Exterior hull delamination, easy fix?

[DukesFin]

Re: Exterior hull delamination, easy fix?

Ah, if you have not finished yet, my point may be moot, but here's where I'm talking about:

You don't want any air gaps, so it's the darker areas that I've pointed to that would concern me... Not the white ones!

Looking good!

 

[akorcovelos]

Re: Exterior hull delamination, easy fix?

I see what your saying, yeah all that is coming off and then some. I am just wait to hear from Yacht Dr. because these are the pics he requested.

 

[akorcovelos]

Re: Exterior hull delamination, easy fix?

bump for the Yacht Dr.

 

[109jb]

Re: Exterior hull delamination, easy fix?

I'm not Yacht Dr., but have you seen his photobucket albums. He has some very good pictures that show the process you would need to use on your boat. Here is a link:

http://s699.photobucket.com/albums/vv352/YachtDr/

Look at the sun509 and shannon albums. These 2 have repairs that are similar to what your boat has.

 

[akorcovelos]

Re: Exterior hull delamination, easy fix?

thanks, good pics but I'm not real sure whats going on in them. I want to just grind all the bad stuff out, but the Dr. said something about beveling or something.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Exterior hull delamination, easy fix?

You need to start grinding and remove all of the detached or white areas (white indicates there are fractures in the laminate), and get down to solid glass. The bevel he talked about is just tapering the sanded area out away from the repair so the glass you add will have enough of a surface to bond well. The tapered area around the damage should be about 3 to 4 inches on a repair like this one.

Since you?ll be doing this repair from both sides, you can leave some of the damaged glass if needed to keep the shape of the hull (if you remove all of it sometimes there is nothing left to glass to, just an open hole), so just glass over some of the fractured glass if needed.

When you start to work on the opposite side you can then remove all of the bad glass and have the new layup you put on as a solid surface to grind down to.

In this case I?d do a cosmetic repair (glass portion) on the outside first and not worry about the strength much, then do all of the structural (heavy laminate) work on the inside.

 

[akorcovelos]

Re: Exterior hull delamination, easy fix?

I don't plan on doing any work on the inside since there is no damage there, I was under the impression Yacht Dr. thought I could get away with just fixing the damage on the outside of the hull. It's totally solid on the inside, and still very solid on the outside where I have ground away the bad glass.

So I should just grind all the bad glass out then taper it out over 3-4"?

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Exterior hull delamination, easy fix?

Sorry, I was thinking this was a different thread with a similar fracture.

Most of what I said was still OK, just forget the part about doing any repair from the inside.

Start the grinder and remove the gel coat and taper the area out 4 to 6 inches around any damage, the exposed roving surface will need to be sanded thoroughly also. It would be nice if you could start with a 1.5 oz mat and then use at least one layer of roving and another mat over the roving. But Its hard to tell from the pic just how deep the area is, so there may not be enough depth for three layers of glass. If it was just a layer of chop that came off, then it will be OK to just use mat to rebuild the surface.

If you see anything questionable about the hull structure it won't hurt to lay some glass on the inside too.

 

[109jb]

Re: Exterior hull delamination, easy fix?

What we are talking about when we say taper or feather the edge of the area is grinding the area larger at a shallow angle. The little sketch below shows what I'm talking about. The green in the picture represents the fiberglass and the blue represents the gel coat. The red area is the area you will grind out and will subsequently be filled when you add the glass to reapir the section. You grind at a shallow angle making the area large enough that all of the damaged glass is removed and a transition area exists between the repair area and the original outer surface of the hull. Once you get that you can build up the depressed area with layers of glass mat, cloth and resin. I hope the sketch helps you understand it a bit. I hope it is big enough to see what I'm talking about too.

 

[Nandy]

Re: Exterior hull delamination, easy fix?

I don't plan on doing any work on the inside since there is no damage there, I was under the impression Yacht Dr. thought I could get away with just fixing the damage on the outside of the hull.

I respect Yatch Dr advise but you can also follow Ondarvr. He is also very knowledgeable in the subject. I dont see a reason why not also patch it from the inside. It will add to the structure. I has a somehow similar job and did all the structural work from the inside and outside was just cosmetic. Still have to finish it but for know I am just using the boat...

Good luck!

 

[akorcovelos]

Re: Exterior hull delamination, easy fix?

109jb, thanks that cleared it up for me!

I respect Yatch Dr advise but you can also follow Ondarvr. He is also very knowledgeable in the subject. I dont see a reason why not also patch it from the inside. It will add to the structure. I has a somehow similar job and did all the structural work from the inside and outside was just cosmetic. Still have to finish it but for know I am just using the boat...

Good luck!

I hear what your saying, but as I said I don't really have access to that part of the hull from the inside, I was able to get pics through the ski storage. Since there is no damage to the inner hull and this damage can be fixed safely from the outside only so thats all I'm going to do.


I'm going to get out this week and grind the rest of the damage and try to feather it out as instructed. I'll post some pics if my "progress"

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Exterior hull delamination, easy fix?

Hello akorcovelos ...

Very very sorry for such a long delay..

We had a freak storm and cut the power for 2 days..

Ive been only addressing my Salt water Reef tanks since then. ( I did try to get online with my new phone but not that familiar with it yet ).

Okies.. you have here what looks like an old repair that didnt get enough mat for the bond.

I know that the "white" looks worse in the pics..but its still delam m8.

You have to grind the outside untill all your delam is gone.. sometimes means ALOT of grinding. You will know when its gone.

The feathering of your repair depends on how many "structural" lams and how large the repair area.

Typically ( this is only an estimate ) I grind/feather out 1.5-2" PER layer of glass taken out. ( IF it has not broken through the hull ). but like I said.. some boats are thin.. and more bevel is required IMO..

You HAVE to grind out all the delamination !! Good glass does not matter if its not stuck to the rest of the main lams.

More questions please lemme know.

Its a big job and I still dont know whats going on untill ALL the delam or dead glass is removed from the outside.

Sorry all I have for now..

YD.

PS. again..sorry for long delay..

 

[akorcovelos]

Re: Exterior hull delamination, easy fix?

no worries on the delay, I got side tracked as well and have not gotten out to grind on it. I'll get out this week and grind untill all the white is gone, then I'll snap some pics and see what you think. That you for all the help!

 

[akorcovelos]

Re: Exterior hull delamination, easy fix?

ok, little update: I finally found some time to get out and grind the rest of the bad glass out. Turns out the damage did go all the way through, as you can see in the pic. Since the damage is in a very hard location to get access to, and there are many other issues with this hull to begin with I will not be putting anymore time/money into it.

RIP '79 Searider.


The silver lining: The motor ('89 150 Johnson) is in perfect running condition, and I love the trailer, so I will be pulling everything I want off this hull and finding another hull to swap everything into.

Thanks for all the help everyone!