OSMOTIC(?) Blisters on hull of a 2007 215 Weekender

J

Jon Schwartz

New Member
Jul 27, 2017
11
Boat Info
215 Sea Ray Weekender
Engines
5.0 Mercruiser I/O
When I pulled my 2007 215 Weekender form the water last month, I noticed these different sized Blisters in the Gel coat at the water line, above the water line, and under the bottom paint. I suspect there is moisture in the hull is causing this. I also had noticed over the summer, while the boat was docked that it appeared as if there was extra weight in the bow, in that the stern sat a lot higher then it should have. Checking the bilges did not show any abnormal amounts of water. Isuspect i know the issue, but not the cause, so i am looking for some real knowledge and insight into this. What is the Hull core material made from? best guess of water infiltration other then the obvious locations, and potential fixes.. Highly recommend, lipstick on a pig, or leave it be? this boat only has 101 original hours, and was purchased from the original owner 3 years ago, when it had only 26 original hours. Boat was hardly used, and was mostly trailered. We
SEARAY 215 PORT HULL PIC 1 20191024.jpg
SEARAY 215 PORT HULL PIC 1 20191024.jpg
SEARAY 215 PORT HULL PIC 2 20191024.jpg
SEARAY 215 PORT SIDE PROFILE PIC 1 20190627.jpg
SEARAY 215 PORT SIDE PROFILE PIC 2 20190627.jpg
SEARAY 215 STRBD HULL PIC 1 20191024.jpg
SEARAY 215 STRBD HULL PIC 2 20191024.jpg
SEARAY 215 STRBD HULL PIC 3 20191024.jpg
dunked it 3 years ago, and been pulling it every fall, giving it some good TLC
 
Helped a friend of mine do the blister fix on his Rinker. There were 100’s on them. We got a cone shaped bit and ground out each blister. We sanded off all the bottom paint so we could find everyone one. After grinding out all the blisters we let it sit for a couple of weeks to let all the areas dry out. Repaired the gelcoat and then new bottom paint.
 
WV 320 Dancer said:
Helped a friend of mine do the blister fix on his Rinker. There were 100’s on them. We got a cone shaped bit and ground out each blister. We sanded off all the bottom paint so we could find everyone one. After grinding out all the blisters we let it sit for a couple of weeks to let all the areas dry out. Repaired the gelcoat and then new bottom paint.
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Thanks.. T this point, the "How to" isn't the problem.. it's the "Why", and What is the Hull core material made from?, along with the cause of the "Why"........
 
That's really odd that you are getting the blisters. It's all but unheard of to get them like that. An occasional one here or there, maybe. But not like that. Although, what you have is nowhere near as bad as it could be. But at this point, that doesn't matter, either.

There is no wood - the entire hull is solid fiberglass. I do not think, from what I'm seeing, that this is the cause of your "heavy bow". Something else is causing that... possibly the anchor locker drain is plugged and the locker is either full of water or it has allowed water to seep into the v-berth area.

There is a chip (see your last pic) in the gelcoat that is exposing the fiberglass. That "could" allow some water to migrate between the glass and the gel. But it would not be responsible for the blisters that we see.
 
IMG_4230.JPG
Looks like a random manufacturimg failure to me which is pretty rare at SR. Could be caused by some chemical reaction that did not go according to spec when the hull was laid up. Maybe reach out to SR to find out why failures like this happen and the best approach to prevent it occurring again once you repair it?
 
Lazy Daze said:
That's really odd that you are getting the blisters. It's all but unheard of to get them like that. An occasional one here or there, maybe. But not like that. Although, what you have is nowhere near as bad as it could be. But at this point, that doesn't matter, either.

There is no wood - the entire hull is solid fiberglass. I do not think, from what I'm seeing, that this is the cause of your "heavy bow". Something else is causing that... possibly the anchor locker drain is plugged and the locker is either full of water or it has allowed water to seep into the v-berth area.

There is a chip (see your last pic) in the gelcoat that is exposing the fiberglass. That "could" allow some water to migrate between the glass and the gel. But it would not be responsible for the blisters that we see.
Click to expand...
So, The first thing I checked was the anchor locker..Nice and dry.. The drain works just fine.. Then I thought maybe it was porous some how and when the anchor is stored, the moisture is being absorbed into the material off of the anchor line.... But you can see the stern sitting high.. The hull can't be solid.. there is an inner and outer hull with some form of filler material, No? The "V"Berth did have some moisture in it, but not enough to say, "Eureka". Or so I thought.. I remembered that both Port holes were changed out 2 seasons ago due to cracks. The new ones were re-installed with new gaskets and 3M sealer. Is it possible, maybe some how water is getting behind the outer hull, there?.. That would explain, the water/moisture in the bow area, and that "heaviness" in the bow..Also, now, what about the Hatch on the bow? Could that be installed like the ones on the 300 SD's, where water was getting passed the Double sided tape they used? But my bow deck is solid with no flexing or "Softness". Besides that one small chip, which wouldn't have caused all of that blistering, I cannot imagine where else the water could or would infiltrate from.
 
sbw1 said:
View attachment 78201 Looks like a random manufacturimg failure to me which is pretty rare at SR. Could be caused by some chemical reaction that did not go according to spec when the hull was laid up. Maybe reach out to SR to find out why failures like this happen and the best approach to prevent it occurring again once you repair it?
Click to expand...
That was my next stop, after the Holidays.. Just curious to see how much Sea Ray would admit to given this kind of failure? At this point I would hope they would be just straight forward, and give some Technical insight as to the "Why" and the "Where for's"..
 
