1987 Trojan 10.8 Meter Hull Blisters

[Rwoerner]

I had this boat hauled out today and surveyed. The surveyor hammered the hull and deemed it solid and strong. He did report intermittent dime sized blisters that he characterized as cosmetic. The blisters were spaced far apart from each other and were small. He said not to be concerned about them impacting the integrity of the hull. He did say that it may impact future sale of this boat as some buyers would immediately walk.

Hoping for some input as to what the consensus is about these blisters. Should I walk?

Guidance for this newbie is much appreciated. BTW overall the boat is in good shape, including new crusaders. Salon needs updating but this purely cosmetic.

[prowlersfish]

A few folks will run at just hearing the word, but a few blisters are no big deal IMO . Blisters are not uncommon and really not a hard fix if its a few . Now a boat that's loaded with them is a different story . Trojans are not know to have blister issues so a few is not are big deal .

I don't think I would be overly concerned .

[Landlocked]

I've had my 1985 11 Meter for 20 years. Every time I've had it hauled for a bottom job there have been lots of lumps on the bottom. I suppose they are blisters but each time I ask the service manager if they are a serious problem he says they have examined them and "not to worry about it" I can't say that they get any larger from year to year but you can sure feel them when you rub your hand on the bottom.

So - don't know for sure if it is a lack of knowledge on the service guy's part or a lack of anything for me to worry about but there are a ton of them (so I worry about it)

[Big D]

Blisters are a cosmetic thing unless they are large and widespread. The trick is in convincing your insurance company that they are not a structural problem that needs to be corrected right away. The thing about blisters though is that they tend to get larger as time goes by, and it's more concerning in nothern climates as any water remaining in them when things freeze can cause them to expand enough to shatter a piece of glass off. It may affect your ability to sell the boat in the future as it does scare off most people. A properly done bottom job is not cheap. A cheap bottom job will come back to haunt you! I'm about to do a bottom job for someone who had a bottom job done five years ago for a "good deal." It is covered with blisters again. After I had her blasted, it was clear that the wrong products (cheaper) were used and each blister patch was popping out (100s of them). This time the fix won't be so cheap!