Hi All -
Does anyone have any experience with blisters on their Nonsuch hull below the waterline? When I had mine re-done this summer Quickbeam was free of any blisters at all, but someone else I know with a NS said they have a bunch. Curious how everyone else’s have held up or if you had any problems.
Bob Gehrman
NS30U #396 “Quickbeam”
Baltimore, Maryland
I had an NS33 surveyed last summer. The surveyor said there were many tiny blisters on the bottom. He also said that they appeared stable and not to be a problem. I asked him about barrier coating and he thought it would be a waste of money. He said some boats had bad blistering problems and those needed the barrier coat, but others had only minor problems like this and not to bother.
NOTE: these were his opinions, not mine. I have no opinion because I do not feel that I have sufficient experience to make a meaningful one.
I have a 1995 NS 354. As far as I know she has been in the water most of her life. There were no blisters when I had her surveyed in 2019, nor did I have any when I put her on the hard in 2021 to sand and repaint the bottom.
Barry Clark
Swan’s Wing, NS354, #71
Urbanna, VA Boat Yard & Marina
My impression is that Nonsuches had variable experiences over the years because there were a few years of problems with gelcoat and resin manufacturers that affected almost every boat manufacturer for a portion of their product line.
My yard has always recommended an epoxy barrier coat as the first layer before bottom paint. I go back far enough that it might not be the recommendation I was getting on my first boat 38 years ago, but I’m now on number eight and it’s certainly been the standard for the last six. (I.e., either it came with one, or the yard recommended putting it on.)
But again, my understanding is that severe blisters are a crapshoot of whether a boat was built with a bad batch of gelcoat/resin.
If it hasn’t happened already, it may not be a worry. If it has happened, and been fixed, there’'s some risk they didn’t catch spots that’re still developing and you may get more in the future. In that case, a barrier coat is good insurance towards minimizing future problems.
With a boat of our boats’ vintage where I didn’t know its history with certainty, I would recommend erring towards that insurance. With a boat known with certainty to have no past problems, it’s a harder call. If money’s not an issue and I was a “nothing but the best for my boat” kinda guy, I probably would. If on a tight budget, I’d probably skip it without lying awake at night over having done so.
– Bob
Me Gusta
Nonsuch 26U #233
When I bought my 1984 30 20 years ago, it had blisters. Not surprised since it had been a fresh water boat until just before I bought it. I self-surveyed and knew about the blisters. Here, we are in a brackish environment. My local yard peeled it down past the gel coat and then I did the usual epoxy coats and then the appropriate amount of barrier coats. No problems since.
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
If you are going to the trouble of redoing the bottom paint a barrier coats are a good idea. Helps to tie the paint to the gel coat and prevents blisters
Not common on Nonsuchs. In my experience C&C seemed to be prone to them
My NS30C #26 (in salt water year round) had approx. 12 visible blisters at the haulout 3 years ago, ranging from 1/2" to 2" in diameter. I ground out the damaged fiberglass, rinsed very well, dried the cavities for several days and then filled with West epoxy. At last year’s haulout, I did the same treatment to a couple of small blisters. As far as I know, the hull has not been barrier coated.
Mike
Port Moody, BC