Restoring a 75 Tri Hull Ebko (formely just a hull repair)

[aflackquack]

I currently have a 1975 Ebko Tri-Hull that has some hull damage. Currently I have no place to make repairs thanks to my HOA and only a 1 car garage. The hull of course has normal wear and tear that I would like to repair. It also has one spot on the bottom of the hull that is absorbing water. Since the soft spot in the hull is under the rear center roller I can only guess someone didn't tie the boat to the trailer and took it on a bumpy ride. There is no hole in the hull but it is cracked and will drip water for about half a day after a half day on the lake making me think it is absorbing water. I do not have the space to make a full restoration which is planned once I have found a place to work on it but would like to give it a little strength and get it water proof so that I can use it in the mean time. The previous owner had painted a gel coat material on it which has now cracked and come off. I will have to make any repairs with the boat backed off the trailer a little but still on the trailer. What I was thinking was to sand the area down and clean it up. Then place new layers of fiberglass and epoxy on the cracks. I have read here that epoxy is a better glue and since I will be under the boat without the ability to prep like a pro I think it would be best for the temporary fix. I will be doing a full resto on the boat later so would prefer a repair that I will not regret later having to re-due it. I just want to be able to not worry about using it and wondering how much more damage I am doing. i will upload photos later. Thanks for anyones help!!!

 

[chargerboy]

Re: Help with temporary hull repair?

Re: Help with temporary hull repair?

I haven't fixed a crack or hole in fiberglass, so I can't tell you what the best way of going about it is. In my opinion it's better to use resin to make any repairs. The boat is already made with it, and the epoxy might have problems bonding. There are many good tutorials on how to fix a crack in fiberglass, whatever you do make sure that you do it the "right" way the first time. Temporary fixes are great for boats if you don't care about your families safety.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Help with temporary hull repair?

Re: Help with temporary hull repair?

Pics would be nice. Remember Expoxy will stick to resin and gel coat but not the other way around. Before I can make any real statements about repairs I need to SEE what we are dealing with

 

[aflackquack]

Re: Help with temporary hull repair?

Re: Help with temporary hull repair?

I will not compromise safety. I have a construction background and know exactly what happens when you do a truly Temporary fix. What I mean by temporary is a repair that will make the boat usable without soaking up the little bit of water it does. It will be a temp repair to me not because of the work done but because I will be doing a full resto once I have the space to work on the boat. The boat has been out on the water three times with roughly 15hrs of run time and it sat on the lake overnight when the bearings on the trailer went out. Even with the overnight stay on the lake I did not see any water in the boat. I traded for the boat about 8 months ago and didn't notice the damage as it sits under the roller when the boat is fully on the trailer. I noticed it from stopping at a gas station and when I came back to the truck I saw a spot of water in the middle of the boat. I crawled under and saw the coating that was put on it and peeled it away to reveal what you see in the pics.
Thank you for any help.

 

[chargerboy]

Re: Help with temporary hull repair?

Re: Help with temporary hull repair?

I looked around on the internet a little and came across with this web site

Hope this tutorial can help you out, you'll find more information in the "how to" sticky section at the top of this forum. Best of luck to you and your boat!

 

[oops!]

Re: Help with temporary hull repair?

Re: Help with temporary hull repair?

you can use epoxy or poly on that.......we do hull repairs like that all the time.

sand area.....if there is any "white fiberglass threads" they must be cut out.

make a "dish" using a feathering technique ....scuff the wax off the area around it.

after its prepped and exposed.....place a heat lamp or work lamp near the area and also a fan....

you want to thave the area totally dry before you do the repair.

when dry......wet out the area......add csm fiberglass in the dish, using proper glassing techniques then add a finishing veil.....and gellcoat over using a waxed gellcoat....fair it in...polish and buff.

when you do the restoration.....just add a layer or two of 1708 in that area and done.

 

[GoneBoatN]

Re: Help with temporary hull repair?

Re: Help with temporary hull repair?

The west system Repair and maintenance howto at http://www.westsystem.com/ss/assets/HowTo-Publications/Fiberglass-Boat-Repair-and-Maintenance.pdf has useful information. Opps directed me to it when I was doing my repair.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Help with temporary hull repair?

Re: Help with temporary hull repair?