Jon Schwartz said:
That was my next stop, after the Holidays.. Just curious to see how much Sea Ray would admit to given this kind of failure? At this point I would hope they would be just straight forward, and give some Technical insight as to the "Why" and the "Where for's"..
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My other thought was, "Why now, after 12 years?"
 
Jon Schwartz said:
The hull can't be solid.. there is an inner and outer hull with some form of filler material, No?
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Yes, the hull IS solid. On boats this size, and even quite a bit larger, Sea Ray uses a solid fiberglass hull with NO coring. The deck may be a different story, but the hull is solid fiberglass.
 
b_arrington said:
Yes, the hull IS solid. On boats this size, and even quite a bit larger, Sea Ray uses a solid fiberglass hull with NO coring. The deck may be a different story, but the hull is solid fiberglass.
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But it's definitely unfinished on the back side.. I know because I felt the matte surface, when doing some wiring and stuff.. The hull is about a 3/4 of an inch or thicker...
 
The hull (what you see when looking at the boat from the dock) is solid - both the hull bottom and the hull sides (although the hull sides are thinner). Sea Ray uses an "inner liner" technology which gets rid of traditional (wood) stringers in favor of an all-in-one mold with composite bracing (stringers, for lack of a better term) already built-in. This "inner liner" is what you step on in the cockpit and it is inserted down into the hull and permanently glued in place. If you look in the bilge, you can typically see where the inner liner stops.

I am 100% positive on this method of build. But please, by all means, do your due diligence and research it more. You won't hurt my feelings if you do! :)

Is the bow actually lower than it should be, or is it just an optical illusion based on the antifoul paint?

Short of some other damage that isn't apparent yet, I can't explain how those blisters would cause the issue - they wouldn't. Did you check under the step in the cabin? Do you have the boat sitting bow high right now? Has any water shown up under the step or in the bilge? Between the gas tank "coffin" and the bilge... is there a drain tube? Does it have a rubber plug in it?
 
IMG_4230.JPG
Jon Schwartz said:
My other thought was, "Why now, after 12 years?"
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We owned a new 1986 Boston Whaler that developed some similar blisters. At the same time, our bought new 1979 SR with an unpainted bottom, sat in a slip next to the Whaler. Both boats with unpainted bottoms were in identical conditions. The Whaler blistered and the SR did not. We assumed the SR had better fiberglass. At least it had better resistance to blistering. Maybe factory conditions were such that the cure was different on the day your boat was built, and you ended up with a "Boston Whaler bottom". Our Whaler went several years without blistering and never really got worse with age once it developed them.
 
Lazy Daze said:
The hull (what you see when looking at the boat from the dock) is solid - both the hull bottom and the hull sides (although the hull sides are thinner). Sea Ray uses an "inner liner" technology which gets rid of traditional (wood) stringers in favor of an all-in-one mold with composite bracing (stringers, for lack of a better term) already built-in. This "inner liner" is what you step on in the cockpit and it is inserted down into the hull and permanently glued in place. If you look in the bilge, you can typically see where the inner liner stops.

I am 100% positive on this method of build. But please, by all means, do your due diligence and research it more. You won't hurt my feelings if you do! :)

Is the bow actually lower than it should be, or is it just an optical illusion based on the antifoul paint?

Short of some other damage that isn't apparent yet, I can't explain how those blisters would cause the issue - they wouldn't. Did you check under the step in the cabin? Do you have the boat sitting bow high right now? Has any water shown up under the step or in the bilge? Between the gas tank "coffin" and the bilge... is there a drain tube? Does it have a rubber plug in it?
Click to expand...
I respect your knowledge as to the construction of the hull... It's not an optical illusion.. The Bow down pic was taken in late August. The boat had been dunked since the middle of May... Right now it's bow up. As far as any water, it's kind of hard right now since it's been cold as hell out.. thinking any visible water would be frozen... Once March rolls around, i'll have to crawl in there and take a good hard look around...And before it was wrapped for the winter, and we did a hard look around.. There was some water, maybe a 1/4 of an inch in the area under the step... Hard to say if the water was able to run to the back of the boat.. I have to talk to my guys at the yard.. See if we can't get the boat inside and warmed up.. Then take a really long hard look at everything... Other then this, this boat is in pristine shape for a now 12 year old boat, with only 101 hours on it....
 
Idk. Boat looks fine in the water. You'll need to open a few of those blisters and see what, if anything, comes out. Right now it's a lot of assumptions. Then go from there.
 
