Fiberglass repair (Howmar DC

[tomsoyer]

Hello,


I have a small sailboat that I am trying to repair. Its a Howmar designers choice(http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=4096). First thing I would like to fix is some fiberglass cracking and what i think is delamination near the mainsheet rigging. I have read up on fiberglass repair but I have not actually done any so i am looking for any advice.


Where do i start? I believe i am going to need to grind around the cracking and delamination. Home much material do i need to remove? Is there anything i need to be concerned about because of its location?

 

[bobofthenorth]

Can you get at the back side of that? Even if you have to cut an access hole it would be worth your while. You'll make less of a mess and the end result will be stronger and less obviously repaired if you can work from the back side.

 

[tomsoyer]

Not without cutting a hole in the bottom of the boat. Even if i do that, i don't know what would help. The cracks are on the side of the center board trunk. The center board trunk is less then 3" wide which is way to small to get a hand inside.

 

[kcon]

I recall hearing/reading somewhere that you want to grid out 6 inches of surrounding glass for every one inch of damage, that sounds a little excessive to me unless it's a area that's under some form of stress. Anyway, for the spider cracks I'd grind in the cracks themselves and maybe grid/feather out and inch around them, for that larger top crack in the picture I'd grind about 3-4 inches around it and put a few layers of glass down. If that hardware shown bears load, I'd grind 6 inches around it with a slight bevel and fill that in with 2-4 layers of fiberglass.

 

[tomsoyer]

Thanks. Any thoughts on how to get the hardware of without breaking the screws. They are in there pretty good. I am guessing there is a backing plate which I don't have access to. I am concerned if I break them off I am going to be screwed.

 

[kcon]

Well if you can't get them out you can carefully work around the hardware if you have to. I can't imagine those screws would have a nut on the other end if you don't have access to under there, so it might just be a screw, if so don't sweat breaking the screws or having to drill them out, you can grid that area up, fill it with a thickened resin, then fiberglass over it, and mount it with fresh screws.

 

[Woodonglass]

My recommended method will probably Scare the you know what out of you but it's actually NOT that bad to do even for a complete novice. Cut out the section as shown below using a Sawzall. The interior is probabably foam filled and possibly water logged if so that's another kettle of fish. The Screw are more than likely Stainless steel and with withstand a LOT of torque so make sure to use the correct Phillips Driver tip and crank em out!!! Once the Piece is cut out you can post pics and we will guide you on how to repair the crack. It appears to be flex damage and there could be more issues on the back side but again, it will be a fairly easy fix. The other cracks appear to be more minor than the ones by the piece of hard ware and should only need some V Groove grinding and gelcoat paste repair. A Picture take a bit further away would be helpful for us to Know for sure the area of the boat this damage has occurred and IF my method is actually the best way to approach. Just know this...You could cut your boat in Half and Glass it back together and make it as strong or stronger than it was when it was new. You can pretty much fix ANYTHING on a Glass boat. Time, Money and Effort is all that's needed!!!

 

[tomsoyer]

I uploaded a pic showing the area of the boat. Thanks for the advice. Now I just need to get up the nerve to grind.

 

[Woodonglass]

Yup, the method I described will work just fine for that area of the boat. If and When you decide to get started, don't hesitate to post questions and or PM me or others for more specific info on How To!!! I for one will be happy to speak with you on the phone to help guide you thru the process. PM me if you want.