On 26 Oct 2003 23:58:58 GMT, (Bobsprit) wrote:

At what age do they start to blister? Should I sell her immediately?

Some boats can develope blisters at the waterline within a few years or sooner.
There was a run of Valiant yachts that had this problem reported within a year
of production. If you have blisters they will be small, as in the Jeaneau
problems a few years back. Of course that was thanks to Beneteau taking over!

RB

The Valiant problems were all due to the fire retardant resin that was
used. The resulting problems were severe enough that "old Valiant"
was bankrupted and sold. That fire retardant resin caused blistering
above and below the water line. That was a little different situation
than the osmotic blistering you are discussing which is encountered on
many/most boats in some numbers to some degree. My old C&C had some
blistering. It isn't the end of the world.

My old C&C had some
blistering. It isn't the end of the world.

Nope. Rare that the damage is bad, but best to catch it early, especially on
the Beneteau.
Good info on Valiant...thanks.

RB

The problems were isolated to those
particular hulls, but the "blister boat" label really hurts the value
of those (specific) old Valiants. No problems before or after. Great
boats.

I think I read in Sailing about those "bad years" and Valiants, now corrected
and protected that can still be had for cheap.
Not a bad way to get a serious cruiser.

RB