Fiberglass Repair Help :(

[macojoe]

Thats more of pain then it is hard to fix.
Rub rail off, grind down to the glass, 4 inches away from all around the damaged area. Start laying glass, till it is all the same as the out side edges, then go inside and do the same.
Sand all till it looks good gel coat and paint to match, I bet thats not more then a couple of days work.

Then you have to put the rub rail back on and there is the hard work, cause to get it off most screws will be junk and you will have to put all new. Depending how it goes you might just replace the whole thing?

[csvencer]

Originally Posted by macojoe

Thats more of pain then it is hard to fix.
Rub rail off, grind down to the glass, 4 inches away from all around the damaged area. Start laying glass, till it is all the same as the out side edges, then go inside and do the same.
Sand all till it looks good gel coat and paint to match, I bet thats not more then a couple of days work.

Then you have to put the rub rail back on and there is the hard work, cause to get it off most screws will be junk and you will have to put all new. Depending how it goes you might just replace the whole thing?

The problem is there really isn't anywhere I can "go inside" and lay glass from so I am thinking I am going to have to build it up from the inside but from the outside...??? I was maybe thinking I could fill the void on the inside with foam or something to give me a support to start buiding glass on top of until it is back out to the hull, the keep going and sand flat...thoughts?

-Svence

[stuarbc]

Did you ever do this work? I have the same issue. The previous owner just through a bunch of epoxy on it....and did a piss poor job of it. I noticed it was a little flexible around the damage so I started pealing away the epoxy to replace with marine tex for the time being. Well there is a hole through the hull into the anchor locker area.

For the meantime I am going to stuff back with epoxy but how do you glass a hole??
My thought was to grind it down and start laying glass from inside the anchor locker. That would buildup a good backing and then I could either glass on top of that from the outside....or marine tex over it and sand??? Thoughts

[csvencer]

I never did a complete fix to it. I ended up covering the entire crack with 5200 this winter. I had the boat out of the water and covered for about a month and a half to make sure it was as dry as I could get it and then coated the entire area with 5200. When I did it the temp was around 35 degrees so the 5200 stayed put pretty well and didn't drip that much. I know it isn't the prettiest fix but I know it is sealed up good and will keep water from getting into the fiberglass.

That area is a pain in the *** as you can't really get to the back side of it easily and you may have to pull the rub rail to get to the top edge. I know my fix isn't perfect but I figure the boat has 25 years on her and she's not going to be perfect.

-Svence

[garagenc]

There's a really good glass man over in Norfolk out there on VA beach blvd by Haines furniture store. A buddy of mine had his jet ski repaired there last year after 1 of the neighbors ran it into his dock. Most of the jetski/boat dealers take all their stuff there. You can't even tell it was damaged after he finishes.

If you want I can call my friend to get the name & ph#. You could remove the rub rail and let him fix it and you put the rub rail back on.

[nymack66]

Starter remove the rub rail and using an angle grinder remove the gel coat from the outside it will expose the damage and post updated pictures including from inside the cuddy it will help a lot.
Also please post or describe the overall condition of the hull including the Deck and Transom
I hate to say it it will be costly. I am still chewing on some thoughts I will post it later. I need time to really think this through.
This is not a repair its a structural reinforcement and needs to done correctly.
You will probably need to make a important decision later base on feedbacks or price quotes replacement hull or repair this?

[Bygracealone]

I'm certainly no expert, but it does look structural and I'm pretty sure the 5200 won't hold up to the stress for very long, if at all...