Fiberglass Hull Repair - Foreign looking Tape - Can I find more of it?

Gtimes

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I've had this 1991 Forester Sport for 6 years. I bought it from a guy who bought it from the original owner. The hull has some tape on the bottom of the boat... obviously covering up some cracks in the hull There are several pieces of white (stretchy and waterproof) tape on the bottom - roughly 30 inches wide and 55 inches long. Over the last 6 years it's started to peel away.... and more recently there's been more and more water coming in through the bottom and trickling past the ski locker on the bottom of the boat. I'm able to bilge it out... but would ideally like to cover up this leak with a similar fix - it isn't worth the work of finding the cracks and doing any fiberglass work..

Any suggestions? (See pictures)
 

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ondarvr

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I can't tell exactly what it is from the pics, but it appears to be a a sheet of vinyl. A vinyl wrap is normally done above the waterline for cosmetic purposes, not as a water barrier on a hull.

I would fix the actual problem, the leak could possibly a serious structural issue that could completely fail at any time.
 

Gtimes

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I can't imagine it's a vinyl wrap - unless the application was perfect. This wrap has lasted more than 6 years and done just fine until now. If that's the case... I'd do it again for another 6 years of protection from leaking. Once I get into the fiberglass repair I have a feeling it'll get expensive in a hurry. Is there anything other than a vinyl wrap you think it could be? I have to think 3M makes a marine grade tape by the square foot? Or something similar that will hold against water.
 

Scott Danforth

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Ask yourself the value of your life vs the value of a quality repair. looking at the pics, it looks like a large hull crack under the "tape"

If it was my boat, I would remove it, investigate the repair, then most likely spend the few hundred to fix it right. The big issue is if it leaks just a little bit, and you have exposed structural wood under there, you are rotting the wood, which leads to the catastrophic hull failure ondarvr mentioned
 

JoLin

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The hull has some tape on the bottom of the boat... there's been more and more water coming in through the bottom and trickling past the ski locker on the bottom of the boat. I'm able to bilge it out... but would ideally like to cover up this leak with a similar fix - it isn't worth the work of finding the cracks and doing any fiberglass work..Any suggestions? (See pictures)

The technical term for that type of repair is 'half-assed.' The fact that it lasted 6 years and didn't all peel off in one catastrophic event can be attributed to dumb luck. Do as Scott suggested. The life you save may be your own (or your spouse, or your kid).

My .02
 

JASinIL2006

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At first look I thought it might be some sort of rubberized coating applied as a DIY keel guard for beaching, but regardless, these guys are right. You really need to make sure your boat is safe. Maybe the crack is really a deep scratch and water is getting into the bilge by some other route. Better to know for sure.
 

Gtimes

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The estimate is $2500-$3500 to fix the cracks. I can't spend that kind of money on this boat unfortunately. I'd hate to call it 'totalled' - does anyone have any other suggestions outside of fiberglass repair?
 

ondarvr

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Fiberglass repairs aren't difficult or expensive if you do it yourself, but a total inspection of the boat is needed, you may be in for a much bigger job once you start digging around.
 

Scott Danforth

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If it is just a crack ( no rot, no structure damage) and you do the job yourself, ballpark $200 in materials and a weekends worth of work
 

Gtimes

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Thanks for all your help everyone. I've decided to go with the fiberglass route... and got a $300 estimate from a guy that I'm going with. Hopefully he doesn't find any rot or other damage.
 

JoLin

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That's real good to hear. Best of luck, and keep us posted on how it's going.
 

Gtimes

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No Title

Here's the finished product. $340.

He told me that he first ground out the crack to about a 1/4 inch... I would have expected larger.
Next he soaked the fiberglass and used a screwdriver to shove it in there... I would have expected it to lay flat (concerned about air bubbles)
Let it dry
Next he putty'd over the top of that.
Let it dry
Next he sprayed a can of white FlexSeal over the top of everything. I doubt that stuff is marine grade and I'm not sure how long it'll last. It looks great and feels like a decent seal over the top of the rest of the work for cosmetics.

Wanted to let you guys know!
​Thanks again
 

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SkaterRace

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Looks like it is a good job and not too expensive. Still would check for rot just for peace of mind.
 

jbcurt00

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Wish you luck, but I would inspect that repair every trip out and before loading it on the trailer.

FlexSeal is NOT a miracle in a can, despite what they claim on TV or that idiot says about his screen door boat....
 

Scott Danforth

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For an outside only repair, I would have ground out the crack, then ground back 8" from the crack tapered for fairing, layered glass and resin, then grind and fair and re-gel.

stuffing glass into a crack with a screw driver, and spraying with flex-seal is not a proper repair.
 

dezmond

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Ya not a really good idea. You need to feather it out and have some more area for the glass to lay flat and grab to. Stuffing it in there isn't going to work to good. When we get small cracks in our Fiberglass cowls, we grind back a fair bit so we can get some good reinforcement in there. We then use chop mat and then cloth as our last layer for making it pretty. Stuffing, then bondo? Ummm ya a poorass job if you ask me.
 

ondarvr

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I think you got the $40 repair, not sure what the other $300 was for.
 

Gtimes

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Well... you're all correct. The crack has resurfaced in the same spot after 2 trips to the lake (also two trips with the boat on the trailer.) I told the guy who fixed it and he'd like to take another look at it. Obviously I'm hesitant to bring it back to him.

I figured he would have laid the fiberglass flat as well, but he said he only ground out the crack about a 1/4 inch. The flex-seal was just for cosmetics, but starting to think it just covered up his work.

In addition, after two trips on the water.... there appears to be more than one spot with stress all on the left side. There were about 3 new dripping streams of water coming into the bottom of the boat. I'm getting worried that the bottom of the boat might fall completely off (not really worried about it, but that's what I imagine would happen if I continued on this path for long enough).

Should I be tearing the floor out and starting over on this? Should I try to do an outside patch, but correctly? Do I total it and sell it for parts? (4.3 Mercruiser AlphaOne) Or do I continue to run it until I can make a more clear decision?

Thanks everyone
 

ondarvr

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I'd cut the floor out, you will probably find wet foam and rotten wood under there, plus the fractured glass.
 

Grub54891

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I would demand my money back, then with the advice of others on here, repair it or at least do the basics, as in pulling the floor and see what you are dealing with. I would not run it any further, to big of a risk to you or your passengers. To bad the po screwed ya like that. If it was surveyed it would have been found to be an issue.
 
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