# 2014 HB Osmosis Issues



## Flatoutfly (Jun 11, 2020)

Osmotic Blisters have to be repaired by people that know how to fix this particular problem. You can not just have your normal glass guy (who will probably tell you he can fix it) repair these blisters. I do find it odd HB to say this is a common problem or especial make a statement on 2014 hulls. If this was true, it would be on every model for 2014 because it has nothing to do with the Hulls. If that was true everyone would be aware of this issue. I'm not defending HB, just trying to use common since.

Osmotic Blisters is more common in larger boats that requires bottom painted. It happens when moisture and air gets sealed in the glass and builds acid which expand causing a blister. Most skiffs are built with a vacuum bag system which removes air when building including 2014 HB's. 

Most always the cause of the blisters is not due to the building of the boat but more the cause from what someone else has done to the boat and that can be a long list.


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## Water Bound (Dec 12, 2018)

Did he keep it in the water?


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## TheFrequentFlier (Feb 17, 2016)

Wasn’t this brought up in a thread before? Don’t think it was a Hells Bay, but probably some good info in there if you can find it.


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## Goatlips (Jan 9, 2013)

TheFrequentFlier said:


> Wasn’t this brought up in a thread before? Don’t think it was a Hells Bay, but probably some good info in there if you can find it.


I believe it has.
Members name CKEAT. I think Tom Gordon fixed it for him.


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## Bonesonthebrain (Jan 2, 2020)

Flatoutfly said:


> Osmotic Blisters have to be repaired by people that know how to fix this particular problem. You can not just have your normal glass guy (who will probably tell you he can fix it) repair these blisters. I do find it odd HB to say this is a common problem or especial make a statement on 2014 hulls. If this was true, it would be on every model for 2014 because it has nothing to do with the Hulls. If that was true everyone would be aware of this issue. I'm not defending HB, just trying to use common since.
> 
> Osmotic Blisters is more common in larger boats that requires bottom painted. It happens when moisture and air gets sealed in the glass and builds acid which expand causing a blister. Most skiffs are built with a vacuum bag system which removes air when building including 2014 HB's.
> 
> Most always the cause of the blisters is not due to the building of the boat but more the cause from what someone else has done to the boat and that can be a long list.


I am not an expert on this, but my understanding is that gel coat is at some level porous and chemicals in the layup attract and react with water. This is what causes the blisters and why it is called osmotic. Vacuum bagging would have very little to do with it and bottom painting would reduce the instance of blistering.





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Boat Surveyor- Osmosis Explained


Our Boat Surveyor can explain osmosis in detail. The term "osmosis" was coined in the early 70's to describe the blistering on GRP boat hulls.




www.boatsurveyor.net


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## K3anderson (Jan 23, 2013)

NMZ Charters said:


> Went to go look at a used 2014 HB Biscayne yesterday and found quite a few bubbles in the forward 1/3 of the hull around the keel. Upon further discussion with the seller he mentioned that he contacted HB and they told him this was unfortunately a common occurrence in the 2014 hulls.
> 
> The term they used to describe these bubbles was* Osmotic Blisters...*
> 
> ...


This is why you want HB's built under the CM regime or just before the middle owner. There's lot's of things like this that happened in that middle period. Things like the plastic spray rails snapping in the middle because they weren't heated and shaped before they went on.


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## jackson man (Aug 13, 2020)

Bonesonthebrain said:


> I am not an expert on this, but my understanding is that gel coat is at some level porous and chemicals in the layup attract and react with water. This is what causes the blisters and why it is called osmotic. Vacuum bagging would have very little to do with it and bottom painting would reduce the instance of blistering.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks for sharing, it's worth reading!


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## NMZ Charters (Feb 7, 2019)

The skiff was a yacht tender for the entirety of its life, so I can imagine at some point it was left in the water for more than a day or so. 

Did find CKEAT's posts and read the whole thread. Sounds identical to this boat's hull blistering. 

So is it worth buying? 

From what I see it really comes down to how well you can negotiate them down on price and the cost to repair it at the skiff shop


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## TheFrequentFlier (Feb 17, 2016)

If it were me I’d walk. Not that it’s not going to float, but you’re inheriting (buying) a giant liability. There’s someone that wants to undertake that sort of project, but if that doesn’t sound like you, leave it alone. It’ll be a great skiff, for the right person, after the right amount of work to correct how it has (arguably) been mistreated over its life.


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## CKEAT (Aug 26, 2015)

Goatlips said:


> I believe it has.
> Members name CKEAT. I think Tom Gordon fixed it for him.


It was me and it was a 2012 and I will say, I did really like that boat. I only bought it because I got a steal and had it fixed properly but it was a pain in the ass.

I have since had sevral private messages on marquesas, pros, waterman and now Biscayne with same blisters and it is not just a 2014 issue. Hells Bay wants nothing to do with taking responsibility. I will not go into the stories, my goal is not to bash HB.

HB is just behind in my opinion. EC, Chittum, Drake etc are building equal or better boats, my focus would be on boat manufacturers that really back their products a little better.


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## NMZ Charters (Feb 7, 2019)

CKEAT said:


> It was me and it was a 2012 and I will say, I did really like that boat. I only bought it because I got a steal and had it fixed properly but it was a pain in the ass.
> 
> I have since had sevral private messages on marquesas, pros, waterman and now Biscayne with same blisters and it is not just a 2014 issue. Hells Bay wants nothing to do with taking responsibility. I will not go into the stories, my goal is not to bash HB.
> 
> HB is just behind in my opinion. EC, Chittum, Drake etc are building equal or better boats, my focus would be on boat manufacturers that really back their products a little better.


Well put, I appreciate the input.


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## Xcapnjoe (Jun 5, 2013)

K3anderson said:


> This is why you want HB's built under the CM regime or just before the middle owner. There's lot's of things like this that happened in that middle period. Things like the plastic spray rails snapping in the middle because they weren't heated and shaped before they went on.


And the outright theft of deposits...


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## Featherweight (Jan 7, 2020)

I have a 2007 Marquesa ; there are some very thin spots in the gel coat. 

Mine have appeared just past the nav lights just below the spray rails. The gel is very thin and with age can look blistered. Once water gets under the gel it gets worse.


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## SkiffaDeeDooDah (Jan 20, 2020)

Some more good reading material on the reasons to stay away from polyester resin:

Why Epoxy is Preferable to Vinylester and both are Preferable to Polyester

Epoxy Resin vs Vinylester vs Polyester - Use and Application Overview


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## Jensenskiff (Feb 9, 2021)

NMZ Charters said:


> Went to go look at a used 2014 HB Biscayne yesterday and found quite a few bubbles in the forward 1/3 of the hull around the keel. Upon further discussion with the seller he mentioned that he contacted HB and they told him this was unfortunately a common occurrence in the 2014 hulls.
> 
> The term they used to describe these bubbles was* Osmotic Blisters...*
> 
> ...


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## Jensenskiff (Feb 9, 2021)

I also had a 2014 HB Waterman with the same issue. Hellsbay treated me very well. They gave me back what I paid for it and I had them build me a new boat.


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