1989 OUTRAGE 22 Hull Has Brown Blisters

[17838]

Hi--I recently purchased a 1989 Outrage 22 that is in (pretty) bad shape; not sure how bad it is, but there definitely are signs of water intrusion. The boat has been sitting in warm and dry weather for a month and on some areas the boat sweats through the hull. How can this be fixed?

BW3.JPG (32.74 KiB) Viewed 6078 times

BW2.JPG (25.67 KiB) Viewed 6078 times

I am not expecting the boat to look like new; I just want to stop any further intrusion. Thanks for any input.

--Stefan

[Phil T]

I recall reading a thread years ago: that is uncured resin that is being forced out by heat expansion.

http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum8/HTML/003981.html
http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/006087.html

In looking at the photos, the gelcoat finish looks very uneven. Was there damage at the starboard quarter that was repaired with new gelcoat? Bad prep before spraying gelcoat could be the cause.

[ConB]

Osmotic blisters may be? Does the brown goo smell like vinegar?

Con

[17838]

thanks for your reply, My guess is that there is structural damage due to water intrusion and freezing, therfore uncured resin is leaking? Do i need to be afraid that there will be water intrusion in the leaking areas? Its not osmotic blisters.

Im not sure but i dont think its an repair, i have two areas with same uneven gelcoat.

[jimh]

This boat was laminated with polyester resins 27 years ago. I doubt there are any uncured resins in the hull. Polyester resin is more or less in the process of curing when it is in a can waiting to be used. When the boat was laid-up the resin and catalyst were mixed and that mixture was sprayed all over the boat. Why would only some tiny part of the resin used in this boat remain uncured for 27-years?

If the hull gel coat surface is rough and uneven, there are only two explanations:

--a new top layer of gel coat has been applied as part of some hull repair, and the application was not very well done; or,

--water has been absorbed into the laminate and is forming blisters. The blisters also create the brown smelly stuff oozing out of them.

[jimh]

Read more about osmotic hull blisters in this interesting paper:

http://continuouswave.com/whaler/refere ... isters.pdf

[Wweez]

The second picture seems to have a line above the blisters, blister area.
Based on that, a guess might be, left in the water, or filled with water on the trailer, or partially filled with water while in the water. Might look for a similar line inside. Look for Engine or oil pan rust up to a level. Even an oil line on the inside of the hull and equipment.
Could be a bad repair as suggested.
That line means something. Repair edge, or something.

I agree with the uncured resin diagnosis. Be careful poking around on those spots. At times they may be under pressure and can squirt you. Not too too bad unless it is in your eyes, then real bad.
Nothing worse than being squirted in the face by an angry defect.

Please keep the peanut gallery informed of any new evidence. Inquiring minds want to know.

Good Luck.

[VKR]

I experienced something similar, but no where near the severity your pictures show. In early spring I noticed a similar one inch long brown drip line on the exterior of my transom. The brown drip line was low on the transom and somewhat hardened/crusty. I cleaned the area with a mild abrasive and found approximately a quarter inch long crack at the origin of the brown drip line. I attribute the brown drip line to moisture being pushed out of the hull during dry winter storage. My guess is that any moisture that is in the hull picks up color from the wood in the transom or internal hull impurities.

Regarding the gel coat surface being textured, seemingly showing the fiberglass below, is it possible that many years of polishing would expose the glass texture? As an analogy, if you would sand a wood surface with a cushioned back sanding block, depending on the wood type, the spring wood and summer wood growth are removed different amounts (since the summer growth and spring growth differ in hardness) yielding a non level surface.

I would clean up the hull to see if you can find a micro crack or chip at the source of the brown drip line.