water tank problem

[watermelon]

hi, i have a bruce roberts 43 fiberglass sloop,i have fiberglass water tanks that have big blisters on the walls that form part of the keel,and the is a brow sticky liquid oozing , i believe this is styrene or something like that caused from water and un set resin,can anyone give me any info or advice on repair, i have cut the tank tops inspection holes bigger to get in the tanks but have limited room to work,any suggestions would be graetly appreciated

[Oscar]

Put bladders inside the tanks?

[Auzzee]

I don't think bladders will address the problem. It sounds as though there is a great potential for osmosis. The first step I would take is to remove the boat from the water and check the hull below the waterline. I fear that you may be in for some considerable expense. At the very least you should probably engage a professional to check the damage. I hope the problem is easily rectified. Dave.

[watermelon]

[the boat is out of the water and the hull is sound it is just the tanks have been done badly i think it looks like some of the glass in side is dry like it didnt get any resin and that other parts the resin did not set, what is the best type of product to do water tanks is west system an option epoxy? i did think about bladders but dont like the idea of that , with the possibility of chauff

[Oscar]

Are the tanks structural? In other words are they part of the stiffnes of the boat/furniture?

If not, cut a big hole in the lids and either insert a nylon tank, or glas the things over properly. Or remove them completely and build a wood box around a nylon tank.

Remove what is bad. Build what you need. In that order.

I had a similar problem with a fiberglass fuel tank, not blistering but leaking into the boat. The tank was a factory option and there were resin dry areas on the inside. I opened up the top and applied a layer of woven cloth and epoxy to the interior (fun job). It was succeful and the boat is still going strong after 30 years and 4 owners.

Your tank is a dead loss now so you have to do something to make it usable. The blistering in the hull should be a major concern and you have to find the cause. Most Bruce Robert's boat are home build so

you probalby have no information from he builder as to how layup was done. There could be several causes. Epoxing the inside of the hull will elimate one source of the problem but you should have someone look at

area to see if it was a dry layout or resin/catalyst/promotor mixture was improper, which could be a structural problem.

Good Luck

John

[watermelon]

thanks for the response, the boat was a home build i think, but i think the tanks may have been done in the factory, like hull and deck kit, include tank ,i have started the job i cut the tank tops bigger and could get inside and grinded the blisters out,but a real nightmare job,but it is difficult to work in the tanks and there is a lot more prep to do,you are right i do not have any previous info about the boat, as the owner had passed away,there was brown oozing redish i looked up on the internet about styrene,and that it can kill! does anyone know anything more about styrene