Double Hull Fiberglass Repair

[grasshopper139]

I have a fiberglass sail boat that has four holes in the hull. The boat was sitting on a ramp (with wheels) and filled with water. The boat got too heavy and the wheels broke through the fiberglass. Do you think there is any way to repair this damage without splitting the hull? I have added pictures of what the holes look like.

 

[gm280]

Welcome to iboats grasshopper :welcome: Great to have you onboard with us!

Anything is doable. With that stated, if there is other materials inside that is now rotted is the question. Patching up the obvious won't solve rotting issues inside. So with only the posted pictures I can't tell what else could be waiting for you. So the answer to your initial question is YES, you can repair that damage area without splitting the hull. But the more important issues is, what else is effected before covering over the obvious damage... IDK

 

[Woodonglass]

Yup this^^^ is true. If the water hasn't been inside for too long then this is a pretty easy fix! It also appears that there is Foam inside the hull. Can't tell for sure but that one pic looks like the old White Styrofoam foam. If so then you you may have waterlogging issues too. What's been done to ensure all the water that got inside the hull has been removed? Are you certain that All is well? You don't want to seal her up until you know for sure she's "Ship Shape"!!!

We can/will post up some illustrations and text to show n' tell you how to do it for less than $100 bucks once you determine you're ready to do the work.

 

[grasshopper139]

Since the damage was done, the boat has been covered with a tarp. It is in Deposit, NY and they have been bombarded with snow this season so I highly doubt that the holes stayed dry. I plan to trailer the boat down to my house in Virginia to do the work on it. I will probably store the boat in the garage once it gets down here, at least until I can get it patched up. There is styrofoam which was compromised at each hole as shown in the picture. Everything else inside looked fine at the time. The inner hull was safe. There is a hull drain in the boat so that if water got inside, I can drain any standing water. Will that styrofoam dry out if I leave it in the garage long enough?

 

[Woodonglass]

Styrofoam does not dry out well. Especially if it's Totally saturated. How much water do you think was inside the hull? 5 gallons 500 gallons? How long was/hss/will it be in there?

 

[GA_Boater]

Welcome aboard!

No, the styrofoam won't dry out in the garage. There just isn't enough drying air circulation.

Those holes will be a hard fix without splitting. You can patch the holes and it will look good, but without overlapping cloth on the inside, the repair will be weak.

How big is she? A split might not be too much of a big deal depending on size.

And lastly - Do something with the storage ramp. The wheels are too small and with the added water weight ...Well you see what happened. You could probably put bunk carpet on the wood and spread the weight on to more of the hull.

Good luck.

 

[grasshopper139]

The boat is a Precision 14. I don't know what year it is. If I do split the hull, how would I go about replacing the foam. Precision has discontinued the 14 and I haven't been able to find OEM foam replacements in my quick searches.

GA_Boater, as for the ramp, there are plenty of upgrades still required on it.

 

[Woodonglass]

There's several methods to replace the foam. There's self expanding pourable foam, or you can use the Pink or Blue Slab foam from the Big Box stores cut to fit. It appears that the boat has the old white Styrofoam in it and it is notorious for absorbing water. The New foam is much more water resistant. If the foam is totally saturated due to long term water penetration then popping the cap will be necessary to remove the waterlogged foam. It will add hundreds of pounds of weight to the boat. You will then be able to do the repairs more easily. You can do them effectively from the outside but it's much better to do them from the inside and the outside. If you decide that the foam is NOT totally saturated and you want to make the repairs from the outside, we can show you how and make them strong and long lasting.

 

[Woodonglass]

I found this video on the technique I'd recommend to fix your boat from the outside, IF, BIG IF, you determine the foam is NOT waterlogged and you want to do the repair from the outside only...