Chicken pox

[TheLandlady]

Again, my boat has hundreds of tiny blisters.

This is what I’m dealing with (pics). The only things I’m actually worried about are 1. on the very front of the bow stem it’s been worn thru to the glass and 2. A few of these white dots are pitted out about 1mm deep, not quite sure if all the way to the glass. It’s definitely not red but a little gray/off white compare to the actual outer hull gelcoat. (Edit: I am pretty sure these pitted spots were here before the most recent coat of AF was applied as evidenced by the black spots in the middle of some of them.) Can/should I just dab gelcoat on these spots, and touch up the af paint where it’s bare? Ablative is the right choice I’m sure but does it really matter which type/brand?

Edit: Also I’ve never had a boat kept on salt water before and where I’m keeping it is about 10-13ppt… my question is: say I were to just do nothing at all, worst case scenario what would my hull look like in October and would I be able to just scrape off whatever crap is on there before jumping head first into a hull restoration?

I know this hull could really use the $5000 scrape, fairing and barrier/af combo, but I just don’t want to right now! I just want to go dink around!

[TheLandlady]

A couple more pics

[OverEasy]

Hi TheLandLady!

Remember that part about the variations in temperature, humidity and time between the mold getting gel coated and the application of resins and glass in an effectively open environment?
Well it would appear that’s what it would look like….

So getting something to fill the holes is a good thing as a sorta bandaid could help some… I wouldn’t think it would hurt except it makes it a bit more difficult to eventually clean out. You’ll need to be more detail conscious as the AF will tend to either make a gap void between the edge of the pit and the bottom and/or actually get into that “corner” and be a bit harder to remove later. Personally I’d be likely to thin an initial application of the AF and work it into the pits to fill those “corners” and follow up with a regular thickness second coat if faced with that circumstance.

Yer bow looks pretty beaten ( pun intended) .
There’s no gelcoat left, it’s been chipped away to the underlying glass fro the looks of it.
If yer only going to do AF before you splash I’d be putting several extra coats on that area for the dynamic abuse it’s going to see this summer and hope it’s enough to get by first the season.
Later when you scour down in the off season I’d personally be putting on two or more layers of biaxial glass at least two inches to either side to build back what has been compromised. No doubt the actual fibers have been compromised.

Now when fiberglass fibers are exposed to water and marine growth the water microscopically follows the fibers further back into the composite structure to some extent which further tends to spread and weaken the structure … especially as an area flexes … over time. It’s generally not an instantaneous process by any means so not to panic.

Has it failed yet? No.
Will it continue to degrade over time? Probably.
Is it a crisis? Probably not.
Would I take care of it if it were my problem? Yes
Most likely in the off season after sealing it up as good as I could for now.

It’s your boat, your circumstances and your choices… always.

Best Regards
Over Easy

[Russ]

The bow edge looks pretty beat up. Mine is worn similarly just not as bad as that. Just the gelcoat is worn off. Mine from beaching and hitting the trailer too hard. The glass underneath is still solid. Touching it up with some paint might make it look better.

Your boat your rules.

Again, if it were me, I'd get a quart of antifoul and touch up some spots and dunk the boat and enjoy. Your first year of ownership you will learn much about the boat and how you use it.

Will it foul? Perhaps. Depending on the temp of the waters and marine life present, you may just have a bit of slime to powerwash or some barnacles could form.

Next year, budget time/money to fix it right. You may learn marine growth isn't that bad. You are going to have to soda wash it anyway, so if there is some growth, who cares.

The biggest concern would be if they get worse. I seriously doubt it will get worse. Like I said, I've had blisters for years and they haven't gotten worse. The bad ones have popped exposing the raw glass which hasn't suffered as a result.

Blisters do freak out some buyers. It's like "mold" when selling a house. It scares buyers. Our boats are famous for blisters. Search this forum and many captains have them. It is my belief that the gelcoat process had some issues (as described by Overeasy) with many of us. I've yet to see a report of serious problems as a result. I would bet 50% of Macs have them and probably half of those were repaired.

Short answer: If it were me, I would put it aside until next year and enjoy the boat this year.

[OverEasy]

Hi TheLandLady!

Hey,I just noticed a 2002 Mac26X for sale locally with a Mercury 60 2 stroke on a reasonably descent MacGregor single axle trailer for $20k.

