MASTER Brian
Senior Chief Petty Officer
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2006
- Messages
- 738
I have a crack that's maybe 8" long on the bottom of my '86 Ranger 373V. The crack is about 2/3 of the way back and about 1' from the center line of the hull. It's getting a bit worse and I need to get it fixed. I don't believe it has spidered out any, but it might be seeping some water into the bilge area.
My question is, is this something that someone with a fair amount of do-it-yourself "fiberglass" knowledge can do safely or is it truly best left to the pros?
I called one place and they want $250 if they don't have to pull it off trailer, another $75 if it needs to be pulled of and then another $150 or so, if they need to actually re-lay some glass. The ranger dealership said I could probably do it myself, but the glass shop was worried if not done perfectly, the whole bottom of the boat could delaminate, and I realize that is possible.
My experience with glass work is with standup style jetski's and the stuff I did has held up for years under fairly heavy abuse. I do realize, however; that the bottom of my boat is subject to a lot of stress.
The materials I have on hand are AL 2108 Epoxy Laminating Resin, SMC resin, bi-axle cloth (stitch bonded fabric, which is unidirectional roving oriented in a +/- 45 degrees with 0.75 oz/sq ft chop strand mat on one side and 17oz/sq yd roving), chop strand mat and woven roving. I realize the crack would need to be cut/ground out. The problem is I don't think I have access to the crack from the inside, only from the outside. I also don't have a way to redo the gel coat. Not sure if that is important or not, as long as I seal and paint the repair.
What should I do?
My question is, is this something that someone with a fair amount of do-it-yourself "fiberglass" knowledge can do safely or is it truly best left to the pros?
I called one place and they want $250 if they don't have to pull it off trailer, another $75 if it needs to be pulled of and then another $150 or so, if they need to actually re-lay some glass. The ranger dealership said I could probably do it myself, but the glass shop was worried if not done perfectly, the whole bottom of the boat could delaminate, and I realize that is possible.
My experience with glass work is with standup style jetski's and the stuff I did has held up for years under fairly heavy abuse. I do realize, however; that the bottom of my boat is subject to a lot of stress.
The materials I have on hand are AL 2108 Epoxy Laminating Resin, SMC resin, bi-axle cloth (stitch bonded fabric, which is unidirectional roving oriented in a +/- 45 degrees with 0.75 oz/sq ft chop strand mat on one side and 17oz/sq yd roving), chop strand mat and woven roving. I realize the crack would need to be cut/ground out. The problem is I don't think I have access to the crack from the inside, only from the outside. I also don't have a way to redo the gel coat. Not sure if that is important or not, as long as I seal and paint the repair.
What should I do?
