Here's a question: Where did your friend find the surveyor? Was he
recommended by a broker, in particular the seller's broker?


* Mark wrote, On 5/10/2007 8:32 AM:
A friend purchased a small cruiser last spring and had it surveyed. While
getting ready for this spring's launch and applying anitfouling wax she
noticed bubbles in the gelcoat. Contacting the person who did the survey,
they said they would have a look at it again on the 20th of May with her
regular mechanic. In the meantime....

1) The surveyor said the bubbles in the gelcoat were not visible last spring
and did not show up with sounding, and that maybe there was an electrical
problem at our marina that affected the hull (causing the bubbles to form).
She responded and said not other boats at the marina were affected. Could
this phenomenon occur, or what are other typical causes of bubbles to form
in the gelcoat?

2) Is there any recourse against the surveyor if the bubbles were missed
during the survey. (I believe the surveyor is from the Kingston or
Belleville area)?

Mark (the rail, canopy, & lifeline hook guy)
www.ripnet.com/vtf/prod03.htm

It has been a year since the survey. Anything could have happened in
that length of time

When the boat was surveyed, had it been out of the water all winter?
Do you haul boats in your area for the winter? Was this boat hauled
this past winter? Was the boat in the water last summer and was it
used? Did your friend put anti-fouling on the boat last spring? What
kind of anti-fouling is she applying?

Other boats in the marina might have had problems which your friend
did not hear about. If she was not able to discern whether there were
problems with the boat she was buying, it is also possible that she
missed that other boats in the marina were having problems.

Or the other boat owners might have put in place sufficient protection
against electrical problems and she failed to do this.

Or maybe the fault developed during the past year because of damage to
the infrastructure or because one of the newer boats in the marina
(maybe even your friend's boat) introduced electrical problems.

IMHO, if there were bubbles at the time of the survey, the surveyor
would have mentioned them, as that is one of the primary things that
they look for in fiberglass hulls. Not only were they not visible,
but sounding (not sure whether this is just tapping on the hull or
whether it was a moisture meter) did not find them.


"Mark" wrote:

A friend purchased a small cruiser last spring and had it surveyed. While
getting ready for this spring's launch and applying anitfouling wax she
noticed bubbles in the gelcoat. Contacting the person who did the survey,
they said they would have a look at it again on the 20th of May with her
regular mechanic. In the meantime....

1) The surveyor said the bubbles in the gelcoat were not visible last spring
and did not show up with sounding, and that maybe there was an electrical
problem at our marina that affected the hull (causing the bubbles to form).
She responded and said not other boats at the marina were affected. Could
this phenomenon occur, or what are other typical causes of bubbles to form
in the gelcoat?

2) Is there any recourse against the surveyor if the bubbles were missed
during the survey. (I believe the surveyor is from the Kingston or
Belleville area)?

Mark (the rail, canopy, & lifeline hook guy)
www.ripnet.com/vtf/prod03.htm

Thanks to everyone for the great feedback and questions. It turns out the
buyer had not seen the bubbles last fall when clening the hull after pulling
it out, so most likely they were not there when the survey was done. The
boat is an 89 Doral.

The bubbles appeared in two places, mid ship on the bottom and toward the
back on the side at the waterline. Both locations have about 20-30 small
bubbles about the size of a Q Tip spread over about a half a square foot.
Another friend looked at the boat and suggested it was osmosis.

Now her challenge is to determine how to get it fixed and what will be
involved.
Mark

"Mark" wrote in message
...
A friend purchased a small cruiser last spring and had it surveyed. While
getting ready for this spring's launch and applying anitfouling wax she
noticed bubbles in the gelcoat. Contacting the person who did the survey,
they said they would have a look at it again on the 20th of May with her
regular mechanic. In the meantime....

1) The surveyor said the bubbles in the gelcoat were not visible last
spring and did not show up with sounding, and that maybe there was an
electrical problem at our marina that affected the hull (causing the
bubbles to form). She responded and said not other boats at the marina
were affected. Could this phenomenon occur, or what are other typical
causes of bubbles to form in the gelcoat?

2) Is there any recourse against the surveyor if the bubbles were missed
during the survey. (I believe the surveyor is from the Kingston or
Belleville area)?

Mark (the rail, canopy, & lifeline hook guy)
www.ripnet.com/vtf/prod03.htm

"Mark" wrote in message
...
Thanks to everyone for the great feedback and questions. It turns out
the buyer had not seen the bubbles last fall when clening the hull after
pulling it out, so most likely they were not there when the survey was
done. The boat is an 89 Doral.

The bubbles appeared in two places, mid ship on the bottom and toward the
back on the side at the waterline. Both locations have about 20-30 small
bubbles about the size of a Q Tip spread over about a half a square foot.
Another friend looked at the boat and suggested it was osmosis.

Now her challenge is to determine how to get it fixed and what will be
involved.
Mark


If it is osmotic blistering, the bubbles will ooze styrene-smelling liquid
when pierced. I would suggest testing one where it can most easily be
repaired.

"KLC Lewis" wrote in message
et...

"Mark" wrote in message
...
Thanks to everyone for the great feedback and questions. It turns
out the buyer had not seen the bubbles last fall when clening the
hull after pulling it out, so most likely they were not there when
the survey was done. The boat is an 89 Doral.

The bubbles appeared in two places, mid ship on the bottom and toward
the back on the side at the waterline. Both locations have about
20-30 small bubbles about the size of a Q Tip spread over about a
half a square foot. Another friend looked at the boat and suggested
it was osmosis.

Now her challenge is to determine how to get it fixed and what will
be involved.
Mark


If it is osmotic blistering, the bubbles will ooze styrene-smelling
liquid when pierced. I would suggest testing one where it can most
easily be repaired.


Idiot! They're what's called gel-coat blisters. Tiny little things only
in the outer layer of the gel coat. They are totally inconsequential. If
the boat's had it's topsides painted, they might even be paint blisters.
Awlgrip is prone to these little blisters at the waterline.

Wilbur Hubbard

Wilbur Hubbard