Hull repair

[BB64]

I have some hull damage and not sure how to go about repairing it. I'm not real familiar with fiberglass repair but willing to learn. I know there is mat or weave and batting. Any ideas on how to go about this? See attached pic. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Hull repair

To clarify the pix, that damage is in both the upper & the lower halves of the hull:

Jet ski's ain't designed for stump pulling. Wow, how'd that happen?

If you intend to use that tow eye, it'll likely be an involved repair. I would have helpful advice for a patch or a hole, but located where it is, oddly contoured and needing to be a substantial repair, I'll have to defer to those more capable....

Welcome to the iboats dry dock

If you don't get any helpful advice by end of day Sat. Just post a 'bump' reply. It'll kick your thread back to the top of the list & keep it in the recent activity list. Hopefully that'll get ya noticed by a glassing guru....

 

[GT1000000]

Re: Hull repair

Yep, it is involved but nothing that can't be done...I am assuming that the Top and Bottom are still together in that picture?...
If so, they will have to be separated to make a proper repair. It also looks likely that the damage has extended quite a ways further back from the broken chunk...that will all have to be addressed, also.
Get a couple more pics of the top/front and an overall shot, plus get some from the backside/underside, also, put a opened tape measure on there with the pics for a reference, nothing specific, just to get an idea of the areas size and thickness...
My self, or one of the other guys, will be back by the end of the day to give to some guidance...
GT1M

 

[BB64]

Re: Hull repair

The damage occurred when the the jetski came off the trailer in a car accident. :blue:

The two halves of the hull are still together. The damage is just at the tow eye.
I will try and get more pics posted. Thanks for the replies.

 

[BB64]

Re: Hull repair

Here are some pics of the tow eye and hull. There doesn't appear to be any damage further back.

 

[GT1000000]

Re: Hull repair

First of all, I hope everyone is OK...
The reason I said the repairs seemed to go further in is going by what I saw in the picture, where the Pink/Blue areas seem to have some damage...
It is hard to tell from this distance if those were just surface scrapes from the accident, or cracks...
OK, if you intend to use the tow eye, the best way to make a solid repair is going to require that the two halves be separated...That explanation will wait for your decision...
If all you want is a quick cosmetic repair, that can be done by removing any loose glass strands, grinding a taper out and away from the damaged area, grinding a slight taper into the broken off piece, mixing up some thickened resin to use as a glue...glue the broken piece back in place with the thickened resin, add a few little torn pieces of CSM [chopped strand mat] to fill and build the tapered areas and add a little strength, then finish fairing it in with a little more thickened resin...the last thing would be to get some gel coat repair compound and get as close a color match to the surrounding area as possible...sand, buff and polish...Remember, this is a cosmetic repair and may fail if you use the tow eye...
Also, some of the techniques described for this cosmetic repair will also be used in the more involved structural repair...
Let us know which direction you want to go, and ask any questions you may have...

 

[BB64]

Re: Hull repair

Everyone is okay from the accident. Thanks.
The markings in the pink/blue area and just superficial scratches.
When trailering the jetski, it would involve using the tow eye to attach it to the trailer so I would need some strength there. Not sure what is involved with separating the upper and lower halves of the hull...
Would it be the whole vessel or just that one area?
Thanks for the reply.

 

[GT1000000]

Re: Hull repair

I am not very familiar with the construction of jet skis, but I would assume the separation of the top from the bottom could be as involved as it is for a regular boat, only on a smaller scale...
You would have to remove everything that is holding the two together, then separate...
The reason I suggest this is for strength...
The correct way to repair this is to make both halves, the top and the bottom, two separate and structurally sound repairs, then join everything back...
It is quite involved, but is the best route to take...
The other method I described before is more of a patch than a structural repair...
If there is some way to put the loading point for launch/retrieval further up the hull, then you could get away with the cosmetic repair...
You could also make the cosmetic repair into a more structural one, but it would require opening up the area substantially larger than it is now and it would effectively make the front of the ski into a one piece unit...
Let me know what direction you want to take and I will try to guide you the best way possible.
Also, If possible, get a couple of overall shots of the ski posted...