1974 Hull - bubbling issue

gibson123

New Member
Greetings Folks, I am the proud new owner of a 1974 Laser! I have been cleaning her up and I have a question for the experts on here. On the hull there is a series of bubbles and crazing marks. I am not sure if it is just the gel coat or if a think layer of fiberglass is impacted. I would like to race her in local regattas, what can I do which is class legal to get a smooth surface again? If worse came to worse I could simply sand her down and paint her, but after reading the posts here, I assume that is not class legal, and I am not sure the best way to fix.

Thanks for your suggestions.
 

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I don't know why it wouldn't be class legal to paint it, but it will add weight if you paint it. In some cases, folks seem to believe that it adds alot of weight.

I'd think a light spray would not add that much weight, but I have not done it so don't know for sure.
 
i really dont know why the bubbling is happening, but maybe some minor sanding can get rid of it or if you decide to paint iv got another thread up right now that alot of people on here have been contributing to, about exactly how to paint the laser ( i have a 1974 laser aswell)
 
Thanks to you both. OK, tomorrow is sand and prep for a good paint. Thanks I saw that thread for painting a hull, so I will review and follow those instructions. I'll have her in the bay mid week. I'm not too worried about a couple of extra pounds, would rather have it smooth. Happy sailing.
 
good luck! be sure to take pictures and post what you did to paint the boat because im painting my '74 laser soon and to see what you did would help alot!
 
Cheers to fellow '74 owners. I grabbed my vintage lass a month ago, complete with wood blades but a brand new sail, though it turns out to have a crummy paint job on both the bottom and the deck. It was tough, but I needed to make myself not care. Rather than spend time and money on the hull, I just made sure I would have the smartest-looking mahogany grab rails in the state.

I come from a bike-racing background where equipment-freaks abound, and now I'm old and wise, I just want to urge people not to fret the frets and just play the instrument.
 

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