Hull Repair on centerline

[bheath]

Hi all,

I have a 1982 23' Sceptre and have been doing repairs as I can afford it. One area that is the next focus is there is an approximately 30-inch long section on the centerline of the hull that has been scrapped severely. My question is after seeing the picture, what is the opinion to attempt to repair this? Or is this best for a fiberglass expert to handle?

Thanks,
Brent
Clearwater, FL

[EBEACH]

That doesn't look so bad. You can probably do it yourself. It won't look like new, but you could make it look VERY good at least. If you've never worked with fiberglass, I would suggest you buy some from a local supplier, he could give you some advice. Learn the process of working with polyester resins. Lay up some fiberglass mat on some wood, and then gel coat it, and then sand it. Practice first!!

The repair looks like it could be made with chopped fiberglass and resin, then some fairing compound to finish it off. Just leave enough depth for the gel coat. You’ll need a 4 inch grinder among other tools. There are different types of materials that can be used buy some and try them out. Fiberglass mat, chopped fiberglass, cabosil, glass bubbles, fairing compound, and so on. Find a local supplier, they will guide you. Folks here will help too. It’s best to start a dialog with someone who is selling the stuff.

Good luck.

[Finster]

Thats a tough one. I had a boat with that problem and I couldn't cure it with cabosil, fairing or chopped glass, from the outside. What needs to be done is, it needs to be worked from the inside out. Or you'll have lay so much glass on the outside that it would make it impossible to fair out.

Start with adjusting your trailer so that doesn't happen anymore and see what a professional has to say.

That particular area is like an Achiles heal for boats.

Good luck.

[bheath]

Yes, it is not too bad, but I want to prevent this from occurring again. I am hesitant to try this on my own, but will check with a local fiberglass supplier in St. Pete. I am not so concerned with having it look like new either. Thanks very much for the replies.

Brent

[Briguy]

Brent,

It depends what you are looking for. Strength? Beauty? Both? If you are a beginner, getting it to look "factory" may be tough. However, as a beginner making it strong is relatively easy. My solution would go like this.

Get yourself an air compressor if you can and with 80 grit sand/grind the gel coat off about 3-4 inches on either side. I would use epoxy resin and cloth mat. Since you scraped it once, you may scrape it again and epoxy is about 3x as strong and more adhesive. Use fiberglass cloth about 6 inches wide x the length of the scratch. 2 layers should be good enough. Once it sets up you can fill and gel coat. You can probably do the entire fix for under $100 bucks. You will nead, fiberglass cloth(buy extra), a pint of epoxy and medium hardner, rubber gloves(10 pair)-try Home Depot and buy the stronger ones, a roller, 80, 120, 180 grit paper, 1 1/2 inch paint brushes, 3-4 buckets(HD), quart of filler,filler applicator, pint of gel coat, flexible sanding block, disposable respirators and drop cloth. Good luck.

[Ed]

Hi Brent-

My Mako had a worn keel very similar to yours when I bought it. First thing I did was wipe it down with acetone and than I got out the grinder (36 grit) and ground back about 4 inches all the way around. Then I blew it off with some compressed air, and wiped clean again with acetone. Next, I took some 1.5oz mat that was smaller than the repair area and glassed it in. Then I took another piece of 1.5 oz mat that was the same size of the repair area and glassed it in too. With both pieces, I mixed some white gelcoat with wax into the resin. The gelcoat will help hide the repair.

After the glass cured, I carefully ground down any excess and than I started fairing it out. Once I was able to fair it down to match the original lines, I took some matching gelcoat mixed with a tiny bit of cabosil and brushed it on. Once the brushed on gelcoat cured, I sanded it down with 180 grit. I also sanded the area around the repair down with 180 grit.

To finish it off, I had my buddy spray on a few coats of gelcoat and then I wetsanded and buffed it. After a few years you can see that it was repaired (because the new gelcoat fades at a different rate from the original gelcoat) but it is very strong.

As finster said, if you can also get inside the hull and lay up a few layers that is an added bonus as far as strength is concerned but was not necessary in my case....

Good luck.

Ed

[bheath]

Great replies guys. I have no experience with fiberglass, but may grab someone who does to oversee the repair. I will post pictures of the repair as it proceeds. Many thanks.

Brent Heath
Clearwater, FL