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Bruce in Bangkok[_16_] Bruce in Bangkok[_16_] is offline
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First recorded activity by BoatBanter: Aug 2009
Posts: 321
Default Wilbur's comeuppance

On Fri, 22 Apr 2011 14:58:14 -0500, CaveLamb
wrote:

You can lead a horse's ass to water, but you can't make him think...


No, it's not drying. And the reason why is a very simple one. The wetness you
are attempting to dry is not water, but something else. In many cases, it can
sit there forever and never go away. You can prove this for yourself by
performing a simple test. Collect some fluid samples from blisters on any boat.
Rupture the blister with a sharp knife point, then press against it and let it
spray into an empty film canister. Then place droplets of the sample on a piece
of clean metal or glass. Take it home and put it in a cool, dry place for two weeks.

When you return to your samples you will find that it has not evaporated, but
has hardened into a droplet of near solid clear plastic with no detectable loss
in volume or size. It may remain somewhat sticky, or it may fully harden to the
touch. If you now take that sample and put it outside in very damp or humid
weather, you will find that it will soften up again. In other words, that
material is hydroscopic and will absorb water right out of the atmosphere. Now
add a drop of water to the sample. Surprise! It will dissolve the solidified
material very quickly. And if you take a moisture meter reading of the
solidified material on a piece of glass, you'll get a high reading.

What you will have just demonstrated is the reason why your hull won't dry, and
the answer on how to dry it. What is migrating out of your exposed hull laminate
is a combination of hydrolyzed polyester resin, salts and other chemicals. These
sometimes migrate to the surface where exposure to air causes the fluid to
naturally cure. But it doesn't go away. It just stays there alternately curing
and softening with the changing atmospheric conditions. On a rainy day, it will
probably become nearly fluid. After a few days of cool, dry weather it cures again.

Now that you know this gook is water soluble, you know how to get rid of it.
Yep, just take a hose and wash it away! But while the hull is wet, be sure to
give it about 30 minutes to completely dissolve.

"But won't I just be making my hull wetter by putting water on it?"

Yes, but only temporarily. _We've already discovered that the fluid weeping out
of the hull is NOT water and will NOT evaporate_. As you know, water evaporates
very quickly, and the water you use to rinse the hull down will too. Wet the
entire hull down and keep it wet for about thirty minutes. Then come back with a
hose nozzle and spray it with a bit of pressure to remove the remaining traces
since some of this stuff may take longer to dissolve.



No, no! You must be wrong.

After all Willy-boy has explained and everything he says is as though
"from God's mouth to your ear", as some would have it :-)

Isn't it?

Cheers,

Bruce
(bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)