Osmosis on our boat

Hi, we only read these messages on osmosis today and we would like to share our own experience with you. We have a Hanse 292 made in 1998, which we bought second-hand in 2002. Last spring, when the antifouling was removed, we noticed some tiny blisters, poked the largest ones and a clear fluid came out .. and it smelled of acetic acid. You can imagine how we felt, also considering that since winter 2002 our boat has been kept out of the water around six months a year! But then we know for sure from the previous owner that he only took it out of the water once a year to give it a layer of antifouling.

The dealer, who is located in Italy, said that the yard at Greifswald was prepared to cover the cost of repair treatment if we bought a new Hanse boat, i.e., to discount this amount of money from the cost of a new boat. And the dealer himself added he would give us a further little discount in that case.

So far we have not had any official confirmation that there is osmosis and have not made any measurements, but a surveyor told us that acetic acid smell was quite unmistakably a sign of osmosis.  The boat has been out of the water for a couple of months now. We intend to measure dampness levels in a couple of months' time and then decide what to do.

The Italian dealer told us that another case of osmosis was identified in Europe and we think he was referring to 'Anxious Owner's' boat. In the light of the epilogue of Anxious Owner's story, once we have ascertained that it is indeed osmosis we will ask the dealer (whom the previous owner bought our boat from) if he is willing to settle the problem regardless of whether we buy a new Hanse yacht.

Ciao