October 23, 2018

Veritas is at Jabin's Boatyard in Annapolis. This detour was planned for the Spring of 2019, however; because the engine raw water intake would not close completely, a decision was made to take care of it now. The cost of a haul out motivates making the time productive. I had a list in mind for Spring but, after inspecting the hull that list has expanded. What appeared to be a few blisters at the survey in June is much more extensive. I'm suspicious that the Veritas had been on the hard much longer at Herrington Harbor, giving her some time to dry out before the survey. In any case the only solution is to peel away the outer layer of gelcoat gelcoat and apply an epoxy laminate. An expensive and time consuming process. A patchwork repair of individual blisters would go on and on forever.

The alternative is to ignore it and just enjoy the boat. That would difficult knowing that the problem will only progress, albeit slowly. It might take years but eventually the fiberglass would delaminate and become weak.

Besides the one thru-hull, prompting the haul out, we could replace more as they all show signs of age. The propeller also needs to be refurbished, and bow-thruster propellers need to be cleaned.

And, there was that experiment, using Lanocote (a marine grease) as a coating on the propeller. After three months in the water we call it fail. Below are the before and after pictures.