Sandblasted and stuck in Canada

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Slparnell56

Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2018
Messages
6
Location
USA
Vessel Name
United771
Vessel Make
1998 Hyatt
I need help in deciding if launching a boat with a sandblasted bottom and moving from Midland Ontario to Michigan will cause any additional harm to the bottom.

Lost an engine last August, got to a yard that could do the work but would require staying over the winter. I knew I had some blisters, so when hauled out I had the bottom sandblasted and opened as many of the blisters as I could find (with hammer&chisel).

COVID hit and I haven’t been able to get back to Canada...moisture is still too high due to blisters scabbing over. I’d love to hear from anyone with experience or knowledge of the pros/con. A deliver captain moving a boat is deemed essential, but I cannot move it myself.
Thanks in advance for any help/advice.
 
Good luck blasted,
Are you east or west?
 
Welcome aboard. I don’t think that it will hurt it if you don’t leave the boat in the water too long. The blisters are still wet so they get a bit wetter. It will just take a while longer to dry out. Good luck and we will need some photos when you get to it.
 
Gel is water resistant, more so than plain resin...but still is permeated by water.



Plain resin without gel is waterproof enough for short periods.....unfortunately blasting probably left a bunch of exposed fibers that will wick water quickly....but the boat won't sink.


Other than that, gel is cosmetic.
 
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psneeld said:
Gel is water resistant, more so than plain resin...but still is permeated by water.



Plain resin without gel is waterproof enough for short periods.....unfortunately blasting probably left a bunch of exposed fibers that will wick water quickly....but the boat won't sink.


Other than that, gel is cosmetic.
Click to expand...

That is what I was thinking. Putting an unfinished boat in the water may not be a good idea.
 
Greetings,
Welcome aboard. What little I know about it, I agree with Mr. SV. Not a good idea.



iu
 
I don't know the answer, but as a counterpoint, if you've got blisters that are deep enough that they have "scabbed over" even after sitting out in the open for a while, maybe you are looking at a hull peel anyway to fix them? In which case most of what gets "wet" will be going bye-bye anyway.

Also, as mentioned above, you've obviously had water getting in there for years (why there are blisters).

While I wouldn't be thrilled to put it in the water at this point, I probably would and then just figure that was all coming off anyway. I don't see leaving it in Canada as a solution since who knows when the border will re-open. I wouldn't want "big" work projects being done in a place I couldn't get to.
 
Soo-Valley said:
That is what I was thinking. Putting an unfinished boat in the water may not be a good idea.
Click to expand...


The other side of the coin is they already have absorbed water (at least once).


I am 50/50 with the idea....if there is a downside....I can't think of it as huge unless someone has some real data on the subject.


I have seen boat bottoms torn apart from rocks and the boat was in the water for a day or so....withing a couple weeks they were dried and fixed...one I know is still in commercial service.
 
Fiberglass blisters can scab over?? Huh. Never heard of that.
 
Do I read it correctly that you're planning on doing the hull repairs yourself? If not and you're paying someone to do them, it's likely cheaper in Canada with the current exchange rate.
 
I don’t think you will have any problems if you have it launched and run it to Michigan and haul it then do the work. I would not want to have the work done remotely where I couldn’t watch the progress. Where in Michigan would you be taking it?
 
As I think about it, there could even be an advantage. Is the "scabbed over" more of the styrene ooze? Usually, after the treatment, you are supposed to give everything a good rise with freshwater to remove any traces of that stuff. You will be in fresh water, so ....

And if you are going to leave it out over the winter (maybe after a peel?), then there will be plenty of dry, dry air there.

I wouldn't leave it sitting in the water for weeks, but a few days, the more I think about it, I would do no problem (just don't expect to continue the repair the next day upon arrival obviously).
 
A bit outside the box but would a single coat of bottom paint help in this situation to get the boat to Michigan? Would need to be removed later but sounds like there is a fair amount of work still to be done anyway.
 
One way or another I'd get it to inside heated storage for the winter, as that's an excellent way to dry the hull. Fix the blisters and apply an epoxy barrier coat plus bottom paint in the early Spring. Either hire it done or plan on a very long week with a competent helper to do it yourself (assuming the bottom is already stripped and blisters are "opened"). Have paint, epoxy, blister repair materials pre-positioned. Do the work in the storage building, not outside in a yard as weather in the region is unpredictable. It's getting late in the season to be lining up a delivery captain and getting the boat moved. Last I checked gale force winds and 12 foot waves are forecast for Lake Michigan later this week. Don't know about Huron.
 
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I would not bottom paint as it is not waterproof.....otherwise most boats would never get blisters.


There are experts that say the only way to get water out of a hull is peeling, grinding or heated vacuum. A hot dry summer doesn't seem to do it so I don't think that heated storage would be adequate....maybe better than nothing and a head start on getting all the moisture out but by itself I have never seen anyone say it's adequate.
 
Worked great for me. But then I didn't have issues with moisture in laminate layers...just individual blisters which were ground out when the boat was hauled in the Fall. Bone dry in the Spring. It's like a desert in those buildings after several months with the heaters on. But get the job done before they open the doors and turn off the heat. Zero blister recurrence in 12 years.
 
