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Started installing bunks today and encountered my first issue. On the hull, where it touches each bunk, there are blisters. Quite a few of them. Most are pretty small, a few might hit 1/2″ in diameter. Was NOT expecting that, as my Astro was sold at 18 years old and had absolutely no blistering anywhere, even though it used the usual carpeted bunks.My question is this, how critical is the repair? I plan on addressing this in two parts at least, one to build a mechanism to lift the boat off the bunks when in my basement as this is a bit ridiculous to have to deal with. I am going to keep a fan blowing under the hull from here on, with an intent of keeping the boat off the bunks to get them dry. Royal pain,. but not NEARLY as big a pain as fixing this mess. I am thinking about breaking each blister to release the acidic liquid, then judiciously grind them down to get rid of any overhang that would tend to trap moisture at speed. Then I might go the marine epoxy route and fill them (after drying things out carefully). Not hyper about gel-coat there, just want it to be reasonably smooth. Note that a number of the blisters have “popped” leaving very small “craters” less than 1/4″ in diameter and pretty shallow. This is really my first disappointment with this cat, otherwise it has been flawless.We have (or at least had) a REALLY good fiberglass guy here at Birmingham boat repair, best gel-coat guy I have seen. Am planning on giving him a call when I can catch him and get a rough idea of what it might take to fix this. Bottom is completely flawless except for the areas where the bunks touch, which have a slight brownish discoloration plus the blisters. I know he can fix it back to original specs (I saw him repair a bullet pad 15 years ago and the boat picked up about 1.5mph AFTER he did hit thing. Only question will be “how much”? Looks like the strakes are NOT involved so I am talking about the 10 from transom forward beside the pad and the 6 from the transom on the next gap between strakes over. Not a huge area, but looks like hades.Any suggestions? I am not afraid of fiberglass work as I have been doing radio-controlled model aircraft for 50+ years now and several of those were made from fiberglass laminated over Balsa. Had lots of experience repairing dings, breaks, cracks and even holes.I poked around the internet a bit and found one pretty experienced guy that said this is not a problem to lose sleep over, that it is a very slow-developing issue at worst, where there is no need to rush to fix it yesterday…Last edited by oldtimer57 on December 29th, 2016, 4:20 am, edited 2 times in total.2008 Pantera Classic2014 Mercury Pro XS 200
If your going to pursue fixing it, I would get an experienced glass/gel coat tech to do it. Im sure your capable of doing the work, but someone experienced will get it done quicker, and also held responsible if the repair rips off at 70 mph. Take some pics so we can get a look at them.
What year model is your boat? I have a 2014 Cougar FTD that i have lifted up off the bunks several times and have not got any blistering as of yet..
2008. Supposedly when this happens, it is in the 5-10 year age category. Real bummer, but stuff happens… Really had no way to catch this when I bought it, although we did look at the bottom carefully. Flawless everywhere it is visible, all the blistering is directly covered by the bunks.2008 Pantera Classic2014 Mercury Pro XS 200
Hmm. Just thinking about the lifetime warranty. Cant see its your fault as this is a known issue. Let the pros fix it.
2008. Supposedly when this happens, it is in the 5-10 year age category. Real bummer, but stuff happens… Really had no way to catch this when I bought it, although we did look at the bottom carefully. Flawless everywhere it is visible, all the blistering is directly covered by the bunks.I am pretty positive the lifetime warranty specifically excludes blistering. VERY few boat warranties cover stress cracks, blistering, etc. And those are pretty limited. Saw one a few years ago that was something like full warranty repair for first year only. Another was a declining coverage that was gone after 3-4 years. So I doubt it would be of any benefit here. I realize that the EPA is making things difficult for everyone, but that is not very comforting to me as I look at the possible costs here. IF if the EPA says you can no longer use this material (say carbon fiber or Kevlar) I would really have to think long and strong before I would then switch to a material I would be worried might cause a failure over time. I dont know what sort of considerations were involved in the resin changes, I trust that Bass Cat did what they thought was the right thing. But it clearly didnt turn out quite like I, as a customer, would hope.I made a bad decision, Ill have to pay for it, and Ill move on. Certainly wasnt the first bad choice I have made. I strongly doubt it will be the last. Still like the boat, it will just end up costing a bit more than I had originally planned. Im sure my wife will be quite happy with me. Last edited by oldtimer57 on December 29th, 2016, 5:32 am, edited 1 time in total.2008 Pantera Classic2014 Mercury Pro XS 200
I wonder what year that they started using the ester barrier coat? I know my 14 has it, but not sure about a 08..i think the barrier coat helps prevent against blistering..
Keyword “helps”. Does not prevent it completely. Problem centers around the size of the resin molecule compared to H2O molecule. This isnt a bass cat only issue. Happens to others. I saw one estimate that roughly 1 of every 4 fiberglass boats made will show blistering at some point. 8 years seems a bit “young” but oh well… I saw a ranger that had this (mentioned on BBC) within the first year it was owned. Was taken back to the factory, they re-did the gel-coat completely with their “latest and greatest” resin and told the owner “this wont happen again”. One year later… guess what?Does seem like this ought to be fixable. IE the double-carpet bunks are made to hold water with two full layers of carpet. Everybody is using carpeted bunks however. There ought to be a good solution, you would think. But apparently everything that has been tried tends to damage the hull bottom via abrasion. I could think of a few ways to introduce air flow through the bunks, in an attempt to dry them out. IE some sort of forced-air that goes through the bunks and vents through the carpet to get the moisture out. But pressure-treated 2x6s would not be very effective so the cost would go up. But it does seem like a solution is possible, with the disadvantage of increased cost. However, Id certainly be willing to pay an extra $1000 up front to avoid several $1000 problems later.Last edited by oldtimer57 on December 29th, 2016, 5:43 am, edited 2 times in total.2008 Pantera Classic2014 Mercury Pro XS 200
I was under the impression that water cannot penetrate the barrier coat to reach the laminate which is why the barrier coat is in between the gelcoat and the laminate..still curious if that barrier coat was used in 2008..
