Piriapolis, Boatyard Day 5
26/07/11 23:24 Filed in: Uruguay | Maintenance
Bad news day today. The blisters we noted on day two are more serious.
What seems to have happened is that water has penetrated the red waterline gelcoat. This gelcoat contains a large number of air pockets which fill with water. A reaction takes place and bubbles form in the gelcoat. When pricked some of these bubbles still contained water though many were dry. Fortunately none had penetrated the laminate.
There are a number of causes. A fully kitted cruising yacht will lie lower in the water submerging much of the red gelcoat. Poorly applied gelcoat allowing air pockets to form, red gelcoat being inherently weaker and more prone to UV damage and Kiriwina navigating in warmer waters for much of the past 4 years.
What to do? Leave it, sand down blisters, fill and paint or solve the problem. Solving the problem means grinding back all the waterline red gelcoat, building up with epoxy resin and finishing with epoxy filler. I chose to solve the problem.
Thereafter the water line will be raised by the width of the red gelcoat and anti fouled in the usual way.
Laurence cracked on rapidly and by nightfall half the red gelcoat had been ground away.
Repairs to the aft keel were completed but water is still dripping out. Seacocks reinstalled.
What seems to have happened is that water has penetrated the red waterline gelcoat. This gelcoat contains a large number of air pockets which fill with water. A reaction takes place and bubbles form in the gelcoat. When pricked some of these bubbles still contained water though many were dry. Fortunately none had penetrated the laminate.
There are a number of causes. A fully kitted cruising yacht will lie lower in the water submerging much of the red gelcoat. Poorly applied gelcoat allowing air pockets to form, red gelcoat being inherently weaker and more prone to UV damage and Kiriwina navigating in warmer waters for much of the past 4 years.
What to do? Leave it, sand down blisters, fill and paint or solve the problem. Solving the problem means grinding back all the waterline red gelcoat, building up with epoxy resin and finishing with epoxy filler. I chose to solve the problem.
Thereafter the water line will be raised by the width of the red gelcoat and anti fouled in the usual way.
Laurence cracked on rapidly and by nightfall half the red gelcoat had been ground away.
Repairs to the aft keel were completed but water is still dripping out. Seacocks reinstalled.