Re: small hole in the hull and i have never repared fiberglass before
Hello Minocqa, you will get a lot of different ways of repairing the damage on your boat, and all will most likely be good, like the old saying goes " there is more than one way to skin a cat" Anyhow, here is one way: if you have a dremel tool or a small grinder it will help alot.. first remove any damaged fiberglass, you want to get rid of all the splintered,fractured or delaminated glass, then grind the remaining hole so the edges have a chamfer that is about 4 times as wide as the hull is thick. Next cut a piece of flexible plastic such as a coffee can lid, a little bigger that the hole and glue it to the inside of the hull as a backer. if you can get to the inside, then this step is easier, but it can be done from the outside by punching a small hole in the center of the plastic and using some wire or string to pull it up tight to the inside.. after the backer is in place and the glue is dry, remove the string or wire. Then you can cut some 4oz. glass cloth into shapes that will fit your hole makeing each one a little smaller than the first. the first one being the same size as the biggest part of the champfer. cut as many as it will take to build up to the original thickness plus a little more. Then mix up a batch of resin (your choice epoxy or poly I prefer the epoxy) and wet out all your little patchs on a piece of cardboard, then starting with the largest, start laying them over your hole, build it up to a equal thickness, take a 5 or 6 inch chunk of broom handle and use it like a roller to compress the patch. (unless you have a fiberglass roller). sand it fair when dry and coat it with paint or gel coat, your choice,,,,wear some doctors gloves, good luck and watch out for the rocks...