From the looks of it this is NOT a safety issue fix. However it SHOULD be an inside out not an outside in fix but since you want to postpone the CORRECT fix then all you CAN do this... sand gel coat down to the fiberglass so that you have 4 to 5 inches of good fiberglass all around the affected area. It will look pink. Get some 1.5 oz mat and cut it to the approximate size of the damaged area. Then cut another one about 2 inches larger all the way around than the first one and then another one 4 inches all the way around larger that the second one. Once you have the three patches cut, then mix your resin and soak the first patch and apply it then the second and then the third. Remember if you use Epoxy you will not be able to Gel coat over it. Gel coat and Polyester resin will NOT adhere to Expoxy. If you plan on painting the hull later then it does not matter what resin you use. Get some 3M marine fairing compound and smooth everything out and sand smooth. Mix up some gel coat and apply it. Sand it down and your in business. You can search iBoats for a lot of help on how to do this as well as Youtube. Couple of hours and $100 bucks and you should be good to go. But it SHOULD be done from the inside by cutting a temporary hole in the deck to access the hull from the inside. I guess you can do that later. Good Luck

 

[oops!]

Re: Help with temporary hull repair?

Re: Help with temporary hull repair?

the reason the hull is dripping is because the foam is wet...

he should add a few layers when he gets in there eventually.....but for right now....the foam will add enough anti crush that he will have no problems with this type of repair for a few seasons until it is reinforced from behind

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Help with temporary hull repair?

Re: Help with temporary hull repair?

I agree totally. Like you, i have been there, and done that. Gettin it to quit dripping might be an issue.

 

[aflackquack]

Re: Help with temporary hull repair?

Re: Help with temporary hull repair?

Thanks for the help! If I were to do the inside out repair how do I repair the floor when I am done? Would I do it some what like a sheet rock repair. Meaning screw in supports under the hole I drill then place my floor piece back in and glass over top of it? Directions to a thread that shows that kind of repair would be awesome. I will look at the two repair tutorials suggested before I get started.
Thanks Again.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Help with temporary hull repair?

Re: Help with temporary hull repair?

Your floor has stringers (glassed in 2x4 or some type of material) for supports for the floor. You can cut out a section over your hole and tie back into that support system much like sheet rocking a wall i.e. find a 2x4 to tie into. Search floor replacement on the forum and you will see plenty of examples.

 

[aflackquack]

Re: Help with temporary hull repair?

Re: Help with temporary hull repair?

So I was cleaning out the boat this weekend and taking some motor parts off that I need to replace and discovered I have no option but to do the inside out repair. The boat has been out of the water for 3 weeks in hot weather and the damaged area was still dripping. To help with drying it all out I put a peice of military 550 cord and taped it against the damage. This is allowing the water to soak into the cord and drip much faster then it was. I also did this to the area that is below the drain plug but tied it to a rock to help keep that area dry. They both were dripping water really well when the boat went back to storage. While I look for a place to do the repairs is there anything else I can do to try and help dry it out before I get to cutting? I know it will probably be a little while before I have the chance to begin cutting and repairing the damage.
Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[oops!]

Re: Help with temporary hull repair?

Re: Help with temporary hull repair?

discovered I have no option but to do the inside out repair. . While I look for a place to do the repairs is there anything else I can do to try and help dry it out before I get to cutting?
Thanks for any suggestions.

if you are doing an inside out repair to begin with....dont worry about the dripping because you will have to remove the foam on the inside to get at the glass.

however....you can ( in the drive way) remove the floor above the damaged section of the hull and dig out the foam in the area....

a few quick cuts with a circ saw....and then dig that wet carp out...(the tip of a chain saw will make short work of removing the foam.)

once the foam is out...it will stop dripping because the foam is wet...not the fiberglass.

just let that dry......heck.....you could fix it in your drive way no one in the neighborhood would be the wiser after the 10 minits of cutting was done.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Help with temporary hull repair?

Re: Help with temporary hull repair?

What OOPS Said....

 

[aflackquack]

Re: Restoring a 75 Tri Hull Ebko (formely just a hull repair)

So, after a few trial and errors my hopes of having a boat for a season and a project for next season are gone. I will be restoring my 75 ebko trihull thoughly and properly. I know I need to rip the deck out and get the absolutely soaked foam out of there. Once that is finished I will repair the hull with the help from earlier. I was wondering though if it is practical or wastefull to put in floor storage while I am doing these repairs or not? I was also thinking for the flow of air and water drainage if needed a person could put in a drain under the foam. What I was thinking of doing was to cut some PVC in half and drill holes all along the pvc for air and water. I would glass this in the drainage pointin the hull but leave the mat over the pipe dry. I would think that this would help allow air flow and water to drain from inside the hull. Somewhat like a foundation drain works for a house. Is this even practical or a waste of time? I don't want the foam to get soaked again and no way for it to drain out of the hull. Thanks

 

[charles62083]

Re: Restoring a 75 Tri Hull Ebko (formely just a hull repair)

I'm having some of the same issues Quack, hopefully we'll both get the restorations done quickly and properly so we can enjoy the boats for atleast some of the season. Good luck. I'll be following you as Mine is a tri hull as well. Mine has no foam in the deck though, not sure if that is good or bad. I will be adding in deck storage there are a few forums in here where other people have added it and it seems like a great idea.