Marshall Cat bottom refinishing

[zperson]

I work with a not for profit youth group that is considering a purchase of a 1966 Marshall 22 catboat. With Solid fiberglass decks and hulls this is a strong boat that is suffering from lack of cosmetic attention and a bad engine.

The engine is not an issue, as all of our work is very close to shore in protected areas of LI Sound, and we already have a 9.9 four stroke which we will mount on the transom. Next season we will look for an electric motor option.

The bottom of this boat was "bead blasted" by the current owner using nut shells and plastic pellets to remoce 20+ years of bottom paint. Since this treatment the boat has sat for about 3 years.

I was told by the broker that some sort of filling would need to be applied to the small holes left by the bead blasting, followed by a barrier coat and then bottom paint.

Any comments on this process and the sort of coatings that should be applied would be appreciated.

[Jeff_H]

I would visit the WEST System site. They have a monograph on repairing hulls with blisters that would apply here. If the holes are just small pin holes you may be able to get by with just rolling on several extra coats of epoxy rather than actually filling these holes with a troweled on epoxy filler.

Jeff