How badly didi I mess up??

[mckevin]

Been spending evenings grinding old stringers & resin out in preparation for the new ones and it happened, I just wasn't paying enough attention...

I went right through the gelcoat (sigh)
The light colored area is about 2" X 4" and the hole itself is only around 1/8" X 1 1/4".
This is well under the boat, so appearance isn't a factor, though structure clearly is. I am guessing that if I resin in some chop mat, then woven, then more mat I will be good enough structurally? then what about the outside? Do I need to fix the gelcoat (how?), or will the above be ok?
One last pic to show placement.

All project pics (to date) at; http://picasaweb.google.com/mckevin32/BoatProject

 

[i386]

Re: How badly didi I mess up??

Don't sweat it too much. You can repair it. Mine's gutted like yours and I have several repairs like that to make.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: How badly didi I mess up??

You appear to be right ontop of the situation. Don't sweat the hole. You have alot of work ahead and when it's done you will not even think about that. The hole is minor and an easy fix.

Your entire project looks like it is moving along very nice. You have the ability to correct the manufacture faults and cheats now.

 

[CalicoKid]

Re: How badly didi I mess up??

Maybe put a little white pigment in the first dab of resin that goes down in the cut to match the gelcoat. Put some clear packing tape on the outside of the hull to get a nice smooth patch (of course the tape comes off after the patch cures) and work the air bubbles out of the resin. Otherwise sounds good to me, build it up nice and thick and taper out the edges.

 

[strizzy]

Re: How badly didi I mess up??

^^ tape idea is good ^^

An 80grit flap disc works great for prep work, much better then the grinding wheel.

 

[DJ]

Re: How badly didi I mess up??

You're OK. Been there, done that.:^

Clean the area up (degrease). Put the tape on the outside, as mentioned. Then, mix up a little gel coat and pour it in the cut.

Lay up mat and resin over that, on the inside.

You'll be good as new.8)

 

[dhatcher]

Re: How badly didi I mess up??

yeah thats a oops but its not to big of a oops, the tape thing is something new to me and i think i will be using it in the near future