I did a really dumb thing

[BillScott]

I bought a project boat this summer with a few soft spots in the plywood floor. I was using a circular saw to cut out a section of the floor. The first pass wasn't deep enough to cut through the 1/2" ply, so I made a second deeper cut. You can guess where this is going. I didn't realize the the deck sat right on the hull on it's outer edge and pt a 6" cut in the hull.

The cut is only the width of the saw blade and very clean, no spidering I can see. How do I repair this? Do I want to buzz out a v-shaped channel inside to allow more room for some fiberglass cloth, then epoxy? Can I get away with just forcing epoxy into the narrow cut?

In a related question, has anyone ever used any of the wood hardening epoxy kits for repairing a smaller soft spot in a hard to repair place?

 

[savetexomabeaches]

pics --- grind out, fiberglass closed

 

[kcassells]

No biggy...everyone has done it. Yup pics. Easy peasy fix.

 

[Scott Danforth]

And no, the snake oil epoxy you refference DOES NOT WORK. Cut out floor, cut out stringers, remove transom.....and replace everything

 

[chevymaher]

The cut is only the width of the saw blade and very clean, no spidering I can see. How do I repair this? Do I want to buzz out a v-shaped channel inside to allow more room for some fiberglass cloth, then epoxy? Can I get away with just forcing epoxy into the narrow cut?

Watch this guys videos on fixing your cut. www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9hfpOCnzEs

 

[BillScott]

Apparently I'm not allowed to create attachments, so no pictures. Thanks for the videos. I'll be off off to the auto body supply today.

 

[CrazyFinn]

Apparently I'm not allowed to create attachments, so no pictures. Thanks for the videos. I'll be off off to the auto body supply today.

Autobody supply places aren't necessarily the best places to get what you need for boat fibreglass repairs.

Also, what Scott was trying to tell you is that you most likely have a MUCH larger project on your hands than you realize. A soft floor is usually an indication that the boat needs all new stringers and probably a transom as well ( unless you're really lucky). Don't go buying small (expensive) quantities of supplies until you know what you really need. I was buying my polyester resin in 5 gallon pails for my boat - much cheaper than buying a gallon at a time.

 

[kcon]

Don't go buying small (expensive) quantities of supplies until you know what you really need.

Can confirm, Started out with a quart of epoxy for my entire boat project. Have since used 5 gallons lol

 

[Scott Danforth]

Apparently I'm not allowed to create attachments, so no pictures. Thanks for the videos. I'll be off off to the auto body supply today.

all newbies need 3 posts under their belt prior to attaching pics. it keeps the spamers at bay. ad another two posts to your thread and then away you go... just remember to re-size the pics to about 400kb

 

[BillScott]

Here's #3

 

[Grub54891]

About 18 gallons from 5 gallon buckets got mine re-done. Can't remember how much cloth I used.

 

[BillScott]

The cut is about 2" below the cut away deck. About 1/3 of it actually cut through the hull.

 

[BillScott]

The cut is about 2" below the cut away deck. About 1/3 of it actually cut through the hull.

 

[garbageguy]

I bought a project boat this summer with a few soft spots in the plywood floor...

yep, what Scott and CF said, the circular saw cut through the hull is likely a small part of your work required to replace stringers, transom, floor

 

[BillScott]

yep, what Scott and CF said, the circular saw cut through the hull is likely a small part of your work required to replace stringers, transom, floor

Agreed. But until I repair the cut and make sure there are no leaks, I'm dead in the water. Pun intended.

 

[savetexomabeaches]

You can repair from inside and fill from outside, then gelcoat it.. Tape some wax paper on the outside and start filling from inside

 

[Woodonglass]

Just duct tape the outside and then fill with 3M Premium Marine Filler on the inside. then apply a couple layers of Poly Resin and CSM. this will get it waterproof so you can test float the boat. 30 min. temp fix.

 

[BillScott]

You can repair from inside and fill from outside, then gelcoat it.. Tape some wax paper on the outside and start filling from inside

That's what I've done. Two layers of glass and epoxy so far. It seems to have completely filled the cut. I'll do one more, then gelcoat. I should get it in the water next weekend. After that I have all winter to make other repairs.

 

[Woodonglass]

Gelcoat and epoxy are not all that compatible. Make sure to sand well and clean with Acetone prior to applying the GC to help with adhesion.