water blisters

[mercrazy]

my boat gets bottom blisters where it sits on the trailer bunks. i'm told this happens to all gel-coat boats and is caused by the water in the carpet on the bunks. is there something else to use on the bunks that doesn't absorb water? if so, where can i get it? does anybody else get these blisters or is it only a problem with my boat brand? what should i do about the blisters?

[LaveyT]

The only boat That did that to me was a 79 Baja.The blisters were the size of pin heads.Caused a lot of worry but no harm.

[mercrazy]

have any of you seen these blisters on an allison?

[Michael Martin]

There are alternitives. Soon I am going to a bunk with a plastic/rubber runner I found them at ellot brothers. Sea Pro Boats uses them on their trailers (an option) & it seams to hold up really well. Doesnt hold water, lifetime guarantee. I'll find the price if your intrasted.

Mike Martin

[mercrazy]

do you have their email address or a phone number?

[FCnLa]

A buddy of mine says it is the grade of carpet. Mine has done this also and it is even painted. The only fix that I know is to sand them off, putty the holes and repaint. Lucky they are on the bottom ;).This also occurs when boats sit in the water for a long time. I still don't know what causes them. Maybe it is porosity of the jel/paint and allowing water to enter? FC

[Instigator]

Saw in, I believe Overtons where they are offering bunk runners that look like white nylon plastic or teflon?? Seen them on a couple of trailers, supposed to be real slick to ease loading/unloading and not absorb water. Some are flat, some (I think the ones in Overtons) are ribbed which reduce the support to the boat. Remember the key to trailer bunks is proper adjustment and lots of them, the more the better. The more square feet of support the better. (thats why rollers suck and you never see them on a performance boat) Remember too that most boats spend at leats 90% of their life on the trailer!!! The blistered gel coat gig is from the glass "wicking" water through itself. Part of the job of the gel coat is actually as a water proofer for the glass itself. A glass boat w/o paint or gel on it will leak. My '77 Stream has blisters on the gel from "wicking" water through from the water saturated core inside the boat! Only fix I know of is to grind the bubbles off and seal with an epoxy primer, LOTS O WORK!!!
This problem first reared (that I knew of) its ugly head when I was selling boats back in the '80's. The manufactures figured out (they think) what caused it but could only prevent, and guarantee against it if you had the factory apply epoxey anti-fouling bottom paint. That'd look snazzy on a fast boat huh?? If you look at most new boat brochures, they exclude blistered gel in their warranty coverage! I've seen it on a bunch of different brands too so I don't know thats its a quality issue, maybe formula of resins?? Hope this helps. Instigator

[Techno]

http://www.boatowners.com/welcome.htm

For those of you that wonder whats with the Zebra mussels. They invaded this area from a cargo ship discharging ballast water. No natural predators, They attach to anything and GROW. So it's quite a concern for power plants and anything that sucks in water or sits in the water.

[LaveyT]

They are here to stay.Lake Erie looks like the Bahamas or the Keys water is crystal clear.I just read an piece in the paper where the Ohio river is clearing up because of them!All I know for sure is they cut the **** out of your hands when you put docks in and out.Later