I think you guys may be a little off track.

Let me insert a few fact checks here.

1. Gelcoat is not waterproof
2. Blisters are water behind the gelcoat into the fiberglass where the resin was fully impregnated into the fiberglass.
3. A wet core is an altogether different issue, although you may have that.


Blisters are typically a problem with the fiberglass layup, if the glass is not fully impregnated with resin when the boat is built then you have a section of fiberglass with less resin that can eventually absorb water. This water can ‘travel’ through the dry fibers and cause random blisters and potentially a wet core in a major failure.

the correct procedure is to haul the boat, grind the blisters and fill them, then apply an epoxy paint and eventually a bottom paint over that. Once you have epoxy on the bottom you won’t see blisters again because of the protection.

My plan of attack would be to have a surveyor see where the coring is actually wet. There are lots of methods to repair the core so don’t worry just yet.

I’ve seen blisters on many boats here on the gulf coast and all can be repaired.
Josh
 
Jon Schwartz said:
under the step... Hard to say if the water was able to run to the back of the boat..
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Just another FYI concerning construction for you...

The area under the step is sealed from the area where the gas tank and bilge are. The gas tank area and the bilge are connected. The gas tank area "may" be able to be sealed from the bilge) in terms of water draining, anyways, by the use of a rubber plug.

You can buy zipper doors for shrink wrap relatively cheap - they just get taped onto the shrink wrap.

I do hope this turns out to be simple that was missed!
 
Owning a 2005 215 myself, Dennis is pretty spot on at identifying locations for moisture. Under the step below where the waste can is, I believe it is completely separated from the cockpit area.
You can check the sealant around the side windows. I had a habit of losing my window trim pieces for some strange reason so I ordered new pieces and resealed them.
Josh seems to have knowledge on the subject as well.
Having the same model, I wish I had more information to help you with.
 
Don't expect much if anything from Sea Ray Customer Service. Your boat is out of warranty and their people will assume you want them to fix the problem. They have all but stopped any good will warranty work and only consider boats still in warranty and warranty requests from the original owner. Then there is the fact that the small boat Customer Service personnel are not boat builders and are not fiberglass people, they are just there to make new boat owners happy and reject all other requests. Besides, blisters are considered a cosmetic defect and are therefore excluded from any warranty coverage because the hull warranty is a structural warranty.

I think you will be ahead of the game to get a real fiberglass guy in your area to look at the boat and advise you what steps to take.

Finally, whether or not the boat has cored construction does not affect the propensity for a 15 year old boat to get osmotic blisters which is a moot point because this is a solid hull boat. You may infect have 2 issues going on:

1. The small blisters on the hull above the waterline look to me like they are air voids that have grown due to exposure to sun (heat) and cooling (night time temps). Pop one of the larger ones well away from the waterline; if it is dry inside, t h en it is a void in the layup and not a blister.

2. The larger blisters below the waterline could, in fact, be osmotic blisters. The test would be to pop one of the blisters and see if there is water in it.

Either way, the fix is the same.......grind out the blister our void to solid fiberglass then repair it with a suitable filler and repair the gelcoat. The difference is that an osmotic blister must be dried thoroughly before applying and filler, and an air void does not.

Good luck with it............
 
NotHerDecision said:
I think you guys may be a little off track.

Let me insert a few fact checks here.

1. Gelcoat is not waterproof
2. Blisters are water behind the gelcoat into the fiberglass where the resin was fully impregnated into the fiberglass.
3. A wet core is an altogether different issue, although you may have that.


Blisters are typically a problem with the fiberglass layup, if the glass is not fully impregnated with resin when the boat is built then you have a section of fiberglass with less resin that can eventually absorb water. This water can ‘travel’ through the dry fibers and cause random blisters and potentially a wet core in a major failure.

the correct procedure is to haul the boat, grind the blisters and fill them, then apply an epoxy paint and eventually a bottom paint over that. Once you have epoxy on the bottom you won’t see blisters again because of the protection.

My plan of attack would be to have a surveyor see where the coring is actually wet. There are lots of methods to repair the core so don’t worry just yet.

I’ve seen blisters on many boats here on the gulf coast and all can be repaired.
Josh
Click to expand...
I appreciate the responses.. The one burning question that I have is, and this boat has been in the water for the past three years, May to Nov. and before that not as much, but it's first 5 years was also in the water from May, to November... WHY NOW?
 
You make me chuckle a little

it’s what we all says when x fails.

The exact answer could be determined with testing but it’s irrelevant at this point.

it could have been the glass got stressed at point “a” and it’s starting from there, it could be the water type and exposure, it could be... etc. hard to say really without looking very very closely at the boat. A surveyor or a good marine repair facility could probably tell yo after inspecting it. But I still go with make the repairs, epoxy the bottom and move on using your boat.

if I had to make one guess and it would be a guess it’s your bottom job didn’t have an epoxy barrier coat or the barrier coat it did have failed.
 
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