Osmosis Treatment
Osmosis is a problem that has been around for years all be it one that is on the decrease as many manufacturers use high quality resins which slow down water absorption. The downside to this in the future could be that higher grade laminates and resins that are now used have meant manufacturers have been able to make boats more lightweight consequently if at some point they suffer from osmosis the repair costs could be higher as more structural work may be required. Having said that; to date at Osmotech we are unaware of any boats that have sunk due to Osmosis.
In terms of treatment as far as we are concerned the only sure fire method that provides a long lasting remedy to this problem is to remove the gel coat, shot blast, steam clean and dry the hull and then apply a layer of laminate prior to the protective epoxy coating. All laminate and coating work should be carried out undercover with a good heat supply for the epoxy coatings to work correctly and they should be applied in a single day to ensure the chemical bond between each coat results in a thick coat. Failure to do this can and often does lead to incorrect adhesion between the coats and a failure in the coating system.
