Re: `98 SeaDoo Challenger hull repair...question and updates
Re: `98 SeaDoo Challenger hull repair...question and updates
mazjag, ( and all other people who are looking at this post) .... the reason we dont start two threads on the same boat, is because it gets very confusing to properly reply to a question, and to keep the OP on the right track.
for example... the link in my sig is the largest thread on iboats....it contains, enough discussion to start over 2000 different threads on different subjects, like how to repair a hull how to flip a hull, how to pull a motor.....how to replace a windsheild......ect ect.
if they were all in a different spot on the forum, there is no way, that the person asking a question could properly get helped.
this is also a very family oriented forum, and it is not like other internet forums where people yell at each other and bash them....
the posters on here,,,,,take thier time and extensive knowledge with out payment to them to help you fix a boat properly. with out spending the 6 thousand dollars it would cost to repair you hull by a professional. YD is a pro,,,,as am i ....woodie (though he does not repair boats for a living), has been on this forum long enough and fixed enough boats to hold a doctorate university degree in boar repair.
we are all here to help you.....and we will.
that is one of the super things about this forum......it is all about helping others with out asking any thing in return for the time or knowledge they give !
ok......on with the repair....
First off.......to all the people that read this.....
this was a failed repair by an auto body shop. this is one of my pet peeves.....auto body guys doing boat hull repairs.
the reason for this is because while the basic repair is the same as a car......the products and the ways to do it are totally different, the boat goes through tremendous stresses.....the car does not......the boat lives in a tremendous hurricane when "at work", the car does not. in fact ...the only time a boat lives like a car, is when its on a trailer !
the auto body guys just "do a body job" and think its good.....its not !
ok....all threads merged, but i think one disappeared ??? there was three last night during the server back up.???
as YD and woodie mentioned.....this is an inside out repair......that means that it must be repaired from the inside of the boat, and the out side as well.....you need to do this for structural integrity.
so.... as i mentioned earlier.....you will need to get to the bottom of the hull on the inside.... this might mean pulling the motor....it might mean cutting open the seat well......but you have to get in there to do it.
when you have opened the hull enough to get easy access to the inside repair area.... grind off all the flow coat that is covering the glass. you need to get down to the fiberglass before you can start to laminate to the hull.....if you do not do this.....the new glass will not have a good enough bond to the hull......and the repair will fail......just like it did before.
once that area has been ground down,, and vaccumed and cleaned with acetone.....you can start the repair.
from the out side........
take thin cardboard....and cover it with wax paper.....bend the cardboard to the shape of the missing strake.....kinda make a "shape" of the missing hull....and tape it securly to the hull.
from the inside......
using VE resin......lay one layer 1.5 csm matt over the area....only go one inch over the edges of the repair (your grinding should be at least 4 inches from the edges)....and glass it into place......let fully cure till hard.
after cure.....scuff new layer with 60 grit paper....just scuff off any extra resin....and globs of cured resin...vacuum, and clean with acetone.
add another layer of 1.5 csm.....then a 1708.
now cut another 1.5 one inch larger then the first, so it goes one inch up the hull all the way over the last layer of 1708. glass that in with another i1708
do the same thing again.....make the csm larger than the last 1708 layer and glass in another 1.5 and a final 1708.
so you will have three layers of csm/1708. each layer larger larger than the last. let fully cure.
from the out side....
remove cardboard.......
grind, clean, and acetone the area ad before.....this time when you grind.....start to shape the very first layer of csm which will be hard fiberglass now.....by grinding off any "wows" that stick well out side the hull line....
now add 2 layers of 1.5 csm....and a 1708 and a final large layer of 1.5 csm. over the whole area. this layer should cover the entire ground off area and cover the repair area by at least 2 inches.
let cure.
after cure.......fair the glass......
then gellcoat, sand and buff.
for gellcoating instructions.....just follow the advice in the sticky at the top of the forum.
if you do these steps correctly.....the repair will not fail.....and if your finishing work is good......you wont even see it !
there ya go....
cheers
oops
