Help! I think I have osmosis

[Concerto]

Does he have a white hull? Contests were moulded in white gelcoat, but many were painted a different colour.

Dark blue. I believe he said all Contests were painted hulls using Awalgrip as it is tougher than gel coat.

 

[johnlilley]

Interesting point, have you seen many boats affected like this? Would it be unusual to see it at only 6 years in? Thanks

Not expected, but not impossible. So much depends upon the circumstances of the conditions when the hull was sprayed, particularly if it was not a standard practice with controlled conditions as some were, then if the humidity was too high when done then the coating can blister, sometimes only as little as three or four years down the line. Awlgrip is very good....and very expensive but there are numerous other paint manufacturers of similar paint. More dependant upon spraying conditions in the main. Water vapour passes through the gun & into the paint. The additional high humidity at the waterline is the last straw sometimes. Probably needs an experienced eye to have a look. Either way, a 6 year old vessel should not suffer this way if it has not been subject to hull works after leaving the yard.

 

[Birdseye]

Had the boat hauled yesterday and while cleaning her this morning, found a line of hundreds of little blisters along the waterline. The area is normally immersed in water.

Popped one of the blisters and a vinegary fluid came out. So im fairly sure it's osmosis.

I now have some questions and would be super appreciative if you could all help here.

1. I assume this is osmosis, correct?

2. The boat is only 6 years old. Surely this is not a problem that should occur with such a new boat?

3. How urgent is the fix? Can I leave it 18 months until I can get the boat back to the factory and have them fix it, or should I find a local Osmosis centre to fix it.


Many thanks

View attachment 73886View attachment 73886

1/Yes. Absolutely classic osmosis.

2/ no it should not

3/ strong argument that its a factory job FOC. Consult a good lawyer. Its a defect that wasnt visib;le to inspection at the date of purchase.

 

[Tranona]

1/Yes. Absolutely classic osmosis.

2/ no it should not

3/ strong argument that its a factory job FOC. Consult a good lawyer. Its a defect that wasnt visib;le to inspection at the date of purchase.

Perhaps you should read the whole thread before commenting.

It could be osmosis but is unlikely - current view is the hull may well be sprayed (read the two posts by johnlilley in particular). The boat is 6 years old so a claim under the CRA is unlikely to succeed as it is outside the normal time limit. The builder no longer exists, having gone bust about 3 years ago.

 

[pvb]

It could be osmosis but is unlikely - current view is the hull may well be sprayed

It's not my view that the hull was painted. The Southerly brochure states "Hull colour is gelled into the boat, rather than just painted on the surface – thus it has high durability, with two coats of epoxy below the waterline providing additional protection. Standard is white, with blue boot top and caveta line, with other colour options available." Now admittedly this brochure reflects current Southerly techniques, but I think it's unlikely that the Discovery Group has introduced radical changes in the way Southerly yachts are built.

 

[lw395]

The blisters look suspiciously regular?
I've seen similar on some racing dinghies where the gelcoat is very thin (sometimes due to excessive polishing out of scratches). Sometimes it's related to the boat being built with a polyester gelcoat but the main structure of vinylester or epoxy. The cloth pattern 'prints through' in some light conditions. I think in these cases, the gelcoat can just be replaced as the structural resin is OK.
Some things like this disappear over the winter. Particularly if you keep it indoors.
I'd suggest getting a boat builder to look at it.

I've seen older boats with similar but more random spreads of pox above the waterline, if you keep your boat on a mooring with more waves than a sheltered marina, this area is continually wet, so the epoxy and boot topping wants extending. I had a mild case around the bow of one boat, probably the weight of my mooring wasn't helping. Luckily it was an old boat and the new owner was fairly gung ho about it (at the price). It's still floating 19 years on FWIW.

 

[Tranona]

It's not my view that the hull was painted. The Southerly brochure states "Hull colour is gelled into the boat, rather than just painted on the surface – thus it has high durability, with two coats of epoxy below the waterline providing additional protection. Standard is white, with blue boot top and caveta line, with other colour options available." Now admittedly this brochure reflects current Southerly techniques, but I think it's unlikely that the Discovery Group has introduced radical changes in the way Southerly yachts are built.

Not sure that is how Northshore did it. IIRC they used their own gel coat called Nordseal below the waterline which was clear.

As johnlilley suggests it is not unusual for hulls to be sprayed if the finish is less than good and you would not be able to see the difference between that and gel coat just by looking at it.

That is one of the reasons I suggested the OP talks to Northshore as the knowledge of how the boats were built is still there.

 

[pvb]

Not sure that is how Northshore did it. IIRC they used their own gel coat called Nordseal below the waterline which was clear.

As johnlilley suggests it is not unusual for hulls to be sprayed if the finish is less than good and you would not be able to see the difference between that and gel coat just by looking at it.

That is one of the reasons I suggested the OP talks to Northshore as the knowledge of how the boats were built is still there.

You seem determined to believe it's been painted! How about this extract from a Southerly owner's manual from 2008?

 

[JumbleDuck]

You seem determined to believe it's been painted!

And you seem determined to believe that it's not, despite evidence that Southerly/Northshore painted at l;east some of at least some hulls and that several people have pointed out that this looks more like paint blisters than traditional osmosis. Of course you may be right, but the alternative hypothesis is not one to dismiss out of hand. After all, they don't normally bubble like this, so there must be something non-standard about the hull.

 

[pvb]

And you seem determined to believe that it's not, despite evidence that Southerly/Northshore painted at l;east some of at least some hulls and that several people have pointed out that this looks more like paint blisters than traditional osmosis. Of course you may be right, but the alternative hypothesis is not one to dismiss out of hand. After all, they don't normally bubble like this, so there must be something non-standard about the hull.

Sorry, I missed that evidence, where was it?