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I'm trying to get some information from experienced boat owners to see if they have come across the same problem I am having.
I have a 2003 Carolina Skiff 198 V-Series that I have been really happy with.
I bought the boat brand new, and have taken good care of it.
I recently had an issue come up that I need to get some advice on.
I usually use the Skiff for weekend fishing on the flats of west central Florida.
This year I put it in the fresh water (Lake Tarpon) behind my house for a few weeks.
When I took it out of the water I noticed that there were bubbles in the gelcoat, all over the surface of the boat, below the water line.
Photo of transom (these bubbles are on the entire mottom surface of the boat):
I've had several boats over the last 20 years and have never seen any thing like this. I've owned a 1979 Ski Natique for almost 20 years and it stays in the lake continuously, 6-7 months out of the year. It has never developed bubbles in the gelcoat.
Has anyone else had this kind of problem with a relatively new boat?
If so, what was the factory's response?
I've taken the first step of working through my dealer to see if Carolina Skiff will do anything about this under their warranty.
Blisters.........should be warranty, had some on 2000 pursuit, blisters developed in 2006, and were covered under pursuit's 5 year hull warranty, without any hassles at all. Gel was completely stripped from bottom and completely re-done with epoxies, barrier coats etc. whatever the prescribed fix is.......only downside to the process was I had to go with a painted bottom, it turned out looking good, but I really liked the clean look of the original bottom. Have since sold the boat and new owner is very happy with the painted bottom as it's always kept in the water. Had the repairs come out of my pocket would have been in the $4500-5000 range. Best advice.....talk w/dealer and manufacturer in pleasant tone, don't rant about the problem all over the internet, no dealer/manufacturer bashing and you will probably be able to work out an a amiable solution.
Location: Los Angeles, FL.or Georgia, depends. In Fl now.
Posts: 5,979
RE: Bubbles in Gelcoat
Ah! The dread Boat Pox. Water gets under gelcoat, reacts with fiberglass chemicals and pushes gelcoat out. There are 7 schools of thought on what to do:
1. Rip gelcoat off and reapply new gelcoat.
2. Rip gelcoat off and paint.
3. Grind bubbles out and fill them in with epoxy. Paint with several coats of barrier coat.
4. Do nothing. Leave boat out of water for a few months with a fan blowing air at bubbles. When they disappear paint with barrier coat.
5. Take it back to manufacturer to reapply blister proof gelcoat.
6. Do nothing. If you keep boat on trailer they will disappear.
7 Apply dry ice to area till they go away. Won't this crack gelcoat?
I had two sailboats full time on salt water for 10 yrs and they never got a blister. My neighbors had different brand boats and got the Pox.
From what I have seen it is a response to poor lay-up procedures and incorrect use of catalyst.
They came out with an Isophtalmic gelcoat a few years back that would not blister. Or so, they claimed. You could not sand bottom to bottom paint. Once you sanded bottom it was curtains for seal and blisters would develop. You had to use a special non-sanding primer.
There are thousands of conflicting articles and discussions on boat pox (blisters). Do a search.
These are what is termed osmotic blisters. The actual cause can be from a variety of factors. The gel coat is not the culprit nor is it a cure, it is the underlying resin that has the issues. Cheap resin, and by cheap I mean resin that can be less than half the cost of good resin, is the biggest problem, followed by improper catalyst level and/or mixture. One of the reasons you can find older production boats with no problems is the chemistries of polyester resins have been modified over the years to keep up with environmental regulations and cost cutting efforts. During the 70's and early 80's a lot of lesser quality boats started blistering because the problem wasn't very well understood. Higher quality boats using better resins didn't have near as many problems.
I don't know the exact numbers, but I'm sure most builders now use a vinyl ester resin for a skin coat (first layer of glass to go down). It is an excellent preventive measure. Certainly, it should be high on your priority list when buying a boat. Unfortunately you already have the problem and that is too bad.
Over time, the blisters might dry out but they won't fix themselves. The vapor pressure that is causing the blisters has already either separated the gel coat from the glass or gotten between the first couple of layers of glass and pushed them apart. At this point I doubt that there is any structural problem but it is an eyesore. The only real fix is to grind or strip the gel coat (often called gel coat peeling) from the hull and then fairing, then paint. There are specialized tools to make this job easier, however, it will still be expensive. From the pictures it looks like this is the only way to fix this boat.
