Howdy from Kemah, Texas

[Cooler]

There maybe be a little balsa core there. I would not worry too much about that because that is just below where the top deck is attached to the hull. Carver focused on the structural integrity of that area, ( joint ). The leak is probably annoying more than anything. Those blisters are osmosis type, and should be repaired. No structure compromise. Easily repaired, unless there are a lot of them. Be careful with those. The fluid inside the blister usually create and acidic element to them. Carver did put Interprotect layer under the bottom paint, as well as vinylester barrier during hull layup, to eliminate blister formation. There should not be a lot unless the boat was sitting in some harsh saltwater for a long time. er

[wsp2]

The survey noted 4 blisters - 2 of which were fairly large. It also noted there was no barrier coat between the FRP and bottom paint. I was thinking about getting the bottom paint redone after getting the blisters fixed. It's been stored in brackish water but we'll probably be getting our fair share of salt water soon. The previous owner seemed to take good care of the engines but not so much other aspects of the boat. I don't think they took it out very often either. For being a 1995 it only at 650 hrs on the engines.

[waybomb]

I would definitely strip and barrier coat the bottom.

[Cooler]

I agree with Fred. A previous owner must have stripped the original barrier coat and chose to apply bottom paint only, hence the blisters. No small job and really messy, but doing the job the right way. If possible, find out what paint formula the previous owner used. May not be correct for the type of water you have. 650 hrs is low, so that is a positive. There were not a lot of 440's built in 95, that was the biggest Carver boat built at the time. You're going to have a lot of great experiences on that vessel. er