Fiberglass repairs? or gelcoat repairs?

[Point man]

I have so many issues not sure where to start. I am a mechanical and structural guy not a cosmetic or fiberglass guy so baby steps please.

I almost have the engine problems sorted out, so now I come to this forum.

My dad bought a boat (17 ft 1970 Glastron) that was supposed to be water ready...and it was fine the first couple times it was in had no problems.

The last time I had it out, put it back on the trailer pulled the bildge plug, and probably had about a gallon to 2 gallons of water come out after a day on the lake. I know there are some gouges out of the gelcoat on the hull, I believe from trailering. How can I tell if they are leaking through the fiberglass, or if it just needs gelcoat?

There's more... spider web cracks from stress... I have quiet a few, the boat sat in the previous owner's yard for about 3 years without seeing any water, and Michigan winters aren't too nice to it. What should I do for these?

If I am thinking about painting it anyway, am I better off just breaking all the old gelcoat off and starting over?

It's a boat to go fishing in and have some fun on the lake. I don't mind it looking old, I don't mind a few dings and marks. It was a $1300 boat, which to me is a lot. I can probably buff the hull to make it look a little nicer, but when is it time to just start over. I mean structurally I haven't seen any problems. but there must be a water leak somewhere because I don't think I took a gallon or 2 of water over the side of the boat.

Thanks in advance and sorry for such a long post.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Fiberglass repairs? or gelcoat repairs?

Could the water have come in under the rub rail? Through the engine mounting bolts (outboard) or through a bad gasket (I/O).

Any scratches down to the fiberglass fibers need attention fast. Gelcoat repair or marine tex.

Your "leak" will need more investigation.

 

[bigredinohio]

Re: Fiberglass repairs? or gelcoat repairs?

Plug the boat then use a garden hose to add water to the inside of the hull to see if water leaks out anywhere.

 

[allpoints360]

Re: Fiberglass repairs? or gelcoat repairs?

A gallon or two of water after a day on the lake may not be significant if you were skiing or tubing. As people get out of the water into the boat, that amount could easily accumulate.

Plug the boat then use a garden hose to add water to the inside of the hull to see if water leaks out anywhere.

I would do this for an aluminum boat to find a bad rivet. If it's a glass boat, start by inspecting the gouges. Do you see fiberglass exposed? If so, you should repair. If water is seeping through the glass, the problem is spreading and will only get worse.

Do you have a bilge pump? Does it run when you are on the lake?

Post some pics of the gouges.

Good luck.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Fiberglass repairs? or gelcoat repairs?

Plug the boat then use a garden hose to add water to the inside of the hull to see if water leaks out anywhere.

This IS NOT a good suggestion for a person with a fiberglass boat. It will stress things and soak the flotation foam.

 

[system-f]

Re: Fiberglass repairs? or gelcoat repairs?

Picturs of the boat and did I miss the model?

If it is like my 1971 V174 it could simply be a transom leak which actually isn't that simple. The inside of the transom was just pained and the V-hulls like mine have a high drain plug. I know my transom is soaked and starting to rot at the bottom allowing water to seep around the outdrive. (assuming it is an I/O)

 

[Point man]

Re: Fiberglass repairs? or gelcoat repairs?

It's an outboard merc inline 6. I know I was taking some water into the boat over the rails, but I can't imagine it was a full 2 gallons... I plan on fixing the gelcoat, but I don't really know what to do because most of the problems are right on the part of the hull that contacts the rollers on the trailer ( the name escapes me at the moment.) I would like to rebuild my trailer to be carpet, but idk if it is worth trying to redo the trailer or if I should just go ad start looking to buy a new trailer. I believe the rollers are beating the hell out of the hull every time I trailer it...

I forgot to mention that I had a little accident with the boat. I didn't notice any damage, but like I said a lot of it is hard to see because of the rollers. I was climbing up on the transom grabbing some lines from the boat, and the front end of the trailer came up off the ground, and of course had some bounce on its way down.

I have a sump pump. It has a bad switch(next on my list), but I can usually get it to run... lat I ran it, I had no water comming out of the port, and when looking in the bilge, had just a little bit of water moving around in there. My other theory is that maybe under the flooring there is somewhere water can get trapped...it is being stored outside while I am repairing my garage, so it has been collecting some rain water...and then when I hit the lake it pushes all that to the back of the bildge.

From the looks of the trailer, most of the weigh of the hull is resting on the bottom rollers instead of the siders, that kind of concerns me... are trailers kind of generally made? or am I better off just making a carpet trailer out of what I have and cut and weld what I need?
Thanks

 

[jaymasta]

Re: Fiberglass repairs? or gelcoat repairs?

Next time you launch your boat before you do anything take a good look at the inside of the transom check around all through bolts to make sure there isn't any water leaking in through them even a bit of moisture building up, check the drain plug as well and make sure water isn't leaking in from there, bring a flashlight if you need to. 2 Gallons doesn't seem like much for a full day of boating depending on what you were doing of course. Water gets in by splashing, coming in over the transom into your splashwell depending on how it is setup and where the holes are drilled in it, if you are fishing everytime you reel in your will a bit of water in, same if you catch a fish, if people are tubing or coming into your boat wet that will build up in no time. Many many ways for water to sneak in...You could just launch it and tie it up at a dock for a few hours and then bring it out of the water without doing anything and see if you get any water in that way as well, that will tell you that it is leaking in somehow and its not boating fun that is causeing the water to get in.