Thread:

Nasty Paint Blisters - What to do?

I think you have a case of Boat herpies ..... Interesting to see what caused it - keep me posted

More pictures...

I added the picture of the prop because it looks like something in the water is actively eating away at the boat.

Aloha

I talked to Rick at Islander Marine and he said that he just wrapped up a massive repair on another Arrowhead boat. Fortunately it appears that my issue is just the "paint" and not into the gel or the glass itself. Since the hull is already ugly I popped a blister and then peeled off a 4" long strip. Some of the blister juice got in a cut and it stung like hell! I popped another blister and the juice inside has an extreme chemical paint smell. At the center of every blister is a tiny dimple, it's almost like it starts out the size of a pin head and then osmosis creates the bubble in the paint. My concern now is the underlying structure. The paint is hosed.

It's a bummer too because the relatively new RB prop is pretty messed up. I might have to switch back over to a Nibral and ditch the steel until I can figure out a way to prevent the damage from occuring again. Unfortunately a hoist is out of the picture for now...

Aloha

Originally Posted by AlohaJeff

I talked to Rick at Islander Marine and he said that he just wrapped up a massive repair on another Arrowhead boat. Fortunately it appears that my issue is just the "paint" and not into the gel or the glass itself. Since the hull is already ugly I popped a blister and then peeled off a 4" long strip. Some of the blister juice got in a cut and it stung like hell! I popped another blister and the juice inside has an extreme chemical paint smell. At the center of every blister is a tiny dimple, it's almost like it starts out the size of a pin head and then osmosis creates the bubble in the paint. My concern now is the underlying structure. The paint is hosed.

It's a bummer too because the relatively new RB prop is pretty messed up. I might have to switch back over to a Nibral and ditch the steel until I can figure out a way to prevent the damage from occuring again. Unfortunately a hoist is out of the picture for now...

Aloha

Paint blistering is very common if the boat is left in the water for long periods of time .

Something somewhere is different this year... I left this boat in the same lake for the last two years and haven't had a problem like this. I know Arrowhead has a reputation for doing this to some boats but what gets me is some aren't affected at all. A buddy has left his Cobalt on the water for a decade and the gel and glass are perfect. Another buddy has an Eliminator in the family that has spent at least 15 summers on Arrowhead and it's got some dimples and gel damage at the waterline. In his talking with Eliminator they've heard about it before on Arrowhead and aren't exactly sure what's causing it.

I need to know the solution... and want to know why some boat manufacturers appear to be 100% impervious to this water and others have massive problems. Fortunately for me it's just a paint issue right now and not a glass or structural issue... yet. I guess the kids are getting Coal this Christmas because it looks like the boat will be getting some gel.

Aloha