I've sprung a leak! Help Please!

[brodmann]

I have a 2000 Sailfish 198 DC. A couple of years ago, I had a roller fall apart and damage the hull in the bow area. I replaced the roller and patched the "soft spot" or dent that it left in the boat with fiberglass mat and resin. A couple of weeks ago, while sitting on a beach surrounded by kids and grandkids, one of my granddaughters told me that my boat squirted water on her. I repositioned my chair to keep an eye on my boat. Sure enough, about every five minutes, the bilge pump would pump out about a gallon or water. When I got home and was washing out the boat, I lowered the tongue of the trailer and let all the soapy water accumulate in the bow area and sure enough, there was a constant dripping of water coming out of the area I patched. So, I can remove an access panel that is inside of a storage compartment and I can see the inside of the hull where the leak is. I can't really reach the area, but I can see it. Is there something I can pour in that area that will harden and help seal it from the inside, while I put some PC11 2 part epoxy on the outside? Would expanding foam or something like that help? I'm usually on the mechanical section of this forum getting and supplying help with motor issues, but I'm certainly not a fiberglass guy, but I want to do it myself. I'll attach pics, but not sure if they will make any sense if you can't actually look in the hole and see it. It looks like there might be a prior repair there. It also looks like there's a piece of metal or something in the area, and I have no idea what that's all about.
Thanks for any help/advice you might have.

 

[alldodge]

The first patch most likely didn't hold because the prep was not clean. Can also happen if resin or MEKp is old.

Need to get all thecompramized glass out, even if it goes clear thru the hull. Once all ready then layers of mat and resin will fix it. If using epoxy note the amount of time between coats. As will all resin, also note the air temp, real hot is bad

 

[brodmann]

It's in the mid 90's here in Savannah, GA. Can't control that. Thanks for the info. Again, first time doing fiberglass repair, but I can't really understand how the first patchwork didn't work. I sanded it pretty well, used 3 layers of progressively larger mat and when finished, I painted the area 6-8" around all of that with resin. Not sure why/how that still leaked, but I'm back at it anyway.
Thanks,

 

[alldodge]

temp needs to be between 59 and 86* F

 

[Lou C]

If you use West System epoxy they have slow hardeners that can be used in warm weather. You have to be careful & not mix up too much at one time because the mix can get REALLY SMOKING HOT.
209 extra slow hardener. I’m used this when I had to fix some rotted wood in the engine compartment one summer.

 

[ondarvr]

It can fail for a variety of reasons, but getting it repaired correctly is the goal.

Get a cheap 4" grinder from a local place, then grind away the old repair, any white-ish colored glass needs to be removed.

You will probably need more than three layers of glass, plus fabric other than mat (CSM). Roving or 1708 will work.

Any resin type will work, but epoxy allows a bit more of a window of attention to detail or skill (or lack of them), and still survive long term.

Grind with 36 grit, but don't go all the way through, just leave a very thin layer as a shape to laminate on. Build up the glass until it's even with, or slightly higher than the surrounding area. When it's hard, grind off everything that doesn't look like a boat.

Now you can try to make it look great, good, or just functional, that's up to you.

Doing a repair on the inside too is great if you can get to it, but it's not always required.

 

[Scott Danforth]

^this guy knows his fiberglass

Great to have you back @ondarvr

 

[Bondo]

Wow,..... Welcome back ondarvr,.....
Great to see ya,.....