Soo-Valley said:
That is what I was thinking. Putting an unfinished boat in the water may not be a good idea.
Click to expand...

+1 :thumb:

Have to put it back on the hard for maybe another 3 months to ensure it is dried out again.
 
psneeld said:
The other side of the coin is they already have absorbed water (at least once).


I am 50/50 with the idea....if there is a downside....I can't think of it as huge unless someone has some real data on the subject.


I have seen boat bottoms torn apart from rocks and the boat was in the water for a day or so....withing a couple weeks they were dried and fixed...one I know is still in commercial service.
Click to expand...
The difference I think is that if the fibre is encased in resin the water cannot travel. The unknown/suspected here is that a good sandblasting job was done to prep the boat for a fresh coat of resin which may/probably has left vast areas ready to soak up water. IMO of course.
A boat bottom torn apart by a rock is localised and only that area gets wet.
 
Moisture will not hurt well cured polyester resin afterall it's already hygroscopic.

If there is any hydrolysis (dissolved resin), a few days in the water may actually help a bit as hydrolized resin is water soluble .... the immersion may actually help rinse some of that out. Powerwashing after gel stripping is a common practice for that reason.

I don't believe a few days in the water is a concern.

If you hire a Canadian captain to bring the boat home he can ask Canada Border Services for a "commercial transaction number" which gives him exemption from quarantine upon return to Canada ... This only works if he has a masters ticket.
 
I believe it`s quite common to wash blisters as they drain their nasty contents. With one boat I was looking at a peel using a Peel Plane, rather than soda blasting, and doing the peel at one yard and moving it by water a short distance to haul out at another yard where noise regulations made a peel job unacceptable. So I think it`s ok to put it in the water blasted but unrepaired.
I`ve not heard of opened blisters scabbing over.
 
boatpoker said:
Moisture will not hurt well cured polyester resin afterall it's already hygroscopic.

If there is any hydrolysis (dissolved resin), a few days in the water may actually help a bit as hydrolized resin is water soluble .... the immersion may actually help rinse some of that out. Powerwashing after gel stripping is a common practice for that reason.

I don't believe a few days in the water is a concern.

If you hire a Canadian captain to bring the boat home he can ask Canada Border Services for a "commercial transaction number" which gives him exemption from quarantine upon return to Canada ... This only works if he has a masters ticket.
Click to expand...



This.

When I was trying to dry one of my boats I’d rinse it with fresh water every few days. You are trying to get the styrene out which dissolves more resin and continues the cycle. Consider it thorough rinse. Just let it dry, get some air on it when you take it out, might even help it for jus5 a few days.

If you have styrene leaving resin drying on the blisters, she needs a rinse and is far from “dry” now. You probably have pockets you need to slip a knife into and see just how much of the Matt needs to come off. I. Guessing you may need a peel.
 
Not sure of ur question, boat is in Midland, couple hours north of Toronto.
 
Hull blisters

I can't comment about whether or not to leave your boat in Canada, but I have plenty of experience with osmosis blisters. If your boat has been in saltwater for much of its life, then drying will take longer. The hull must be regularly rinsed with fresh water to leach out the salt (it's hydroscopic--attracts and holds water). We had our Corbin 39 hauled and peeled in NZ and it took almost a year to dry out. Don't rush the job and get it done by someone who knows what they are doing.
 
Even though it is counter intuitive, washing open blisters with water is standard operating procedure. The idea is that the water gets a in and washes some of the blister causing salts out .I think you may have just developed a new strategy. Submersion will pressurize the water slightly. Make sure blisters are reopened before launching. Go for it!
 
I had a client that splashed his boat after a gel coat peel and moved it to another yard. The client did the peeling himself with a rotary peeler and had intended to apply the epoxy barrier and bottom paint himself. By the time he was done peeling, which took twice as long as planned, he was physically beat and out of vacation time so he decided to pay to have the bottom finished.

He had to move the boat to another yard for the epoxy and paint. The distance was only a few miles but the boat sat in salt water for almost two days between Travel Lifts.

As soon as the boat was out of the water at the second yard, the bottom was scrubbed with Simple Green to remove any oil or contaminents on the bottom and pressure washed lightly. I moisture tested the hull next day after the hull surface was dry. Moisture was up 4 to 5 percent from previous readings but dropped to the previous reading in a week. This was in May so not overly warm nor dry.


I would not put any paint on the bottom. Its not necessary and would require sanding off.

Unless the blisters are deep and more than the gel coat was blasted off, the fibers near the gel coat is usually short chopped strand and will not wick moisture deep or far. My client had peeled deep enough that roving was exposed but any increase in moisture still dissapeared in a short time.

A rotary peeler leaves a smoother surface than media blasting, depending on the media used. You mentioned sandblasting but most yards use a softer media for peeling gelcoat like soda or walnut shells. The surface from blasting is microscopically rough and has more potential for trapping contaminents.

Contaminents on the surface hindering epoxy adhesion would be a greater concern than water intrusion.
 
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Thanks so much...decision has been made to stay put in Canada.
 
Thanks for your thoughts...that is the path I am seeking!
 
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