I hope the mfg stands by their product for your sake. They could probably replace the hull for less than the repair, after all CS hulls are pretty basic. You might need to get creative to get out of this mess in decent shape. I don't know what CS' warranty policy is, I hope they help you out.
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That is some of the worst pox I have seen on a boat. If it covers the whole hull that bad you should prep yourself for a battle because I would not accept anything less than a replacement hull. If it is just that area it might be fixable. Personally, I would not accept an epoxy fix and painted hull as the solution unless the manfr also kicked back several thousand dollars into my pocket. Gel coat has its advantages, you bought those advantages when you bought the boat but did not receive them due to defects in the workmanship and possibly materials.
Both solarfry and OReely has very good replies. I agree with them, it is caused by poor quality workmanship first and foremost, and possibly poor quality of materials.
wow, thats as bad as it gets. I am sorry for you that you have to deal with this after buying the boat new and not that long ago. Looks to me like it would cost way more to fix it (and time) then to just have them give you a new hull. Thats the way I would try and go. Good Luck!
Hopefully the mfg steps up to cover repair/replacement. This should not occur on a five year old hull and preferably never. It is definately not a cosmetic only issue which many warranties consider exempt.
Many good answers on the cause relating to poor quality materials which does include the gelcoat and application processes.
Lots of luck getting that repaired.The builder will claim you didn't paint the bottom of the boat before leaving it in the water.Then again they might,good luck!The gelcoat will have to be replaced.The damage has aready been done.
I do some warranty for them, it costs them so little to build those boats they will not even entertain repairing it, replacement will be in order.
if your boat is like the smaller skiffs that almost come "ala carte'" then you will end up with a absolutely bare hull and might end up having to rig the boat with your old equipment.
thier warranty claims department is a pleasant surprise when you factor in the price of the boat.
Thanks to everyone for the great information, and advice.
I'm hoping that CS will stand behind their product.
I really do like the boat alot. It is perfect for the kind of fishing I do.
Just to answer one of the questions: these blisters cover the entire surface of the boat that was below the water line.
I'll post the response from CS as soon as I hear back from them.
I finally got to speak with someone at CS. They never returned my calls. I had to keep calling them until I got a person instead of the voice mail prompt......
I was told that the problem was because I left the boat in the water. I explained that I had only left the boat in the water for a couple of weeks. They told me that if the boat was intended to be left in the water for ANY amount of time, it should have been bottom painted.
They said that the gelcoat bubbling was not covered under the warranty.
They said that they would provide the gelcoat, but would not pay for any other material or labor to have the boat fixed.
The lady I was speaking to was just relaying the information from what she was told.
I told her that I did not agree with their analysis.
I asked her to have the person who reviewed my file (that included photos) please give me a call.
I think I'm fighting a losing battle, but we'll see.
Raybo: It sounds like you may have some inside contacts at CS. Is there someone you could recomend that I speak to?
I'm not ready to start slamming CS yet.
I want to give them every opportunity to do what is right.
I could understand their initial response if the blistering (bubbles) only showed up in a few locations.
Since the blistering on my hull is so severe I really think it should be covered under the 5 year hull warranty.
Of course they deserve to be slammed. It's a boat-boats spend time in water every now and again, a least that's the general idea. Osmotic blistering should be the result of YEARS of immersion and a way in. Their initial response was beyond asinine so screw them...
I have never put on bottom paint-- however boat in fresh water-- does going from to salt water to fresh make a difference-- what does the warranty said re: bottom paint? IF NOTHING CS answer just plain sucks!!! The boat is under warranty!!! for 5 years--- 03 plus 5 equal 08---File in small claims court and represent yourself----I don't think they can hire an Attorney for the price to replace the hull---
A decent vacation can last a couple weeks with a boat IN THE WATER, I think thats what their supposed to do isn't it, odd response. I can see them not wanting to scrap barricales after a couple weeks in saltwater but this is freshwater and the only damage should be some alge growth
Bubbles in Gelcoat 
