HOW TO Repair Osmosis Blisters on a Boat | Preparing to Sail the World | Cruising Meraki Ep 23

[@spendercat1]

Doug and I are in awe of all the work you have done. There is nothing you can't accomplish together. SO excited to be following this journey!! 😍

[@CruisingMeraki]

The past 8 months have been MONUMENTAL! we have learned SO much our brains might explode lol 😂 We feel pretty excited and proud with what we’ve been able accomplish. Thanks so much for the encouragement 💕💕

[@bror9519]

@bror9519 Thank you very much for sharing and all the work you do with the boat and film. I have a question? It looks like the hull is red because the bottom treatment material against algas is red. Is that right? Why haven't you removed the bottom material and put epoxy over the whole hull as an anti-osmosis treatment against future issues?

[@Justice4kylo]

Thanks guys I'm new to this and appreciate the guidance

[@vincebennallack3111]

OMG! You guys impress me so much. I have no doubt you will have great success in your upcoming adventures.

[@CruisingMeraki]

Thanks so much for your kind words Vince!! We’re pretty amazed with all that we’ve accomplished in a short time and really thankful for the opportunity for this adventure.

[@parousia7165]

again im really impressed by the editing and making this amazing videos . im a fan .thanks so much for this .

[@CruisingMeraki]

Heyyy so glad you’re enjoying the journey. Thanks so much for the kind words!

[@jurandg9769]

Hello! Great job! How deep was the holes in hull after grinding blisters? How thick is your haul? I started now that same...

[@richwiskin4860]

lots of graft, well done. How did you treat the smaller dime / penny size blisters? Great vid!

[@MondoRockable]

That's a lot of blisters. What is the moisture content of the hull?

[@nortonmolly]

Well done. You must be proud of all your hard work.👍👍

[@CruisingMeraki]

Thanks Andrew! We’re pretty stoked with what we’ve been able to accomplish!

[@frednicolosi8880]

i hope you put the small firstand so on and so on if you put the big one on that is all that bonds the the glass

[@CruisingMeraki]

@@frednicolosi8880 lol, that’s exactly what I thought when I first started researching the repairs. I think when it comes down to it, as long as the prep is done right and the epoxy creates a good bond it shouldn’t really matter which way it’s done. I found most did the big patch first so it bonds all the layers together that are already on the hull. Most of the research I did made the repairs the same, big patch first.

[@jacobfirst2365]

I subbed because if this video welldone!

[@Sailing.Artemis]

loved it and just subscribed

[@CruisingMeraki]

Welcome!! Stoked to have you along for the ride.

[@sololon]

Hi, I am in a similar process yo yours ... How moisted was your hull? Did you consider peeling it?

[@LiaSinusia]

Same here... did you end up peeling it?

[@sololon]

Not yet but I don't think that I am going to peel it. Don't trust myself to do that job. Probably I'll open all the blisters and I'll wait for it to dry a few months. Not sure anyway.

[@LiaSinusia]

​@@sololon Thanks for replying! We ended up going down to the gelcoat with the peeler + sanding. We found blisters we couldn't see well before, and they're still drying, but nothing worrying. Probably we overdid it, but it's a 1980 boat that sat on water for years. We'll apply a barrier coat and take care of the blisters before painting again. Hope your hull dries well! ~ Sailing Ramona.

[@CruisingMeraki]

We did consider peeling it, but time and finances didn’t allow.

[@wlewis8336]

This is exactly backwards.. you put the small piece of fiber in first and the larger last.. holy smokes 😳

[@CruisingMeraki]

lol, that’s exactly what I thought when I first started researching the repairs. I think when it comes down to it, as long as the prep is done right and the epoxy creates a good bond it shouldn’t really matter which way it’s done. I found most did the big patch first so it bonds all the layers together that are already on the hull. Most of the research I did made the repairs the same, big patch first.

[@giol.8220]

i also thought that too first, but think about it when grinding over it: it will destroy the largest patch. so the whole theory about largest at the outside is nonsense then

[@giol.8220]

plus there are two other side effects mentioned: if the smallest is the inner one that creates a lot of edges where there is more stress and also air can be enclosed. on the other hand i also think when using epoxy its not a real problem at all, because its so much superior to the original polyester fiber used within the rest of the structure.

[@Draculasundergarmentz]

Small first. Always

[@peterkadelbach7010]

I’m surprised that you didn’t take all the antifouling off before starting this. That way you could barrier coat the whole hull not just the patches. After all the rest of the hull is polyester resin which could use the protection.

[@CruisingMeraki]

We talked over all our options before starting the work and for our budget and time frame this is where we landed. Osmosis repairs are a hot topic with lots of opinions but we are so happy with how the repairs have held up and we definitely feel it was a job well done. Yes, going the extra mile and peeling the hull, letting it sit to dry out completely (months, and may need to be tented and heated depending on climate) then adding layers of glass back would be an option but we didn’t feel the need to go that far. We’re super happy we did what we did the hull is happy too.

[@sgtslasher]

So how long was the process… a week? A month? Looks like a while lotsa work

[@CruisingMeraki]

The drying is what takes the longest. Once you’ve ground out the blisters you really need to ensure all moisture is removed. This depends greatly on your climate and time of year. The working days equaled about: 6 days to sand down blisters and 5 days to repair.

[@diver0129]

Should there be a zinc attached to a fiberglass hull? I've done a lot of zinc replacements before, but never seen one attached to fiberglass...

[@CruisingMeraki]

Yup it was odd… that’s why we removed it and repaired the damage below it :)

[@bror9519]

The zinc outside the hull may in the past have been connected to a cable inside the hull, and this cable may have been connected to the engine block, e.g. ?

[@diver0129]

@@bror9519 For what purpose?

[@bror9519]

@@diver0129 Galvanic corrosion as there is contact between steel and sea through the cable, and the corrosion takes zinc instead of the steel in the engine. you can have a larger zinc on the outside than there is room for on the propeller, and thus not have to change e.g. each year.

[@diver0129]

@@bror9519 I used to regularly change zinc anodes. As I understood it, in order for the zinc to act as sacrificial cathodic protection, the material to be protected would have to be submerged with the anode... Like you couldn't attach a zinc anode to the frame of a car and have it protected unless the frame of the car was submerged in water. I could be wrong of course. Maybe just the anode needs to be submerged.

[@sailingyachtrocknroll8402]

Wouldn’t chopped strand mat be stronger than bilateral?

[@CruisingMeraki]

You might be right… from what we read and the folks we spoke to it felt like bilateral was the right route for the epoxy we used.

[@sailingyachtrocknroll8402]

@@CruisingMeraki good work anyway. I’ve had to use a lot of fibreglass and resin in my refit. I’m on my 4th 5 litre tin. Four hundred rubber gloves 300 mixing sticks and I lost count of the disposable pint mugs I’ve used. Should be worth it though. Good luck 👍🏼

[@Manny_Akamotakis]

Cool system

[@theislandpackrat]

A big job but You know what you have now And it's almost done!

[@CruisingMeraki]

Totally, we’re thankful we know Meraki so intimately now!!