Hull Repair - Questions

[atengnr]

Fiberglass hull, 10 yrs ago I punched through the hull while using a chisel during floor removal (to replace rotten stringers and floor), perhaps about 2 inches long (if I recall correctly from 97). My father patched this with matting on top of the split area....I want to remove this patch and fix it correctly now.

- What grit paper should I use to remove this patch and prep the area?

- What type of glass should I use to patch it? Woven?

- What should I do to the area that is split? Should I round out the ends of this tear to lower stress to prevent crack propagation??

Thanks in advance.

 

[atengnr]

Re: Hull Repair

Re: Hull Repair

Well, I went ahead with this repair. While sanding, I initially had trouble determining if I had exposed the original damaged area, but I noticed that the mat patch essentially was cracked across the hull damage area. It took making about a 6 inch slot to remove all the de-laminated glass.

Now, one question...This hull is of woven construction (1968 saftmate 14ft)....but being a fiberglass novice and fearing that I would not get a good bond with woven, I purchased 9oz cloth and mat to patch this. So I alternated mat and cloth, with about 5 layers total (2 cloth, 3 mat). Is this acceptable for this repair??

Also, I used epoxy resin for the first time. Seemed to go well except that I melted my plastic container...

Any comments are appreciated.

 

[redfury]

Re: Hull Repair - Questions

one thing you could have done after sanding out the bad glass would be to take and "shred" the perimeter of the original glass to give the new glass something to "interweave" with. However, the method you described should be sufficient, particularily if you didn't lay the glass in the same direction with each layer.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Hull Repair - Questions

Sorry you didn't get response sooner, as in before you started.

Your repair will hold up just fine, no need to worry.

 

[atengnr]

Re: Hull Repair - Questions

Great, thanks for the replies.