So last year it was Defiance and this year it the long overdue refit of the displacement power boat.
First job up is the bottom.
The Island Gypsy 44 is number 46 of the type and was launched in later 1984.
And while the mechanical as first rate the exterior is a good 10 years past a renovation.
But first up, the bottom.
A lot if people freak at osmosis but this boat has travelled as good few thousand miles over the past 15 years I have had it, including a 4 day 4 hour non stop run from Newcastle to Hobart and a good few days getting bounced around southern Tasmania.

Sandblasting away 30 years of paint.
Interestingly, in the past someone has tried to dodgy fix and caused all the big bubbles as there is different filler which water has got behind.



Actually looking pretty good.
The fix is epoxy barrier and repaint.

1.15 pm
You can see where someone has done a half hearted job in the past and made more work now.

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lydia said..
1.15 pm
You can see where someone has done a half hearted job in the past and made more work now.

Oh, such a surprised look about her ....

Btw, the great Dean Marks is managing the work, did his apprenticeship at Halvorsens putting the IG 44 together as they come in in pieces from the Hong Kong yard.

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lydia said..
A lot if people freak at osmosis

I can understand why, it looks really sketchy :) :)

Plus peeling an entire hull isn't exactly a small or pleasant job. Given the choice I would go for without blisters, ha ha.

Reality is that lots of grp boats of a certain age has it built in so eventually you just have to deal with it
it took less than three hours to blast the hull
different medium will used today to smooth it up before epoxy barrier applied

so the advice is if you are going to do it get in and do it big

That was sand blasted as opposed to soda strip
general view was soda strip left a residue that was very hard to move

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lydia said..
That was sand blasted as opposed to soda strip
general view was soda strip left a residue that was very hard to move

Hi Lydia, there's a fella here in Bundy that does dry ice blasting, have you tried it? Do you think it would be okay for fibreglass boats?

good to see mate don't envy the poor bastard in the suit who is going to grind all those bubbles out

Mate. Not grinding out
blast today with grp spheres then epoxy
lay up actually very dry

interesting topic ........ or sup topic ..... whats the consensus on whether or not to grind the top off the blisters . is the determining factor if they are weeping or not ? Is that why you are not cutting them out lydia ,because they are inactive ?

First question is how wet is the lay up, as if the lay up is still dry.
Here the lay up is dry and the only moisture is where someone has ground out and used polyester filler to plug the hole.
I don't intend to grind out all the filler.
As for grinding the top off the blisters we have just blasted them all to get back to a clean surface and epoxy coat the lot.
if the lay up is very wet then a must different problem.

Progressing along.
First screed on with some spot filling.
Only a few little tennis ball size styrene wet spots left to dry out
Great work from the guys.
Three days out so far and heading for Tuesday am lift in all painted up, so 7 days out all up hopefully

I spent my younger years repairing osmosis , about 20 all up including my own which I was horrified that it returned after a full rebuild and being dry for 2 years. My latest Adams had some bubbles and when I investigated I found it was in the bog fairing. I filled the worse with fix tech 15 polyurethane and antifouled. Interesting to see what it looks like in my next 3 year haul out. P.S. Acetone is your best friend to remove moisture from exposed osmosis blisters.

An here was me thinking it was only wood, steel an ferro boats that had issues ?

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woko said..
An here was me thinking it was only wood, steel an ferro boats that had issues ?

There are lots of reasons, indifferent resin quality, lay up quality, even stories of boats moving from the south to the north suddenly getting blisters.
A different problem is the actual lay up drying out as opposed to surface blisters.

just the technology of the day.

but it is not something to be feared.

Spot on Lydia
Osmosis in grp boats is not the end of the world
Lots of different causes and a whole lot more opinions on how to fix it
If you love the boat just accept that it has got it, has had it or will get it
Have seen it in a range of boats. Old, new, commercial and recreational. I would rather a few blisters than a poorly built boat.
Looking forward to the rest of the rebuild. This vessel is on our wish list

First coat of undercoat
Second coat going on!

Antifoul tomorrow and relaunch Thursday am at this stage.
Great work by the lads.

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Wander66 said..

lydia said..
That was sand blasted as opposed to soda strip
general view was soda strip left a residue that was very hard to move

Hi Lydia, there's a fella here in Bundy that does dry ice blasting, have you tried it? Do you think it would be okay for fibreglass boats?

Sorry for not replying earlier but had not heard of that but interested to know how it works

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lydia said..

Wander66 said..

lydia said..
That was sand blasted as opposed to soda strip
general view was soda strip left a residue that was very hard to move

Hi Lydia, there's a fella here in Bundy that does dry ice blasting, have you tried it? Do you think it would be okay for fibreglass boats?

Sorry for not replying earlier but had not heard of that but interested to know how it works

No problems I'll give him a call at some stage and see whether he uses it for fibreglass hulls, his website recommends it for internal blasting of fishing boats etc because of course there is no residue other than what is removed.

Nice work on the Island Gypsy

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Wander66 said..

lydia said..

Wander66 said..

lydia said..
That was sand blasted as opposed to soda strip
general view was soda strip left a residue that was very hard to move

Hi Lydia, there's a fella here in Bundy that does dry ice blasting, have you tried it? Do you think it would be okay for fibreglass boats?

Sorry for not replying earlier but had not heard of that but interested to know how it works

No problems I'll give him a call at some stage and see whether he uses it for fibreglass hulls, his website recommends it for internal blasting of fishing boats etc because of course there is no residue other than what is removed.

Nice work on the Island Gypsy

There There is also a place in Sydney which do it . Cold jet they are located in Moorebank

Im amazed I thought the repair process meant leaving vessel on the hard for ages while the osmosis blisters were gouged out, dried then filled.

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Cav30 said..
Im amazed I thought the repair process meant leaving vessel on the hard for ages while the osmosis blisters were gouged out, dried then filled.

Cav
Depends on the problem.
Here there was no moisture in the lay up but plenty of surface moisture under the paint
hull lay up was inches thick so could give it a good working over so a lot of problems disappeared with that.
There are about 4 spot were styrene not moisture is weeping.
You can't really stop or seal that so we will deal with those next lift out.
As I said earlier if the water is actually in the lay up that is different problem.
We also had a few really good cold very low humidity morning with wind which helped.
Helps if you have super good guys on the job as well.
As I said earlier if you are going to do it then jump in big.

Nice day for a trip back up the creek! (Hobart to Port Huon)
Yes, I am at work.

So 9 days on the hard stand including a weekend.
New antifouling and good for a few years.

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lydia said..
Nice day for a trip back up the creek! (Hobart to Port Huon)
Yes, I am at work.

So 9 days on the hard stand including a weekend.
New antifouling and good for a few years.

You at Port Huon this weekend?
I'm down for the Pipe Opener on the Melges :)
Good to have a beer!!