Help me please! Fiberglass repair!

[WardenJ]

Hello, I was about to transport my 17 foot Aquasport to the water today when I noticed the bow was off the bow stop of the trailer and riding on a metal bracket. This bracket has caused significant damage to the fiberglas. As the picture shows, it is damaged at all levels. What appears to be a hole is not a gaping hole, but a now exposed piece of either metal or fiberglass running underneath, I guess to strengthen and form up the bow of the boat. IS this something that can be repaired with just some filler or is it far more involved than that? I only have experience with West System epoxy when it comes to this type of stuff, and have not done fiberglass repair before. I need this boat in the water by thursday, please help if possible!! Thanks!!

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Help me please! Fiberglass repair!

Warden_J, This is serious damage, but can be repaired easily. First of all use epoxy. Secondly if you can get to the inside of the "wound" it will be nice to do but not essential. I find it gives me piece of mind to have extra cloth on the inside where it won't show, but it will provide great strength. <br /><br />Simplistically, you will need to grind the ragged fiberglass down until you feather the edges of the gouges and hole. Now sand the inside portion of the hull and wipe everything down with acetone.<br /><br />Now put some heavy roving on the inside and saturate that with some epoxy mixed with a slow hardener. Then cut a piece of cloth to fit the hole (on the outside of the hull) and extend to the edge of the feathered area. Then cut another one, slightly smaller, since you are trying to create a "vee" with stacked fiberglass cloth. After you cut a bunch of cloth, start saturating and sticking the cloth together. You will want to complete the repair using that one batch of epoxy, if possible, so use the slow hardener. You will need more coats of epoxy to fill out the repair on the inside and the outside. You can thicken these if necessary.<br /> <br />When you have completed the repair, sand it smooth, wash with acetone, and use some marine surfacing putty to fill in any small imperfections. A little paint and you are done.

 

[ThomWV]

Re: Help me please! Fiberglass repair!

I would only make one recommendation that was different than the absolutly great instructions you just got. If I had access to the inside I'd do almost all of the repair from the inside rather than the outside. I'd grind all of the broken stuff and a little more from the outside and then I'd lay up one thickness of some fairly light, just a couple of oz. if you have it, cloth and I'd let that set up until hard (but not over 24 hours) and then I'd go inside and do all of my build up against that hardened mass. It will be a lot easier to do, if you can get at it.<br /><br />Let me give a couple of hints too. First off make sure you mask all the area on the outside around where you'll be working. Glass can be awfully messy and there is no reason to have more drips than you have to on the hull to just have to sand off later. The other thing is that regular waterless hand cleaner (mechanics hand cleaner) works very well for the stickies you will end up with clean up to your elbows. Oh, and this one too. This is a personal preference but I have found that its easier to lay dry cloth or matt on to the area I'm building up and then applying the resin with a paint brush (an inch or two wide). Just brush it in until the cloth or matt goes opaque or clear and then no more. The brush method helps you avoid an overly rich patch.<br /><br />Thom

 

[WardenJ]

Re: Help me please! Fiberglass repair!

I cannot get to the inside of the damage, because what looks like a gaping hole in the center actually isnt. All that happened is that the outer hull was breached and the inner hull was exposed, but not damaged. So even if I got to the inside of it, everything would appear normal because the inner hull wasnt hurt at all.<br /><br />The tough part is my sea scout unit (who owns the boat) will be departing on the big boat (82 footer) for a 10 day cruise this Friday. We'd like to have this boat as a shore boat for about half of the cruise if at all possible. I was told by a fiberglass repair shop that I could use some kind of epoxy or filler for the time being and that should get me through at least the cruise, then I could worry about a quality repair. What should I use as said filler if anything? I have used West System epoxy fortified with sawdust in the past on other filling jobs in wood, but never fiberglass. I know it should be repaired completely, but is there any type of quick fix I could do to make it last the 5 days we need it in the rivers of the San Francisco Delta? Thanks for the tips.

 

[Oldsaltydog]

Re: Help me please! Fiberglass repair!

A quick temporary fix could be done with a fiberglass filler kit available in any marine store. It works much like the "mud" (as the body shop guys call it) used for auto body repair. Sand it off and paint it with a little Krylon spray paint and it will look almost like new. Stronger and more expensive would be an epoxy marine hull filler called MarineTex.

 

[BillP]

Re: Help me please! Fiberglass repair!

Epoxy thickened with glass fibers will probably be all you need. Mask off and sand with 40 grit. Wipe clean and apply the thickened mixture. Press mylar over the patch to provide a mirror smooth finish. Leave the mylar on until dry. Go on your trip. Come back home and finish the job.

 

[WardenJ]

Re: Help me please! Fiberglass repair!

So when everyone says "grind the area" etc.. etc.. I am assuming I need to do this to remove all of the nasty fiberglass and rough edges. Since most of my experience is with steel, I assume "grind" doesnt exactly mean the same thing. What do I need to use to grind it down, and do I only go as far as I need to do get back to good looking glass or just feather out the edges and clean it up? <br /><br />Once it's ground and cleaned up, is it really just as simple as laying down mat with resin? What do I need to do to bridge the "hole"? It isnt really a hole like i have said, just a breech in the outer hull, with the inner hull right there, exposed. I couldnt probably get a folded piece of paper between them. Do I just pass a piece of mat over it? Then, how do I make the shape of the V since its the bow of the boat? Do I just keep piling it up until it looks right? Sorry for all the questions, I'd like to gather as much info as I can before I decide whether to patch it or attempt a repair.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Help me please! Fiberglass repair!

Warden, I use a 7" "sander/grinder" with 40 grit disks to grind the fiberglass smooth. <br /><br />Based upon your description of the small space between hulls, I would first grind the damaged glass smootn and then fill the void between hulls with Marine-Tex, carefully sealing the hulls together above and below the damaged area. After the Marine-Tex has set, I would start laying saturated glass cloth and mat over the wound, using the marine-Tex to act as a backing for the cloth. The rest of the repair is as I described above. You will need to "hand-form" the vee of the bow. Over form it and sand it to the correct shape when it has hardened. <br /><br />PS I am concerned about using the boat prior to the full repair being completed. You want to avoid getting any water between the two hulls.