fill with good quality filler. Fair it and paint it -- and don't worry too much. Even some of the legendary-quality Cascades that he and his crew built had some bottom blisters over the decades, but not too many, not structural, and not re-occurring.

It is worth remembering that, absent a chemistry problem like the failure of the fire-retardent resin in those Valiants for a few short years in the late 70's, good construction practices from higher-than-average quality builders is your first line of defense against blistering... and a host of other problems.
Here is the link to a good discussion of this issue, on this site at little while ago:
http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?t=3431&referrerid=28

Get a good survey, stay calm, and enjoy your Ericson for the next ten or twenty years. An E-32 is a real nice size boat for long term ownership.

My .01 worth, with Wednesday discount.

Cheers,
Loren in PDX
1988 Olson 34 #8
 
Last edited:

Geoff Johnson

Fellow Ericson Owner
I would add, at the risk of re-igniting the blister wars found in another thread here, that it seems very extreme to me peel and barrier coat a boat that is not known to have a blister problem. Moreover, there is some argument for the fact that barrier coating can cause blisters because it traps in the moisture, some of which is absorbed from the interior.
 
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