Tiny bubbles & little blisters in bottom paint down to fiberglass

[52CMY]

The PO had the my boat blasted down to bare fiberglass, the fiberglass blisters repaired, and top of the line Pettit Trinidad Pro barrier coats (2) and top coats (4) completed in 2018. In august last year I hauled out and noted that I most of my paint is in good shape but there are several large swaths that have water blisters under the barrier coat. I can't tell if it's down to primer or bare fiberglass. My bottom paint guy down here in Houston stated that my only choice is an expensive redo back down to bare fiberglass ($15K plus job). I gulped at the unexpected expense and logistics of a longer unscheduled haulout and elected to pass on the extended paint job. The paint expert warned that I would ruin the hull with more blisters if I didn't strip off and start over ASAP.
Here are picks of the paint from last August:


I declined the paint job last august but I'm about to haul out again for a few thru hull replacements and other maintenance. Do I need to repaint?

What are your opinions on my options? Repair with added top coat and let it ride for a few more years till I need topside repaint as well? Or bite the bullet, pay the $15-17K ASAP and do a long yard period to restrip and repaint the hull? Hoping to begin a long cruising period this fall and end up in the mid Atlantic in at the end of 2022.

 

[edward]

Pop one of the bubbles and see what comes out .

 

[Briankinley2004]

I think gel coat blisters on a Hatteras are over rated. Mine has had them. I used to pop them, epoxy, etc. but quit messing with them. If there are any large ones I will have them fixed but otherwise I dont. I found keeping my bilges dry seemed to help on the last haul out or I finally got all the bad places fixed. I know more than one person who spent the 15K to have the gelcoat stripped and still had them at then next haul out. If it were my boat I wouldn't sweat over the ones in your pictures. I have multiple spots on my body bigger than that that I haven't popped.

 

[Jammin']

I have TNTC small blisters (too numerous to count). Has a Hatteras ever sunk from blisters?

 

[52CMY]

Pop one of the bubbles and see what comes out .

The little blister areas are mostly unpopped and typically just 1/4 inch in diameter and if I pop with pin a little water wicks out. I can't tell if the white on the popped blisters is bare fiberglass, gelcoat or white primer.

I'm tempted to monitor for at least another season but am ignorant of the risk of greater expense later.

 

[SeaEric]

IMHO - Paint the bottom and move on.

 

[JuiceClark]

If I was going to leave the boat on the hard for several months, like a FL snowbird who's gone all summer, I'd knock the tops off those pimples and let them dry before recoating.

If you're using it, the hell with it...paint and get it back in the water.

 

[rustybucket]

I like to try and stay on top of them. each haulout we hit them with a die grinder, and surprisingly a pocket knife does a great job digging them out. Then use epoxy or VE resin with a thickner, mix it up like mayo or peanut butter. Use a bare razor blade to fill and smooth the resin over the blisters. Using the razor blade removes the need to sand/fair them after it hardens. After it cures you can go with a barrier coat, or just go straight to bottom paint.

Doing it this way you don't have to repaint the entire bottom, just the areas you fixed.

Personally I would try to fix most if not all of them. Eventually if you let them slide it turns into a MAJOR project. if you stay on top of them it's not too bad and just a half a day of the haulout. Fixing blisters is a great introduction for a person wanting to get into fiberglass repair. I try to teach/train one of the young helpers and have them do that project. That way they are able to put their name on something from the haulout, gives them a sense of pride and some experience to boot!

Letting them go will only lead to a major problem when you are ready to sell the boat. Buyers love to hammer you on price when they see blisters.

 

[52CMY]

Thanks guys--good inputs!
...I guess I forgot to hammer the PO when I bought but it was looking good 20 months ago at survey. Sadly he paid the big bucks for the best possible repair a year prior but it fell short due to faulty work from his hull tech/paint team.