Blistering, Gel plane and Hot Vac

[p424owner]

#223 has a pretty bad case of blistering - hundreds of nickel-sized bumps below the waterline. She is undergoing a bottom peel, using a gel plane, after which she will have a complete Hot Vac job, and be recoated with a vinylester resin and a new coat of bottom paint. '

Does anyone have any comments on the gel planing, or the hot vac process as a remedy against blistering? From what I understand, the process is quite effective (the yard is prepared to give me a warranty) and is used extensively in Europe, but not so much here in the US.

Since I am handing over a sizeable chunk of my refit budget, I am curious if anyone on this board has anything to share?

[ishmael]

We have been looking for a 365 for several months now and we think we have finally found one.  At this point, thankfully, only a few blisters.  However, I was discussing this with our surveyor on Saturday.  He is of the opinion that if you are going to get this done get a very long warrenty.  Most shops will give you a 3 or 4 year which is not long enough to know if you are going to get recurrence.

Ron