Help with Hull repair

[Mitchelldietz]

Hey guys! im been doing alot of reserch oh how to restore my hull, and i cant seem to find out what to do. So im looking for help from you guys. I have these holes and tiny cracks all over the bottom and if i presure wash it more holes apeare, i would like to know what to use to fill the holes and what paint to use to paint over it, Its a 1980 18ft bluewater, and its never in the water for more then 10 hours or so.
take a look see, thanks in advance!

 

[oops!]

Re: Help with Hull repair

hi.....welcome to iboats

um..... ok......

thats not good batman.

first off......before i scare the carp out of you.

lets get the boat acid washed and clean so we can see the rest of the gellcoat.....places where those bubbles are forming but have not yet popped or broken through.

use an industrial stregnth toilet bowl cleaner.....not out of a grocery store....but from a janotorial supply store.
that will clean all the brown scum off so we can see the gell coat and it will make your boat all shiney and white again.

as for your questions.....yes....you can just fill those and add gellcoat paste... and not worry about paint.....but we need to know why they are forming.......and i dont think you will like the answer to that question......but we will need to see pics first.

are they only on one section or place on the hull?... or are they kinda forming all over?

 

[Mitchelldietz]

Re: Help with Hull repair

Thanks for the reply, i will look for that cleaner, and yes the holes are everywhere, do i want to presure wash to it breaks open all of them? as far as why, i dont really know i got the boat last year from a friend it was sitting in his yard for about 3-4 years in 3 ft tall grass, i take it out in salt water, but as i said its sits on the traler most of the time.

 

[oops!]

Re: Help with Hull repair

every where eh?

not good....

but clean it and lets see.....this is the first time i have heard of this problem on a blue water boat.

if i dont respond....pm me and give me the link to this thread....(the forums are really busy now...and i might miss it)

 

[Mitchelldietz]

Re: Help with Hull repair

heres the pics, great tip with the cleaner btw!

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Help with Hull repair

OH WOW!! OOPS is a PRO and I am not but...That looks likes boat POX to me and the repairs for it are not easy nor inexpensive. She may be a goner but I will let him have the final word. Basically ghe gelcoat is delamintating from the fiberglass for various reasons and it's not an easy fix.

 

[oops!]

Re: Help with Hull repair

yep....boat pox.

you can spend 2000 bux on the job and it may work.....and it may not.

you will be chasing the bubbles all the boat life.

the proper repair is to remove all the gellcoat....grind off the top skin of the glass..let the boat dry out for a while..and add another layer of csm....and re gell.

this fix works sometimes.....and sometimes it doesnt.


you could do this job your self in a week or so and spend 600 dollars on material....

or fill the bubbles with gellcoat...sand.....fair.... and sell the boat a s a project boat.

sorry.....but this is the worst thing that can happen to a boat hull.

it is caused by water and contaminates with in the laminate of fiberglass it self.

there is just no easy quick fix for this problem.

 

[oops!]

Re: Help with Hull repair

see woodie.....

industrial stregnth toilet bowl cleaner.....

spray on.....and watch the boat turn white in seconds.....

the pros do this all day long.....its called an acid wash.

the only thing is that it will harm galvanised trailers.....you have to wash the stuff off right away if it hits galv.

other than that ....cover the trailer, and you are good to go.

 

[Mitchelldietz]

Re: Help with Hull repair

well that just ruins my day.. thanks for the info tho

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Help with Hull repair

You guys forgot to send me a letter to this party ..

Its a friday boat..

They missed the window from gel application to there skin coat application in the mold ... Guarantee it.

Only way to fix this is to peel off the gel and regel it. You dont need the mat..just the gel.

Bummer .. sorry bout your luck. Not many happen this bad..but sometimes it does.

YD

 

[Mitchelldietz]

Re: Help with Hull repair

how hard it it to regel? would it be like painting it?

 

[oops!]

Re: Help with Hull repair

no......

the boat must be prepped by grinding off the old gell.....then it must be faired to take out any dents left by the grinding process.

then the gellcoat is shot like paint (out of a gun) but its kind of specialised equipment.
you can get the equipment from harbour freight

the gellcoat is applied far thicker than paint....up to 55 thou.

then after the gell is cured......the sanding starts.

the gellcoat comes out very heavily orange peeled....(this is not a gun setting like in paint...but rather due to the thickness of the gellcoat.....and thinning it like you do with paint is not an option.)

the sanding process starts at a 280 grit.....and works all the way to 1500... so you sand the whole boat about 7 times before you polish.

click the link in my sig.....and use the index....

there is a full gell shoot description in there.