Carver Owners Forum

Wow. Bottom was covered in blisters. Yard and surveyor said it would have to get peeled and completely redone. Any one else experience this with there hull? Thanks

I've done a lot of blister work. Blisters don't scare me as they are rarely a structural problem. It certainly wouldn't be a deal breaker in my books but I would negotiate the purchase price to be discounted by a minimum the cost to remedy the blisters. I say minimum because typically once you start to do this type of work, you can expect cost overruns. I'd prepare for an additional 10-15% at least. It can be a very expensive job as the premium materials are pricey and it's pretty time consuming to do it RIGHT. Personally, I prefer to blast rather than peel. In the hands of a good blaster, the blisters will be dug out until solid glass is reached. Peeling doesn't always get the whole blister, and that's not good as there is a chance it will resurface.

The more folks know about blisters, the less they'd be bothered by them. While a bad blister problem may cause some drag, for the most part they are a cosmetic nuisance more than anything. The problem is that not knowing the facts scares people away from blisters thus affecting purchase prices, and rightly so because of the high cost to remedy the issue. The remedy however if done correctly will actually result in a better water barrier than the original hull. Having said all this, one must keep in mind that unless all the blisters that are ever to appear actually have, there is no guaranty that they won't appear after a blister job is done to remedy the ones that are currently visible. That's why I usually advise people to take a deep breath after the first signs of blistering and wait a few years in hopes of all that are to appear will do so in time.