Blisters

[islandive]

Looking at a 1986 Catalina 27 tall rig, surveyed well. The surveyor found small gel coat blisters on the transom and on both sides of the hull.
I''ve read everything I can find online and of course everybody has a differnt opionion on how to fix them. The owner has agreed to pay for the repairs through a price reduction of the boat. I have also ask for an escrow from the owner (part of purchase price) to cover any overruns in the repairs.
Now for the "bag of worms" question, Go with the purchase and repairs? and Recommended repairs, anybody have any experience on what has worked for them.
Thank ya''ll for your time,
steve

[RichardElliott]

These are, of course, only cosmetic, likely caused of years of sun beating on the hull. Unless they are truly objectionable leave them and pocket the money.

[JEFryar]

Steve,
I take it that the surveyor did not identify the cause of the blisters. I would ask the owner to expose one of the blisters. Opening one up will answer the what they are. If you do this be very careful . The blister can be filled with acid and will be under some pressure if they are caused by osmosis. The fluid will also smell bad.
If this is the case the sourse of the moisture needs to be found or any repair will be only temporary.
I would not assume these blisters are mearly cosmetic.JEF

[Irwin32]

When you state on the transom, does this mean above the waterline?

My 1973 Irwin would get a dozen or so small blisters around the keel joint each year. I opened them out and let them dry over the winter and then West Epoxyed them in the spring. This went on for maybe 3 seasons and then I stripped the area down to gel coat and put on Interlux 2000. Not one blister in the last 4 or 5 years.