However, today I finally got title transferred to MD, and of course they needed to pick my pockets for 5% of market value, but their research indicated under $10k for the vessel,

So like I mentioned a while back that our boat is gonna be potentially worth more than the $10K it was tax assessed.

Best Regards,
Over Easy

PS: Without sharing any specific information here’s reference photo

[TheLandlady]

Well I’ve gathered various ideas and opinions both here on the ol internet and also in person, hanging around boatyards. I’ve decided to slap on some bottom paint and (possibly) worry about it later. A $5k “fix” with a complete restoration below the waterline will always be available in case I really get the urge to light money on fire. But at this point I’d rather spend it on a hull and topsides compounding detail and a bunch of steamed crabs

The boat is up on stands with a fresh coat of ablative, it looks fantastic. I got the mast raised today in the blazing sun and then walked over to the marina pool for some cold fruity drinks and spent about 4 hours catching my daughter as she jumped in to me over and over and over and over. Great day! Seaweed launches this week, I’ll have until 6/15 to get her off the temp slip and down the 3 miles to my slip. The maiden voyage on the Chesapeake Bay might be on Friday the 13th?? Is that too spooky??

[Be Free]

Looking good!!! I know you are looking forward to actually getting her in the water.

You know that sailors are reputed to be a superstitious lot but being a new sailor perhaps you don't know that it is considered bad luck to begin any voyage on a Friday and even the land lubbers might think twice about starting out on the Friday the 13th unless you live in Greece or some Spanish speaking countries then you have to worry about Tuesday the 13th. If you are in Italy it's Friday the 17th and if you speak Mandarin you would avoid the 4th regardless of the day of the week.

That seems like a lot of work to keep up with all of those dates, so I just sail whenever the mood strikes me. I've found it to be a pretty good arrangement. Have a great maiden voyage!

On second thought, I just realized that I do try to avoid starting (or at least launching) on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday but that has more to do with the number and boating skills of the folks who use the boat ramp on those days.

[OverEasy]

Hi TheLandLady!

The boat looks pretty with the new paint!
Glad you’re getting launched and enjoying your family!
To be honest, I miss the endless jump and catch when my daughters were young. It’s a magical time!

Hi Be Free!

Four!
Thirteen!
Seventeen!
Tuesday!
Friday!
Sounds like a High School football play call in the huddle!

I can fully agree with avoiding the weekends at the ramp in season though!
The zippydodahs, the grossly unprepared, the snarky pseudo pros, the spousal assistants, the heavy footed, the let’s-get-the-party-started-earlys, the ‘costumes’ or near lack there of, the limited parking, the Karen’s, the cars parking in boat trailer slots, then there’s always at least one with the excessively loud boombox playing something with nothing but thumping base, then add to it all the incoming/out going tides, currents, winds….
Yeah, I can see the wisdom of not launching on a weekend! …

I’ve never been one to believe in ‘luck’ or ‘ethereal forces’ but in my younger days long long ago I heard of an individual who put a banana on the bow of a particular ‘nemesis’s’ boat who was both quite ‘religious’ & ‘superstitious’ as it was being launched. Apparently it wasn’t noticed until after the boat had launched and motored away for some minutes…. Then it did a U-turn, powered back to the ramp in haste and was then hauled out without attaching the safety chain to the bow hook…. About 2/3 of the way up the ramp the boat shifted aft jerking the slack out of the winch rope which put the center of gravity aft of the axles which lifted the hitch which reduced the friction contact of the rear wheels of the pickup which startled the driver who floored the throttle which jerked the boat further aft while smoking the tires which raised the rear of the pickup further and the whole thing started to roll back down the ramp until the boat lifted off the trailer which dropped the hitch back down which let the tires grip again which allowed the truck to lurch forward which started the whole process to start all over again… which then snapped the winch rope as it gave up the ghost and the boat departed the trailer, dropped into the water and drifted away with no one aboard into the river…. Apparently all because of a banana … So there might be something to the ‘banana on a boat’ thingy…. …. Even if it’s fully self induced!

(I was told the story in confidence when I asked why the ‘nemesis’ adamantly and vocally refused a slice of banana pie at a neighborhood picnic supper several years after the day… )

Best Regards,
Over Easy

[TheLandlady]

Thanks for the advice guys! We launched, we got her off the transient slip and down to ours and we’ve had her out twice since, once with sails and all. Blisters be damned! More details are in a new thread I created in the trip log section, which will take over as my blog post for this seasons adventures.