Blisters on the bottom of my Scot?

Submitted by liquidpet on Fri, 10/14/2011 - 15:13

Hi Everyone,

I bought an old 1969 Scot (#1456) last August and am in the process of restoring it myself.  I have read through most of the forums trying to educate myselft the best that I can, but I still have some questions...

I have flipped the boat over and have dry sanded (orbital) the many layers of anti-fouling paint off until what i assume is the last layer of paint (red) with some spots here and there from futher sanding of what i assume is the gelcoat.  I had planned on repairing all gauges and cracks, some deeper than others) with an epoxy filler, such as Interlux Watertight Epoxy Filler, sanding according to instuctions, then using acetone or Interlux 202 solvent (would perfer to use acetone since it is much less expensive), then applying a primercoat such as Interprotect 2000E and finally toping it with VC Performance Expoxy.

My issue is that i am not sure if what i am seeing are blisters or not.  I am attaching some photos in hopes that some of you more knowledgable Scot owners will let me know exactally what i am dealing with.  There are two big (2-3inch) abrasions that i thought were caused by rubbing, maybe from putting on and off the trailer, but are these actually really bad blisters??  Also, I have read on some forums that the red "paint" I am seeing is acually the gel coat, but I thought the gelcoat was whitish/clear or yellow, which looks as though it is one layer below the red.

Once i got down to this red paint and did some reserach, i learned that since i am drysailing the boat, i don't necessarily need to apply anything but fill the bad spots.  I called Harry at FS and he confirmed, saying that i could strip the rest of the paint off or just let it wear off over time.  I would rather not have to go through the time and $ of painting the bottom if not necessary, but the more i read the more I realize my boat is in worse shape than i had initally thought and i may just have to protect it from further damage.

This will be used as a family boat, dry sailed, but I would like to do all the necessary steps to insure that i have done all i can to get this boat back to the best shape possible.

Any and all comments/suggestions/advise is greatly appricaited!  See pictures below or attached.

,

Thank you,

Inge

‹ To paint or not to paint?...that is the question. Removing Anti-Fouling Coat ›

Comments

Sorry, but the pcitures i

Submitted by liquidpet on Fri, 10/14/2011 - 15:16.

Sorry, but the pcitures i included did not appear.  When i previewed my message, they were, but when i saved and it sent, they were not.  Anyone know what i did wrong?  Sorry, but i am new to this forum.

Thanks again,

Inge

There is a red layer, under

Submitted by sawyerspadre on Sat, 10/15/2011 - 01:16.
There is a red layer, under the gelcoat. I think the outer white or color gelcoat is sprayed in the mold. Then a layer of red. The fiberglass is then layed up inside the red. I think the red is used to give a nice dark layer to ensure no air bubbles in the glass layers. You can see the red at the joint of the deck and hull, inside the boat in the areas where there is no balsa. Bottom paint can also be red, and that would be outside the gelcoat layer. If you are gently sanding through the red and coming to white gelcoat, great. If you are sanding through the gelcoat and into the red inside it, stop. You have gone too far. Do you know what color your boat (gelcoat) was originally?

Phil Scheetz

FS 4086

Fleet 163, Nockamixon Sail Club

Ok, i think i have managed to

Submitted by liquidpet on Sat, 10/15/2011 - 14:26.

Ok, i think i have managed to send the pictures.  Please click on each link to view. In the photo third from top, you can see the layers down to the fiberglass and to me, it looks like there is a darkish, almost black, layer between a clear yellowish layer and the fiberglass.  Could this be the other gelcoat layer?  To me, it still looks like the red i am seeing is above the clear/yellow layer, therefore, still being paint. Is this a big blister? Any thoughts?

Thank you very much for your help!  As i said before, this is my first attempt at restoring any boat!

http://i53.tinypic.com/xlh07k.jpg

http://i56.tinypic.com/x2v5p4.jpg

http://i55.tinypic.com/2cdbwwy.jpg

http://i55.tinypic.com/15gc6mr.jpg

http://i54.tinypic.com/o6h1eo.jpg

http://i51.tinypic.com/fp09as.jpg

http://i54.tinypic.com/1055s45.jpg

http://i52.tinypic.com/20a6vww.jpg

 

 

 

The pictures are very small

Submitted by MGGeerJr on Sun, 10/16/2011 - 01:16.
The pictures are very small its difficult to see what's going on with the layers. If you could upload some larger pictures that would be helpful. I can tell you that the dark layers are the fiberglass lay up, you went a little too far. The good news is it's fiberglass and easily repairable. I would cut some small patches from 1.5 oz cloth and layer them until the indention is brought up to just below the surrounding area. Then mix up some fairing compound and use it to bring the repair flush with the surrounding hull areas.

Mark Geer FS2257

  Thanks for your reply,

Submitted by liquidpet on Mon, 10/17/2011 - 13:42.

 

Thanks for your reply, Mark.  Sorry, but i can't seem to get the photos any larger, but you may be able to hold your control button down while using your mouse to move up and that may zoom in the screen so that you can see it bigger.

I am not sure if you are just talking about picture # 3 when you say that you can see the dark layers of the fiberglass layup or are you saying that I went too far on the whole bottom?  Picture # 3 shows a damaged part (I have two like this on the bottom) and i have not sanded these at all since they are already down to the fiberglass.  What I am trying to figure out is making sure that the overall red color on the bottom is still paint or part of the gel coat.

I have heard and also got a response that FS use red in the layers of gelcoat, so i am trying to determine if what i have (the overall red color) is still paint. The bottom had about 4 layers of blue before i got down to the red (which seems like about 2 layers).  I did not notice any white or yellow in between the blue and red color to indicate a gelcoat layer.

I hope I made sense.

Thanks again for your help!

Inge

That makes perfect sense. If

Submitted by MGGeerJr on Mon, 10/17/2011 - 22:54.
That makes perfect sense. If your unsure about the layers have you thought about using a chemical stripper to remove the paint on a small area? That should help you figure out what color the gel coat is.

Mark Geer FS2257

That is a great idea and one

Submitted by liquidpet on Tue, 10/18/2011 - 13:05.

That is a great idea and one I did not think of.  I'll give it a try and post the results.  Off to the store again!

Thanks Mark!

 

If you feel that your

Submitted by administrator on Tue, 10/18/2011 - 21:44.

If you feel that your pictures will add to the value of this post and be useful to other users please feel free to post them on the FSSA's gallery in your own album.

http://www.fssa.com/gallery

 

 

Thank you! I have determined

Submitted by liquidpet on Thu, 10/20/2011 - 17:34.

Thank you!

I have determined by stripping, that the red coat was indeed paint and am now working on sanding this last layer to the gelcoat.  I am about two thirds of the way done.  Other than some gouges, dings, scratches and small surface (spider) cracks, the gelcoat looks in pretty good shape.

This leads me to my next question:

Do I make the necessary repairs with an epoxy filler and leave the bottom as is?  Or do I want to protect it with Interprotect 2000E and then use VC performance epoxy as a top coat?

It will be dry sailed, taken out of the water each time and stored in the yard on a trailer.

I would really like to leave it as it, but i am concerned that since the boat is quite old, that i may want to protect it from the water.  I like the fact that if i leave it, there is no more sanding required as opposed to painting which i will probably have to maintain every few years.

The time sanding is well worth it, but i think I have already put in something like 35 hours and i am not done yet.  Not to mention the top sides and hull need to be restored, too!

Thanks in advance for all advice!

Inge

FS #1456