Boat pox!

[deposada]

My search for a used DS1 here in Portland, OR continues, and the latest contender is a late 60's model in pretty good condition except for one thing... the bottom has fairly extensive pox blisters, about 1/8 inch across.

Don Casey's book on boat repair says: "Boat pox is a much more serious condition... Pox is a systemic condition indicating that the hull is saturated. The actions necessary to remedy boat pox require specialized equipment and expertise."

Is this more of an issue on bigger boats or should I avoid it here as well?

The repair sites say you'd have to grind off all the gelcoat and restore the surface. The blisters haven't popped, but create a slightly bumpy texture. I'd like to be able to race, and wonder how big a deal this will be for speed and potential resale someday. If anyone has repaired their pox, was it an ordeal?
Thanks for any thoughts,
David

[captainseasick]

Don't buy a boat that needs work, if you can spend a few more bucks to buy a better one. Materials like West system epoxy, or interprotect 2000, are VERY expensive. if it is a matter of saving a few hundred dollars to buy a daysailer that needs work, go for the better boat. If your blistered bottom boat is an "offer you can't refuse" be aware that if you want to race successfully, a perfectly smooth and fair bottom is the ideal, and every little imperfection that your boat has, that the competition doesn't have, makes it just that much harder to stay up with him or her. That said, blisters are not complicated to fix. Grind them down and open them. rinse and dry thoroughly, and fill and fair each bump with epoxy. A straight smooth bottom is every bit as important as good sails in the formula of 1. boat preparation, 2. sail trim, 3. crew work, 4. tactics, and 5. LUCK.
Mile

[Felix Graham-Jones]

I have never had any intention of racing with any degree of seriousness - I'm the owner of a early 70's DS2 for goodness sake! Nonetheless, two years ago during the off season I turtled my boat in the garage of a kindly neighbour and attacked the quite serious case of gel coat blisters my boat had developed. About a month of fairly leisurely evening and Saturday afternoon work had me using a countersink to open up each and every blister and let the thing sit to dry out over the winter. It was ready and waiting for the first warm days of spring when I learnt a whole new set of tricks fairing out all the holes I'd wantonly made in my hull, and then applying three coats of barrier coat, three more coats of a glossy blue polyurethane, and my baby was all spanking new looking for sailing season.
As I said, I'm not a racer, but a fixer-upperer - and I thought the whole exercise really useful - so much so that I'm now working on a 1947 Atkins sloop - and wishing it were as easy and rewarding as my O'Day - but that's another story.
I say go for it - my total outlay on epoxy, fairing filler, barrier coat and paint was less than $300 and a month of light evenings and two fairly intense weekends. In return I got a day sailer in shining shape, a complete rework of my centerboard, lots of experience with epoxy and a hefty dose of satisfaction.

[captainseasick]

I also have a 1975 DS 2 that I DO intend to race!
I have installed a mid boom traveler track, with windward sheeting car (a very nifty gadget) and BURNISHED the bottom to a high gloss after painting with VC 17 bottom paint. I faired the bottom, and spent hours in shaping an efficient airfoil into the centerboard. I purchased all new spinnaker gear, and added twings/barber-hauler lines to the deck. I am in the process of ordering all new NORTH SAILS racing sails for my "UN-RACABLE" daysailer 2! Next season I plan to club race on Cape Cod. Stay tuned, and I will let you know my results in my attempt to "buck common knowledge" "re-invent the wheel" and and bring home some silverware with my "new" "basket case" "throw-away" boat.
Mike

[BKelleher]

Do tell more about the fairing of the CB and I assume the rudder is next?

[captainseasick]

The centerboard on Old Glory, was abused. Apparently, when the original paint was put on the bottom, whoever did the job, used a grinder to rough up the bottom in order to provide "tooth" for the paint to hold. The problem was that in addition to insuring that the boat would always have a relatively rough and non-competitive bottom, they also allowed the grinder to bite huge gouges in the centerboard, so that it had lots of speed and lift destroying peaks and valleys. The first step was to remove all the paint and sand out all the grind marks from the bottom with a long board. Next was to fill areas that were too damaged to sand out with West System epoxy, mixed with filler, and again sand with a long board, finishing the bottom with #220 grit. Next was to drop the centerboard and sand out all the scratches and dings, and fill "by eye and feel" all the obvious inconsistencies. Finally I downloaded scaled templates for an 00XX NACA airfoil, and transferred them to cardboard forms and built the centerboard to this model. The entire job took about one week, and it was (especially striping the bottom) lots of work. I feel that at least at the start, I want this boat to be set up as correctly as possible. I plan to race the boat next season before making any more changes as far as hull stiffening or rudder shape. If I work on the rudder, i will try to reduce it's weight as well as reshape it.
Mike