What a kick in the B*$@-gctid384533

[Guest]

I went out onto the boat today to do a good clean up after the weekends events. Figured i'd give it a good once over top to bottom. Pop the engine hatch to switch on the batt's so i have lighting in the cabin. Start vacuuming the cabin out and figured what the hell i'll pop the cabin bilge hatch. HOLY S!%T, it's full of water, WTF. So i immediately flip the bilge pump on and climb out get on my back and start checking the hull. Low and behold, there is a drop of water coming through the hull(noticed against the black anti foul paint). Hmm, this is not good. SO i start sanding and find a crack in the gelcoat clear through to the fiberglass, dammit. Now there is a small soft spot in the glass. Great im screwed aren't i? So that being said, I have ripped up the carpet, cut the glass to reveal the completely saturated plywood underneath. I have tore out the plywood exposing the glass in the v-hull. Since i have this exposed inside can i drill a couple small ( 1/8") holes so all water drains out of the glass, then re-glass the inside, then gel the outside? Or am i totally fubar'd now and have a pile of scrap sitting on the trailer? I can glass and gel, have done a few things here and there, but never on a structural repair.

ANY HELP OUT THERE

[yachtman]

Need pictures. I doubt its junk

[Guest]

I'd drill some test holes thru the wood and see if your have wet wood...where ever there is wet wood...you need to get it out ......then replace it and glass and gelcoat over it....you cut pieces of wood out and fit a new piece of wood for structural reasons....

:arr ar

[dmcb]

Fiberglass heals well and bonds well. BUT ONLY IF IT IS BONE DRY. That is important.

You are lucky you are able to get to it from the inside. I would grind out all the soft glass going back on a taper.

Build it back up and add addional layers on the inside. It will be stronger than ever.

Don't cheat on getting it bone dry. It won't bond if there is moisture.

I saw something like this happen on a 43' Welcraft last year in storage. For some reason the hull cracked at the keel from the blocks. It was repaired without a problem.

Of all the things that can happen on a boat, this is one of the easier repairs.

Doug

[Guest]

I saw some cracking in my keel too, this storage season.

The bright side is that you found it now.

[Guest]

It's a bummer but with fiberglass, anything can be fixed.

Fiberglass is messy although easy to work with. There are certain thinmgs with fiberglass that are critical so

if you have never worked with it before, I'm sure someone near by has and will give you a hand or at least some supervision.

Good Luck

[Guest]

As promised here are the pics. After cleaning my mess from yesterday, it would appear that someone has tried to fix this once before(noticed in last pic of all the epoxy). Do i grind back the epoxy exposing the wet glass or do i just grind till there is a hole then patch the hole. I have no issues with doing it the latter way, just want to know the best way since it is so close to the keel. The first pic is the outside of the hull showing the crack which is about 1" from the keel.

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[Guest]

Oh ya and do i use mat or woven roving for repairs like this, i am starting grinding tonight. Gotta see what is under all the epoxy and glass.

[yachtman]

k-townguy wrote:
Oh ya and do i use mat or woven roving for repairs like this, i am starting grinding tonight. Gotta see what is under all the epoxy and glass.

Yes you use both in alternating layers. First layer mat sencond layer roving next layer mat. Until theI desired thickness is avchieved.The last out side layer usually works best if its mat.

If was layed up last in epoxy you have to make sure all epoxy is removed if you are going to us a polyester resin. Other wise stick with epoxy if you cant get it all off.

[Ron_Everson]

I had a similar situation when I bought our 1975 Reinell. It was dripping from the keel while on the trailer - I should have ran away, but I bought it anyway. I ended up removing the floor in that area exposing saturated foam chunks that had been thrown in by a previous owner when they did a poor repair to the crack. Someone had just layered fiberglass over the crack on the outside, which just eventually cracked through & leaked again. I jacked the boat up on the trailer to get it off the center rollers and went to work. I ground out the crack to solid material, and then layered back new epoxy & glass. I had a pretty big hole to build back (centered right on the keel). Edges were sloped at 12 to 1 or so - very flat. I bought the video & books from Gougeon Brothers (gougeon.com) and used their West System for all of it. It took a bunch of layers to build back the 1/2" or more of fiberglass (10 or so). I still have the left-over roll of glass above the garage. I did all of the work from the outside, trying to maintain the line of the keel & hull. It doesn't match the lines perfectly - there is a little warp there - but has held well for 15 years or so. I covered the outside with a 2 part epoxy paint that was close to the shade of the bottom paint. Filed the inside with expanding foam and replaced the section of floor, glassing it in place. Once done, that section of floor (& underlying hull) no longer flexed when we hit the waves. I also installed a Keel Guard to protect when beaching. What little I know about fiberglass repair, I learned from the Gougeon Brothers info. The West System materials are great - I continue to use them on our 2755. Good luck with your repair!

[Guest]

k-townguy wrote:
.............Do i grind back the epoxy exposing the wet glass or do i just grind till there is a hole then patch the hole......

You have to get past the wet glass, no negotiating there. If that creates a hole, then so be it. The glass and the wood must be perfectly dry and while you are at it, check to ses if there is any wood repairing to do. If you do your repair properly, chances are that it will be better than factory build.

The type of fiberglass that you make your repairs with whether it be cloth, mat, woven etc. should be the same as the boat when it came from the factory. That is, after you are finished grinding, study the ground area that has been faired and feathered and see what the factory used. Use the same layers. Boats twist, bend and flex and are designed to do so. You dont want your repair to be any more flexible or stiffer than the factory. You dont have to get anal about this but just be aware of what the original lay-up was and get close.

Another point - Most epoxies are too thick for a good soaking with woven roven. Try a test piece and see for yourself. I don't know your skill level or knowledge factor with glass work so I'll throw this in anyway: Fiberglass bonding requires a full wetting out. When the glass is fully wet, it is almost clear. If any white at all shows, it is too dry and will have to be ground out. Another thing about fiberglass which holds true for epoxy or polyester resin:It is similar to wood glue in that the resin is made to bond (glue) two pieces of fiberglass. This bond is a strong bond. It is much weaker if you try to use the resin to fill gaps or make the resin too thick as in 'too much'. This is where a fiberglass roller comes in - the nylon looking thing with the ridges. This will press out any excess resin. If you dont have much excess, you probably are not useing enough.

If the factory used roven woven, you should do the same. If your epoxy does not readily soak into the roven, you may have no choice but yo use polyester resin.

Fiberglass repairs are not rocket science but a few things must be know for a successful repair.

I suggest that you go to library and look up "fiberglass repairs" or "boat repairs". Even better, Glen L Marine has a video or two and so does West System epoxy. Seeing it being done is worth a lot more tha just words on here. Your keel is the backbone of your boat. This is a very important repair.

Good luck and have fun.