Blisters???

[andrewbowman]

Okay last question.  The surveyor we talked to down in California said he had seen tons of Catalinas with blistering.  He said he had one guy who had to haul out seven before he finally found one that was acceptable.  On the other hand, this is very new information to us and we also talked to another surveyor in Seattle who said he loved Catalinas and never thought they had blistering problems.  So, who's right?  Have any of  you seen blistering as a problem.  We are looking at the late 80's vintage boats.  Thanks for any advice you can give. 

[SteveLyle]

There are lots of issues mentioned repeatedly by C34 owners, but blisters is not one of them.

My '86 was barrier coated, as the factory recommended, and there have been no blisters after 20 years.

My guess is, if you're looking for a late 80's boat, if it's gonna get blisters then it's already got them.  Any good surveyor will check for moisture in the hull.  If the survey reports blisters, or high moisture content in the hull, then move on, or make sure the price reflects the issue, as appropriate.

Steve

[Fred Jackson]

Catalinas have a good reputation as far as blistering goes EXCEPT in 1995/1996 there was a materials problem resulting in significant blistering problems.  Catalina stood by their reputation and warranty and redid all the affected bottoms.
So unless you are looking at a '95/96 vintage boat, I think you are fine.  And even the 95/96 boats are OK as long as you can verify that the factory prescribed repair was done.