It was super nerve-racking, but i finally touched the grinder to the outside of the hull... There was a pair of spots on the back of the boat where there was a grab bar by the swim platform where the gelcoat was cracked and the glass was kind of sunken down... I eased the grinder into it and ground out the divot and the surrounding area.. Turns out there was dry laminate underneath and it didn't adhere the wood backing underneath... No surprise...
Once I got it feathered out, I cut out a layer of 1708 to fit each spot and then covered each 1708 patch with two layers of CSM. Now it just needs cleaned up and filled with fairing compound, then I will gelcoat later once I match the color and do the floor.
In addition to that, I made some repairs to where the hinge for the sundeck mounts... There was wood backing for this but the glass on the backside wasn't even adhered. I ground off the old glass on the back of the wood and then layed up 2 strips of 1708 around the back to help stiffen this area as it was very flexible and it was actually cracked all the way through on the right side where the plywood ended and there was a lot of stress. I also put some PB at each end of the wood backer and tapered it out so there is no more hard edge where the wood stops... Then I threw 2 pieces of 1708 and some CSM on the front of the crack and that should be good enough to hold up. This spot will be hidden by the sundeck hinge so I don't need to spend much time fairing this spot.
Basically, last night was spent going around the entire hull and cleaning up any spots with sharp PB spots, high spots, missed grinding, etc...
Now I think I'm ready acetone the whole interior and start fairing.
