Karena,

Gellcoat Blistering looks like a really bad case of mosquito bites ..... basically small welts, about the size of a dime or nickle ... a large blister is quarter sized. I can tell exactly how low in the water this TheMightyHobie18 was floating as the hulls have a distinct line which all the "blisters" are below .... and smooth hull above.

I remember reading somewhere years ago when I was in printed circut board manufacturing/assembly that "fiberglass" can assorb up to 1/3 it's wieght in moisture/water .... this is why those of us who race sailboats usually store them in "dry storage" ... even the larger sailboats. The lighter the sailboat ... the less force (wind) it takes to move it ... the faster the sailboat is ...

So ask around for some advise from some of the professional marine people who maintain 25ft or larger boats that spend most of the year in the water. I believe that they have developed "barrier coats" that prevent the absorbtion of moisture .... some of the newer bottom paints may already have been formulated to prevent gellcoat blisters. I just do not know as my boats is "dry" stored on the Yacht Club's lawn or on it's trailer in my backyard.

Of course if you could find away to store your beach cat on "dry" land it would eliminate all of this problem. Now when my boat is sitting on "dry land" (and not on it's trailer) I have made wooden blocks of 4"X 6" Pressure treated wood w/ a 2"X 10" piece of pressure treated wood as a base about 12-14" long (we have termits/carpender ants in Chesapeake/Maryland that love kiln dryed lumber since we usually do not have deeply frozen ground in the winter) ... I use nylon carpet and styrene that do not retain moisture/water to pad the 4X6 to protect the hull. Just having your hulls resting for long periods on wet/damp ground can cause "gelcoat blisters" too.

Harry

PS: When I retire ... I want to grow a long ... long ... ponytail.