Hull Blisters under trailer bunks

[MCX46]

I was cleaning the hull for water stains before winter this year and jacked the boat off the bunks to find hull blisters where the hull sits on the trailer bunks. Dealer wants no part of helping. Just sent me hull warranty lingo.
I dry sail the boat from my trailer most of the summer other than a 2 week period it was in a slip this summer. It’s clearly an issue with with hull and factory trailer set up. Otherwise there would be blisters in other areas.
I have read others have had similar issues. Any recommendations on how to deal with this is appreciated.

[mikeg205]

I would take it to a good marine fiberglass repair shop... its too bad that happened.

[bturner2]

Blisters can occur on any boat. Not sure how MC handles it with the lifetime hull warranty but it would be worth checking with HQ IF you are the original owner or transferred the warranty. If not you'll be on your own and this can get expensive. They'll need to sling the boat, grind the blisters to the bare fiberglass and spray new gel coat. Not fun and not cheap.

[MCX46]

I am the 2nd owner with the transferred warranty. Boat is only 6 years old so would think the hull warranty would still be in place. Clearly my dealer is not interested to help. Might be why I am seeing more Nautiques on the water.
My father in laws 2004 Supra is on a carpet bunk with no issues. MC should be higher quality than the '04 Supra, no?
If anyone has a contact at HQ I would be interested to get their opinion.
Thanks.

[ttu]

Sorry this has happened to your MC. But i can tell you my 05 Supra SSV 22 got blister's not once but twice. Both times the dealer repaired them under warranty (boat was less than 2 years old) but Skier's Choice told me the 2nd time they would not repair them again if they came back. sold it.

[MCX46]

Sorry to hear that about the Supra. Was it in the water full time or on a lift/trailer? Crazy that its even possible to happen these days with the resins/tech available.

[ttu]

the supra only stayed overnight in the water 5 days at Table Rock. Other than that it was always on a trailer. Trust me I had so many gel coat cracks they repaired it didn't bother me selling it. I did disclose the blisters to the buyer.

[MCX46]

Spoke with HQ. They are aware of this issue and say its common on boats that frequently use a trailer because of the friction on the dry carpets. There is no fix and since the Gel Coat warranty is only 1 year it would not be applicable since the boat is a 2015. So much for trying to keep the bottom unpainted.

[ValveCoverGasket]

Spoke with HQ. They are aware of this issue and say its common on boats that frequently use a trailer because of the friction on the dry carpets.

"common"? that seems like a stretch

this was an interesting read though
https://www.westsystem.com/wp-conten...Prevention.pdf

and since it seems to affect sail boats that arent trailered... one as to wonder about their explanation!

[JohnE]

I've heard of this happening on boats that are trailered numerous times. The water trapped under the hull and on the bunk carpet causes the osmotic blistering. With that said, I've always trailered my boats, some of which I put well over 100 hours a year on, and it's never happened. And it's typically not covered under hull warranty, from what I've read over the years. I wouldn't call it common, but I also wouldn't call it surprising.

[MCX46]

Common may be a stretch but it happens enough where they know about it and there is no fix. It was mentioned that I should expect it to happen again if I were to fix the blisters. The opinion was that the carpets are not given enough time when launching to lubricate so it scratches the hull. Moral of the story, find a ramp that is steep so you do not have to worry about the carpet abrasions and moisture wicking into the gel coat.

[JohnE]

Common may be a stretch but it happens enough where they know about it and there is no fix. It was mentioned that I should expect it to happen again if I were to fix the blisters. The opinion was that the carpets are not given enough time when launching to lubricate so it scratches the hull. Moral of the story, find a ramp that is steep so you do not have to worry about the carpet abrasions and moisture wicking into the gel coat.

I've always heard it recommended to dunk the bunks completely prior to launching. I know some people that treat the bunks with liquid spray wax to help the boat slide off. I guess the dry bunks could also scuff the gel on a dry hull to compromise the gel and facilitate the blistering. DO NOT use silicone on the bunks, as that can lead to the bunks being too slick. I've heard a story or two of someone losing a boat off the back after treating with silicone.

[gwozhog]

I was cleaning the hull for water stains before winter this year and jacked the boat off the bunks to find hull blisters where the hull sits on the trailer bunks. Dealer wants no part of helping. Just sent me hull warranty lingo.
I dry sail the boat from my trailer most of the summer other than a 2 week period it was in a slip this summer. It’s clearly an issue with with hull and factory trailer set up. Otherwise there would be blisters in other areas.
I have read others have had similar issues. Any recommendations on how to deal with this is appreciated.

Wasting your time and money worrying about it. Blisters are only cosmetic and since you have to jack the boat to see them they are pretty much out of sight out of mind. Go ski

[bturner2]

IDK if I buy what they're selling. If it's the carpet scratching the Gel Coat then why use carpet on those trailers for those $150K boats? Or at least tell customers when they buy a boat that it's common for the boat to develop blisters with the carpeted trailer bunks they're selling you. If the carpet is the culprit then use Gator Bunks or some other material. I mean Come On Brandon, why wouldn't use Gator Bunks for an extra grand a trailer? More likely culprit is the materials in the layup not being just right. If not why do some boats do it and other not? I've seem plenty of boats over the years that were left in the water that had extensive blisters. Did the carpet do that as well? I've also owned quite a few boats over the years that were only trailered and (knock on wood), none that I've owned have ever developed blisters. Did I have magic carpet or something?

My understanding of blisters is it's caused by moisture getting between the gel coat and the fiberglass which would make sense that the areas under your bunks are where your blisters are. Some gel coats are better than others at preventing water intrusion but as with anything, everything can vary in the quality of materials and application. This is why I believe you see some boats prone to blisters and others well, not so much. Since my boats sit on a lift most of their life I switched to poly bunks at the recommendation of my dealer for this reason and because I never wanted to recover another set of lift bunks again. If I were trailering I would most likely go to Gator Bunks.

[CantRepeat]

Spoke with HQ. They are aware of this issue and say its common on boats that frequently use a trailer because of the friction on the dry carpets. There is no fix and since the Gel Coat warranty is only 1 year it would not be applicable since the boat is a 2015. So much for trying to keep the bottom unpainted.

Compete and total bull$hit!!

It is not common for boat gel coat to blister!! Moreover, even more bull$hit for it to happen because of dry bunks. Who at MC came of with that crap? It's damn near the dumbest thing I've heard on these forums and some one at MC corporate office should put a stop to that crap.

Own it!!

How many hundreds of thousands or even millions of gelcoat fiberglass boats out there that never blister? Common? You mean rarely does it happen and more then likely it's catalyst issue if anything.

Want to destroy brand loyalty? This is how you start it.