1977 boatel houseboat damaged hull repair

Hello all,

Two years ago I purchased a 1977 boatel house boat as a project boat, I repaired the transmission and spent a little time on other small projects on the boat. This old house boat has almost ran flawless, IT has a single 270 hp 350ci mercruiser. The boat is 37' long with a 12' beam. the boat is fiberglass.

The trailer that was purchased with the boat was for a steel hull, to make a long story short I tried to modify the trailer for a better fit to the boat and failed miserably. At this point the boat is on the trailer with two big holes in the hull. there are about 4'' long and about 1'' wide, There is no way to get at the inside of these holes. I'm going to crib this boat enough to make the repairs on the trailer. I found that a guy on the lake has the same boat just a little older. so once this 6 ton pig is off the trailer I will copy his trailer.

I have never worked fiberglass before, what weight should I use? should I use epoxy or poly? IS there any guides out there already to repair this type of damage.

Also Id like to spend a little time on the topside repainting, the boat has some spider web style cracking in the paint I would like to repair. Im questioning if the last coat of topside paint wasn't a epoxy style. I'M planning on using a industrial two part epoxy paint. Any help would be greatly appreciated..

Re: 1977 boatel houseboat damaged hull repair

Welcome to iBoats. Try to post some pictures so we can see what you see.

Re: 1977 boatel houseboat damaged hull repair

pictures tell us a better story, welcome to i boats

Re: 1977 boatel houseboat damaged hull repair

I recommend that you use epoxy. It has a lot higher adhesion strength than poly, although it is more expensive. Here's a guide to do the repair from the outside, look at section 4.
http://www.westsystem.com/ss/assets/HowTo-Publications/Fiberglass-Boat-Repair-and-Maintenance.pdf

You can get the epoxy from US Composites.

Re: 1977 boatel houseboat damaged hull repair

If you want to gelcoat the repairs uou need to use Poly, If not then Epoxy would work but really not needed. Your boat is made from poly and poly adheres very well to sanded and prepped poly. Epoxy sticks just about to anything, but you pay for it. Your boat...Your choice. If you choose to use poly then You can effect the repairs much like patching a hole in dry wall. Cut the holes back to ensure all broken/cracked glass has been removed. Really no need to cut the slots as shown in the pic. Using 60 grit paper reach inside the holes and sand the inside as best as possible at least 3-4" back from the edges of the hole. Wash it down well with Acetone. Then use 3-4 layers of 1.5 oz CSM and Poly resin to make a flexible backer pad that's approx. 3" larger than the hole all the way around. Mix up some Thickened Poly resin using cabosil and some small cut up pieces of the CSM to the consistency of Creamy Peanut Butter. Use a Putty knife or your latex gloved hands to apply a thick coat of this PB mixture to the inside of the hole. Drill a couple of 1/8" holes close to the center of the CSM pad you made and insert and tie off a piece of small wire. Flex the patch so you can insert it into the hole and then use the wire to pull it up tight against the inside of the hole. You should get ample squeeze out of the PB mixture and you can use a Plastic Bondo Spreader to smooth it out as best you can. Use a Stick wrapped in wax paper to tie it off and let it set up for 30-45 mins. remove the wood, cut the wire and then sand and bevel from the out side to dish out the area about double the size of the original hole. Then cut progressively larger pieces of Csm to fill the dished out area. Lay them on a piece of wax paper starting with the Largest first. The first patch should be the same size as the sanded area and the rest should be about 1" - 2" smaller than the previous with the last one being about the same size as the hole. Use enough layers to fill the void and level it out. apply the resin to all at the same time. Pick up the wax paper and all the patch pieces and apply the glass to the hole. Use the way paper and the bondo spreader to smooth the patch out. Leave the paper on and peel it of after it all cures. Here's some pics to help you understand.

Back Pad




Outside patch


When everything is cured in a couple of hours you can mix up some fairing material with the resin and Glass bubble to fill in and smooth out any dimples etc.. Sand smooth with 180 grit and then Gel Coat or Paint. She'll look like NEW and be strong to boot.

Re: 1977 boatel houseboat damaged hull repair

Thanks to all who replied!! I will take some pics when I can get down to the boat!! We just got a other 12" of snow up here!! I'm thinking I'll use the poly resin. My only concern is at this point the hole isn't big enough to bet a backer in there. Should I make it big enough then or try a differnrernt method?

Re: 1977 boatel houseboat damaged hull repair

WOW! Lived in Mora and worked there from 76 to 88. Probably helped build that boat. The hull was made with orthothalic polyester resin and layers of chop using GlassCraft ISD chopper guns and 24oz WR. Gordy was the leadman on the hull crew and Joanne on the deck crew, lol, how do I remember that? FWIW.

Re: 1977 boatel houseboat damaged hull repair

If it's 4 " long and 1" wide It's big enough. What ever made the hole fractured the glass back a bit more than just the opening I venture to guess. I'd make it 2 x 6 and proceed as described with a rectangular backer pad. Again, Pics will really help us to help you

Re: 1977 boatel houseboat damaged hull repair

If you plan on using poly, you will need to use a backer for sure.

Re: 1977 boatel houseboat damaged hull repair

Wow George that's pretty cool that u made these boats!! Tell ya what it's very well built. Beleive it or not this old 350 in there will still push the boat up to 22 mph!! It's almost kinda scary!! The holes in hull are completely my fault. Otherwise we would be enjoying another drama free summer on the lake.. Pics coming today..