Hull blisters

C

Clyde

Member
I leave my Sunfish (circa 1976) in the water (fresh) 9 months of the year. It has developedc serious hull blisters. I will not keep it in the water again but how do i fix them in the meantime? I know I have to grind them down but what do I use as filler?
 
[I've done this repair on a 35 ft. keel boat, and it was a huge job, however with a Sunfish flipped onto it's deck it should be easy. You need to open up the blisters, flush the cavities with fresh water and let the hull dry thoroughly. Once the hull is dry ( you can purchase relative moisture meters or you can tape a square of cellophane over a few of the ground out blisters and wait a day or so to see whether condensation forms on the under side of the cellophane, if so the laminate needs more drying time. Once dryness is achieved you need to apply a solventless epoxy filler (International paints has a VC epoxy filler but I'm sure lots of others do as well) Once the filler has set you can sand it smooth then apply a few epoxy barrier coats, this will reduce the possibility of future water ingress. If your hull is covered in blisters you will need to fair the bottom using a sanding block at least 16 to 18 inches long, this will minimize the chance of sanding small areas into little hollows. The final stage will be to re coat the hull with gel coat of similar finish. Your plan to dry sail the boat is good as in order of ability to pentrate fiberglass, Warm fresh water does it best, followed by cold fresh, warm salt and lastly cold salt. If you store your boat deck up outside cover it as rain sitting in the cokpit will do the same damage as the fresh water did to your hull. Happy sanding.
 
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