Hull blisters 1998 38 Ocean

[chowder]

Hello All:

We are in the process of purchasing a 1998 38 Ocean. Boat was hauled out and inspected during survey. Immediately after cleaning, blisters below the waterline were noticed. Probably numbering around 100 per side. No larger than about 21 mm (US nickel), nearly perfect roundness and random pattern. Immediate bottom had no blisters, limited to the sides and slightly down the curved chine.

Blisters were confirmed to be gel coat blisters and were dry inside (using moisture meter then peeling one off). Quite hard, could not depress blister with hard finger pressure. The surveyor said the blisters were "non-osmotic", dry, and did not have any particular odor (gassing).

All this said, the surveyor gave us a well rounded lesson on types of blisters and summed it up this way: Get a "worse case" repair quote to negotiate the purchase price. He also said that he wouldn't worry too much about them and most likely would not repair them if he were buying the boat. But, keep an eye on them to make sure they do not get larger.

We are comfortable with his opinion, he is reputable and has been a surveyor for many, many years. We are concerned about the potential resale value when we become the sellers.

Seeking thoughts, opinions and advise from anyone here!

-Eric

[IslandAlchemy]

Worse case is £5k for a gelcoat peel and epoxy.  Probably not necessary though.

You best bet might be to get the hull soda blasted, then scrape the blisters off, fill with epoxy, then epoxy the entire hull (or coppercoat it).

Use it to negotiate the price down (go for £5k off as a starting point), but it wouldn't worry me unduely.

[chowder]

Thank you, Island. It's good to hear someone else's opinion in the affirmative.

[nightowle]

My reason for posting is not to scare you off of the purchase.  But, a 42 foot boat with a similar amount of blisters was quoted $20k by the fiberglass specialists at a yard here in Seattle recently.  Of course, I think that's an outrageous amount but I think you should at least get a professional quote to use for negotiation.  Having repaired blisters in the past myself, your boats issues wouldn't dissuade me from buying it.  But if these blisters weren't represented in the listing before getting to the survey you should at least get a substantial discount as you'll be faced with similar discounting when you sell if you don't address the problem.

[Rampage]

It’s sounds as if the OP is based in USA, so will need to get a local company to quote for the work.  That said, I’d go with the soda blast, remove blister, fill and fair then I’d Coppercoat as that’d get an epoxy coating on the hull and provide antifoul.

[PEA-JAY]

Hi Chowder, with so many boats available for sale it’s a buyers market.
Personally I would walk away from this boat whatever anyone tells me!
Regards

[IslandAlchemy]

Why walk away from a perfectly good boat?

All secondhand boats have some sort of problem.  If you took that attitude you wouldn't buy anything.

[Symphony]

Depends on what your objectives are and the price of the boat. The going rate for a 38 Ocean in average condition is around £70k ($90k) - but all 20+ year old boats will need some sort of work doing, either remedial or updating, or both. The key figure is the total budget for getting the boat to the standard you require. If the objective is to keep the boat for 5-10 years then it is worth considering stripping the bottom, grinding out the blisters and then epoxy coating. If going to that level definitely worth using Coppercoat as you will then have up to 10 years free of having to antifoul. If you don't intend keeping the boat then it is perhaps not worth that kind of investment as you won't get the payback. The blisters are cosmetic and unlikely to get any worse so if you intend selling in the short term, let the next owner decide what to do. He will face exactly the same dilemma as you.

[chowder]

What a great community! I really appreciate every response.

We have decided we will make an offer that reflects the cost to repair the blisters. Most likely, we'll wait until next haul out to determine if there has been more blistering over that time. Then decided if we should do the repair. Speaking to the local yard, they are of the opinion that the blisters will probably remain the same in size and number, being that they are non-osmotic type and the age of the boat.

[blue bear]

I just had to deal with the same problem on my '99 ocean 38. When I purchased in '15, the hull was fair. But when hauled last year, there were dozens of little blisters on the hull and rudder. It was about 5k USD for all the work, and a triple barrier coat, and 2 layers of ablative. These were gel coat blisters, not into the fiberglass. A year later, the hull is still fair. I don't perceive this to be a major issue, maybe even just cosmetic. But after 20+ years I figured the hull was due to have all the old paint removed and freshed up.

[Craig]

Get this checked further.

The blisters appear far too big to be osmosis or gel coat blistering. It doesn't look like a structural issue or gel coat issue.

Scrape one off and see what is underneath.

I suspect this is the wrong primer or a previous Anti-fouling layer lifting off the previous layer. If this is the case, just sand down, reapply primer and anti-foul.

Craig
"Shirley Valentine"
Gold Coast
Australia

[Jeffatoms]

Well, we too are here in the Seattle area with a 1998 38 Ocean.  Are you technically in Port Orchard?  If so, it appears you got a great deal on that boat. We didnt have any blisters when we bought our sistership 4 years ago but had a couple engine related issues called out in our survey.  We are here to help share our lessons learned.  Call me at TorridMarine.com.

[chowder]

Hey Jeff! Yes, P.O.. We're closing on it in the next week or two. Boat sales are so hot right now it took over a month to get the surveyor out. USCG and State process is equally inundated. J will call & we'll draw on you experiences.