Hull Damage, Not Good!!!

[dymo]

My newly restored boat was doing just fine until this past weekend. After a fun afternoon pulling the kids around on the tube, it was time to head for home. I loaded the boat back onto the trailer and my wife noticed that water was coming from the bottom of the hull. I took a look and said, "this is not very good".<br /><br />Upon closer inspection I noticed that an older repair patch had peeled off in the somewhat rough waters and the roller on the trailer had punched a whole through the outer skin of the fiberglass hull. <br /><br />After cutting the damaged area away, I could see that the balsa core had virtually erroded away leaving a void between the inner and outer skins. I see that I have another job on my hands here. Now I hope that you people can help me with suggestions on how I can tackle this repair. Being a curved surface of a tri-hull, I can't see how I can use plywood to replace the core. What can I use to replace the core?<br /><br />

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<br /><br />Hopefully you helpful folks can shed some light on this.<br /><br />Thanks,<br /><br />Dymo

 

[epresutti]

Re: Hull Damage, Not Good!!!

Dymo,<br /><br />Structural damage should be repaired from the inside. You may need to cut out the inner hull to do this and then repair it. Most of the books I have read (in addition to advise from this forum and experience on my rebuilds) is that you should replace with the same material that the boat was built with. There are many suppliers of the material you will need.<br /><br />From the inside gain access to the damged area with at least an extra 6 inches. Remove all damaged material. You can build a form around the outside with any flexible material that will match the hull shape. Use at least 3 mil plastic over the form (epoxy resin won't stick to plastic) or you can use a mold release agent.<br /><br />Once you have done this you can build up layers of glass from the inside to match the hull thickness, overlapping the area by at least 6 inches. Add you core material, glass that in place, then repair the inner hull.<br /><br />Once you have completed the structural repair from the inside, you can patch and fare the hull from the outside using a similar technique you used on the inside. There are lots of books on these types of repair. You will need to repair the gelcoat.<br /><br />I would recommend using epoxy for the repair, the only issue is once you use epoxy you cannot use poly over it ever. There are multiple oppinions on poly vs. epoxy, my preference is epoxy, much stronger.<br /><br />West systems publishes a book called "Fiberglass Boat Repair and Mantenance", $3.00 at west marine. There are many others available.<br /><br />I couldn't put all the details of this type of repair (running out of time). Maybe someone else has an oppinion.<br /><br />Hope this helps.<br /><br />Safe boating to all.<br /><br />Cheers.<br /><br />emp.

 

[epresutti]

Re: Hull Damage, Not Good!!!

Forgot one important thing. Make sure that the area you are glassing to (the overlap) is completely clean, dry and sanded with a course sandpaper (80 grit). You need to insure a good bond.<br /><br />Safe boating to all.<br /><br />Cheers.<br /><br />emp.

 

[dymo]

Re: Hull Damage, Not Good!!!

Thanks alot for the info Ed. Being a cuddy cabin and where the damage is I really can't see how I can get to the damaged area without tearing apart a good portion of the interior including the cabin.<br /><br />I'll see what I can come up with. I may even bring it to a repair shop and beat them for information as far as the best way to tackle this from the inside. I'm sure they'll tell me what part of the interior would have to be removed without going overboard (pardon the pun).<br /><br />Thanks again for your ideas,<br /><br />Dymo

 

[Hawkeye1]

Re: Hull Damage, Not Good!!!

? how much of the core is wet? Balsa is like a sponge and hope it is isolated. That size repair defently need to be done from the inside like Ed said.

 

[dymo]

Re: Hull Damage, Not Good!!!

Unfortunately, I can only estimate the saturated or deteriorated section is about 3' X 3'. The portion I cut out is about 8" X 8".<br /><br />I'm really at a loss here. I put alot of time, effort and money into restoring this boat and now it all seems for not. If anything, I've learned alot of the does and don'ts about refurbishing a boat that's 30 years old.<br /><br />Thanks for your input,<br /><br />Dymo

 

[epresutti]

Re: Hull Damage, Not Good!!!

Dymo,<br /><br />Don't dismay, you may have some major work ahead, but if you have already made repairs to the rest of the boat you may not have to disturb them.<br /><br />Large sections (or whatever size you need) can be cut out and put back without rebuilding all of the components, I am referring to your interior structures. If you make clean even cuts (on a console or seat for instance), that entire piece can be glassed back in with just 4" around it being disturbed. Kinda like a jigsaw puzzle that you can glue back together. Try to maintain the integrity of whatever piece you remove to get at the hull. I made the mistake of not saving some components that would have been very easy to keep in tact and glass back in.<br /><br />Let us know how it goes. But please don't skimp on the repair it could be very unsafe.<br /><br />Safe boating to all.<br /><br />Cheers.<br /><br />emp.