CaptSteve
New Member
There are several concerns with leaving any boat in the water. The first is the possibility of water intrusion. If your boat takes on water faster than the bilge pump can evacuate it, it will sink. More boats, and I mean even large yachts, sink at the dock than at sea. You have to make sure your automatic bilge pump is working and that the float switch is not clogged and functional. You also have to make sure your battery is sufficient to run the pump long enough until the problem can be discovered and fixed. If you leave your boat in the water and you do not have a battery charger that is hooked to shore power, your boat can sink from even a small leak once the battery runs down.
The second concern is osmosis or blisters. Any boat, even very expensive yachts can and do get blisters. All Gelcote is porous and is NOT waterproof. When water gets between the gelcote and the fiberglass you will get blisters. Certain types of gelcote are more resistant to blisters than others. Most large boat manufacturers today use a vinylester type gelcote as opposed to the cheaper polyester based gelcote. On my 2001 Sportster, BRP used polyester based gelcote which are more prone to blisters. You can stop blisters by putting a barrier coat on the bottom and then cover that with bottom paint. Bottom paint alone will not stop blisters, but only slow it down. Bottom paint is also important to keep the bottom clean. This is especially important in salt water, but even in fresh water you can get mussels or soft growth on the bottom. Any growth on the bottom will greatly affect performance.
Personally, I leave my Sportster in the water most of the the time. My Seadoo is a tender for my larger boat that I live on, so I am always there. I installed a barrier coat, Interlux Interprotect 2000/2001, on the bottom followed by three coats of bottom paint. I have also installed a permanent battery charger and shore plug that is always plugged into shore power whenever it is docked in the water. In addition, I installed a second bilge pump just in case the first fails and both pumps are wired directly to the battery.
The second concern is osmosis or blisters. Any boat, even very expensive yachts can and do get blisters. All Gelcote is porous and is NOT waterproof. When water gets between the gelcote and the fiberglass you will get blisters. Certain types of gelcote are more resistant to blisters than others. Most large boat manufacturers today use a vinylester type gelcote as opposed to the cheaper polyester based gelcote. On my 2001 Sportster, BRP used polyester based gelcote which are more prone to blisters. You can stop blisters by putting a barrier coat on the bottom and then cover that with bottom paint. Bottom paint alone will not stop blisters, but only slow it down. Bottom paint is also important to keep the bottom clean. This is especially important in salt water, but even in fresh water you can get mussels or soft growth on the bottom. Any growth on the bottom will greatly affect performance.
Personally, I leave my Sportster in the water most of the the time. My Seadoo is a tender for my larger boat that I live on, so I am always there. I installed a barrier coat, Interlux Interprotect 2000/2001, on the bottom followed by three coats of bottom paint. I have also installed a permanent battery charger and shore plug that is always plugged into shore power whenever it is docked in the water. In addition, I installed a second bilge pump just in case the first fails and both pumps are wired directly to the battery.
Last edited by a moderator:
