Re: looks like a . . hull repair.

The Costas (uffda@sonic.net)
Thu, 28 Oct 1999 18:50:40 -0700


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West Wight Potter Website at URL
http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
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>The Costas wrote:
>>> I learned how to: .... patch a fiberglass hull so you couldn't
>> see the patch....
>> Larry
>
>
>I think many people would enjoy a synopsis of this process.
>Could you give a recap of it?
>
>Yours,
>Bill Longyard
>

Bill and all

To repair "Otter's" hull I used the information it the book "The Boat Repair
Manual" by George Buchanan, Gulf publishing Co. I did modify it a bit as a
P-15 hull is quite a bit thinner than the boats he was talking about.

First, I must admit to painting the hull after the repairs so I didn't have
to worry about a gelcoat match, but the fact that the patch has held up and
didn't crack along the edge was good enough for me. Also, I used epoxy as
the hull was old (no reaction between the two different types of resin) and
I like the way epoxy holds.

The process went like this:

Expose the inside of the hull.
Cut out all damaged glass fiber.
Grind a beveled edge (wider on the outside) to the hole.
Rough up the glass on the inside of the hull.
Find a piece of 1/4" plywood that covers the hole with (at least) 6" extra
on all sides.
I didn't have any mold release so I just covered one side of the plywood
with a plastic trash bag.
Screw that side of the plywood to the outside of the hull, covering the
hole. Use enough screws to pull the ply down tight to the hull on all
sides.
>From the inside of the hull, paint a coat of resin (you can apply a coat of
Gelcoat first if you aren't planning on painting the outside of the hull)
and then...
Apply three layers of glass fabric on the inside of the hull. The first one
should just fill the hole (you will have to push it under the lip of the
beveled hull edge), the second should overlap the hole by about one inch on
all sides, and the third should overlap the second by another inch on all
sides.
Finish off with a top coat of resin.
After the resin has set, remove the plywood and plastic bag.
On the outside of the hull, fill any little voids with either gelcoat or
resin and finish as per Dr. Judy's painting (gelcoating) instructions.

I started out with a giant "Y" shape hole in the side of Otter and ended up
with as smooth a side as what comes out of the mold.

Larry