Old timer I hate to hear this. But in reality I bet its a more common issue that most really think. I mean how many people actually see the area your blisters are? I bet the percentage of blisters is pretty high. You say the issue with blisters is 8 to 10 yrs.. in reality it probably starts before then.(this is the time frame most people change their runners). My boat is a 2013 and is a p2. Probably next yr I will change my bunks. And I expect to see blisters. You said your bottom is extremely clean.(Probably a clear water boat). My 13 was this way when I bought it. But Im a river rat. So Ive put a few on mine and its expected. I thought BCB improved their gel in the later yrs late 2012 or late 2013. Im sure the “premium” line with the vinyl Ester this problem has been minimized considerably. I wouldnt be surprised if 80 percent of the boats have these “pimples “. Your correct to say all manufacturers have this issue. The wet bunks is the culprit. I mean take this crazy example for a instance. Wrap your hand in a wet towel and leave it. Wat do you see? These hulls are no different. And there again a 3 day week fisherman is more likely to get these pimplesites versus a once every couple of weeks fisherman. Just my opinion.2013 PANTERA 2MERCURY 200 PRO XSMINNKOTA 80LB FORTREX25 fury
So here is a thought and it would be good to get BCBs take on it too. What about the use of those teflon slider pads on the bunks. They screw into the carpeted bunks and help the boat slide off easier. Obviously you would never want to remove the bow strap before backing in, I have seen a boat come off a roller trailer before and it wasnt pretty. My thought though is that they get the hull up off the carpeted bunks just a little bit to help dry them out a little easier. One issue I could foresee with them is they are not providing even, constant support to the hull. But if you spaced them out right, is it enough or still not recommended? Say a 6″ pad spaced 18″ on center?
Tdobb, I had a 1990 Pantera II that had those nylon “rails” screwed to the bunks.
OK, day 2 update. Removed port side short bunker, no blisters. glass is discolored and wont come clean, which suggests light water intrusion. But no blisters anywhere under the outside bunker on that side. Finished cutting carpet for two long (center) bunks. Too cold today to try glue, and the wind is at 40mph or so, so doing much outside requires lots of chasing stuff down. Now I can probably tackle the glue / staples in the basement where it is not so cold (glue recommends 72 degrees.So significant blistering under starboard short bunk, none under port. Looking more like it will be easily fixable now. Might contact anthony to ask what he would charge me to re-spray the gelcoat after I fix the pits.I have made a temp mock-up of my solution to this for the short term. A heavy-duty wooden structure that fits the pad and the area around it. Will have plenty of carpet scraps left from the bunk project to pad it. Then I will be able to lift the boat clear of the bunks and keep a fan under the bow blowing along the bottom of the hull to get in between the bunks and hull and dry the bunks out.Ive given some more thought to how Id like to solve this permanently. What I really want to build is a set of bunks out of some composite material, maybe the stuff used to build decks. Then take a router and cut 1/2″ groves about 1/2″ deep every 2″ or so, crossways. That gives a way for water to get out and for air to get in. Ideally I would like a long hole that goes lengthwise through the bunk and which intersects the routed grooves. Now forced air into that opening would go down the bunks and out at every cross-cut notch. Or possibly a long-way route down the center with the same basic idea. Need to work out the details to make sure it would be strong enough, then carpet it and go. Only issue is the BCB carpet has a pretty much solid bottom layer which would not do very well at letting water into the notches or air from the notches into the carpet.Next step is to replace the other two bunks to see what is under them. The less the better…2008 Pantera Classic2014 Mercury Pro XS 200
THE COMPOSITE MATERIAL IS NOT MADE TO CARRY A LOAD. MOST OF THE COMPOSITE IS MADE TO SPAN NO MORE THAN 16 INCHES. THE COST PER BOARD IS HIGH AND A 12 TO 14 IN 2X6 MAY BE AS MUCH AS 50 TO 60 DOLLARS PER BOARD IF YOU CAN FIND THEM. BCB HAD A POST SOME TIME BACK ON COMPOSITE . IF YOU DECIDE TO DO THIS I DONT KNOW OF A GLUE THAT WILL STICK TO COMPOSITE FOR ANY TIME.
I intend to look around a good bit as the stuff used to surface a deck is too thin to start with (it is usually labeled 5/4 which is its actual thickness, 1/4″ less than a standard 2×6. I was not planning on using glue after I thought about it. I think I would wrap the carpet around the thing, then use aluminum strips along the edge to clamp the carpet down where it cant move. If you look at “the ultimate bunk board” they have a composite 2×6 that is backed with an aluminum reinforcement that might have possibilities.Another choice would be to use a normal P.T. 2×6, rout the cross channels, then use a second piece to double it. Only double between the frame attachment points so that the boat is not raised any. Might be even easier that way.2008 Pantera Classic2014 Mercury Pro XS 200
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