Fiberglass Hull repair

[newbie_owner]

Hi,

I just bought a boat 1971 tri-hull MFG. The boat has had some really crappy repair done to the hull. Looks like they used bondo to fill a hole. I want to sand it all down and put a fiberglass patch over the whole repaired area. Will this work? will it bond to bondo? I know it will look ugly but thats not my concern. Also I found a nail sized hole as well that goes right through. Should I mix up some epoxy and mesh fibers and plug the hole, then put a fiberglass patch over top?

Any help would be great.

Thanks

 

[kbomb]

Re: Fiberglass Hull repair

Use Marine Tek to fill your holes. I have not tried it, but have read here in the forum that's the best/easiest way to go. Google "marine tek" for more info or use the search feature here.

I'm not sure about bondo. If it were me, I would sand that all outta there and do a fiberglass repair, but that comes from a guy that has not done this kind of repair. Others here have and will advise you appropriately.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[newbie_owner]

Re: Fiberglass Hull repair

Thanks for the quick reply.

So this marine tex is better than fiber mesh and epoxy?

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: Fiberglass Hull repair

Thanks for the quick reply.

So this marine tex is better than fiber mesh and epoxy?

yea it is it a puttie , and i also would get rid of all the bondo , what i have read is the is dont mix at all with water !! John

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: Fiberglass Hull repair

OHH yea Hi And welcome !!! this is a great place for anything boating !!

Its sposed to be better then than anything else , what everone says !!! John

 

[newbie_owner]

Re: Fiberglass Hull repair

Thanks,

I will see what I can find under all that bondo. I am a little afraid of what I might find under it. I haven't done anything like this before.

 

[Solittle]

Re: Fiberglass Hull repair

For a small hole like in your first image Marine Tex is the way to go. Mix exactly as in the directions and mix a very small amount. Use a piece of cardboard as a mixing surface and a wood stir stik or equivalent for mixing. If you use a putty knife and forget to clean it it will be a bear to get off. It gets hard as steel when cured.

Bondo is frowned on for use in boats.

 

[newbie_owner]

Re: Fiberglass Hull repair

I will see if I canpick some of that stuff up. I will have to search for it.

I have no idea why anyone would use Bondo in a boat. Not like is much cheaper or anything.

Since it had a few holes in it, should I pull up the floor and see what it looks like under the floor? the floor boards are very strong, no soft spots at all.

 

[Coors]

Re: Fiberglass Hull repair

Use Marine Tek to fill your holes. I have not tried it, but have read here in the forum that's the best/easiest way to go. Google "marine tek" for more info or use the search feature here.

I'm not sure about bondo. If it were me, I would sand that all outta there and do a fiberglass repair, but that comes from a guy that has not done this kind of repair. Others here have and will advise you appropriately.

Welcome to the forum!

Bondo absorbs water; grind it all out, from both sides if necessary.

 

[newbie_owner]

Re: Fiberglass Hull repair

Now the onlt problem I have is how do I lift the boat off the trailer so that I can get to all of it.

 

[Coors]

Re: Fiberglass Hull repair

Just pull it back and forth, on trailer.

 

[newbie_owner]

Re: Fiberglass Hull repair

Thanks guys,

I will post pictures of my project as I go along. So once I have done the fiberglass repair and applied the fairing putty and sanded it all down, do I put primer over it? do I then need to paint over the primer? The whole hull needs to be painted, but i don't think I can afford that right now. Anyone know how much it would cost to gel coat a 14' tri hull mfg? I am guessing at least a few hundered?

 

[fuzzeywiggler]

Re: Fiberglass Hull repair

If your thinking of gel coating instead of painting I think paining is cheeper I just bought 150$ of paint for my v hull with a 5 foot beam... don't know if that helps.

Fuzzey

 

[newbie_owner]

Re: Fiberglass Hull repair

Ok, so I can paint it? what kind of paint should I use?

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: Fiberglass Hull repair

There is a bunch of paint out there , some say use only marine paint and others have had good luck with rustolem !!! so its up to you !! But your going to need more then one gal, what i have read is it takes at least 2 coats at least !!!! John

 

[newbie_owner]

Re: Fiberglass Hull repair

Thanks everyone for all your help. I came in to this forum with no knowledge at all, and now am quite confident that I can do all this myself.

I will post my pictures as I go along.

Thanks

 

[Coors]

Re: Fiberglass Hull repair

Good, but get the bondo out,, it will cause you problems

 

[newbie_owner]

Re: Fiberglass Hull repair

Oh yeah,

I will sand all of that crap out and rebuild it with fiberglass.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Fiberglass Hull repair

Are you sure thats plain old bondo? It kind of looks like Evercoat fiberglass repair. Someone did a poor job either way.I would sand it out and start over.
Also the first thing would be to get rid of that small roller.It was probably what caused the damage.
I would put a 12 inch deep V roller in its place.The Stoltz brand yellow rollers will not mark the new paint up when you get it finished..

 

[Coors]

Re: Fiberglass Hull repair

Agreed, I am so sick of black roller marks.