small crack & leak repair

[cfrazier]

We had the fourwinns in the water for about a week and discovered some water in the bilge and some in the cutty. We took the boat out of the water and found a very small crack in the fiber glass hull where water dripped out slowly. To pactch this I purchased a tube of Atwood Polyuretnane sealant from Walmart. Would this be good enough to patch it or should I use something else. It says for below the waterline and for seams.

 

[osborn159]

Re: small crack & leak repair

i personally dont think anything out if a tube is going to "permanently" fix a crack, pics would help to determine the correct course of action.

 

[bigredinohio]

Re: small crack & leak repair

You're probably not going to like the responses you get with your question but I wouldn't recommend using the sealant to fix a crack in the fiberglass.

 

[Shife]

Re: small crack & leak repair

No, a one part glue from a tube isn't going to fix this.

You will need at a minimum to grind back the area around the crack at a 12:1 bevel and then build the area back up using glass and epoxy.

You also should ask the question of how did the crack get there. Did you hit something, or is there internal damage to the stringer system due to moisture intrusion that allowed the laminate to crack?

Read this. Chapter 4 applies to your situaton (assuming an uncored hull):

http://209.20.76.247/ss/assets/HowTo-Publications/Fiberglass-Boat-Repair-and-Maintenance.pdf

 

[oops!]

Re: small crack & leak repair

No, a one part glue from a tube isn't going to fix this.

You will need at a minimum to grind back the area around the crack at a 12:1 bevel and then build the area back up using glass and epoxy.

You also should ask the question of how did the crack get there. Did you hit something, or is there internal damage to the stringer system due to moisture intrusion that allowed the laminate to crack?

Read this. Chapter 4 applies to your situaton (assuming an uncored hull):

http://209.20.76.247/ss/assets/HowTo-Publications/Fiberglass-Boat-Repair-and-Maintenance.pdf

read this post twice.

again......you must decide what caused the crack.
i have seen brand new boats with stringers pushing thru the hull.....dont take anything forgranted

 

[cfrazier]

Re: small crack & leak repair

After reading a bit, I don't think that sealant is going to work either. I think this very small gouge was done before I bought the boat. It has been dry for three years prior to this. I had the boat out of water to give it a good cleaning and I noticed a small dab of a repair on the other side of the hull. I may have scraped off the repair job on this crack exposing the old damage. It looks like a small puncture either made with a piece of metal or rock. It's very small but it doesn't take much sitting in water for a period of time. Do You all think I need to get a gel coat patch kit or would glass and epoxy do?

Sundowner

 

[oops!]

Re: small crack & leak repair

if you can take pics we can advise what kind of repair to do.....

it would be wrong to just guess a repair on a crack.....there may be more to it than that.

but the gellcoat area is uasually repaired with a gell paste.
but in this case its the fiberglass that needs the attention......it is possible that this is an inside out repair.

 

[cfrazier]

Re: small crack & leak repair

I will go out tomorrow after work and take a pic of it and post it so you all can see what it looks like. Its small. If you didn't get down on hands and knees a person would probably miss it. In this case a few small drips gave it away.

 

[cfrazier]

Re: small crack & leak repair

I went out and took pictures of the gouge. Its smaller than pea size and its the gel coat that was nicked through. I stopped at West Marine and he said about the same thing everyone else said about the tube stuff. Looking at the picture he recommended the Marine-Tex Epoxy putty kit and the 100 grit paper. He told me how to manage it just as you have, so I think I'm set. This will be my first patch work ever so stay tuned.