Fiberglass Help Needed

[4-Fun]

Thank you all for the information. I feel a little foolish, let me get the egg off my face. Ah, that is better.
I could not stand the thought of my boat cracking up, so this morning at O dark thirty I took a littls sand paper to it.
I have two scratches with a little road dirt mixed in. I got all excited and all it was is a couple of scratches.... I am so glad it was not as I had feared...
I am going to say it is due to tuna fever... That is the best I can do.

Once again, thanks
M


I have always been impressed with the amount of knowledge on this board, I did not know where to turn on this one, so I am counting on you dogs.....
I have a '97 Boston Whaler 20' Outrage. When I purchased the boat, about five years ago, it had bottom paint. I have removed the bottom paint. Last weekend, while I was under the boat, don't ask, I notices a couple of hair line fractures in the fiberglass. One is about a foot long, the other is about 18". These cracks are on the port side, about 15" from the bottom of the V in the middle of the field mid ship, boat?. I can not remember hitting any thing. Could this be due to the pounding off shore? What do I do to fix it? I live in the Salem area, if there is a specialist for this kind of thing or is some one has some ideas on what is going on, please let me know, I am lost on this one.

Thanks,
M

[Orca]

Is it just the gel coat that is cracked? Might be nothing then, it happens. If the fiberglass is cracked all the way through, then not sure why, but you have some large stresses from somewhere - fiberglass is very tough stuff.

You can easily fix yourself, especially in areas where no one will see it. The hard part is making it look pretty if it is in view. You can put a polyester or epoxy patch on. First grind into the crack and work it down till it disappears, or you hit the far side of the glass (open air). Now depending on how deep you have gone, you will want to taper out to each side, a standard is 12/1 taper for fiberglass. This means if you went 1/4" deep, you want your patch to be 12 times that wide, so 3" wide. West marine and BoatUS should have documentation on fiberglass repairs. There is also many books out there. You will want to check these other resources on how to lay-up and execute the patch with cloth and adhesive.

[Pilar]

Whaler uses a composite hull. Fiberglass sandwich with foam? or Balsa filler.

That's not a straightforward repair like solid glass. You need an expert.

[SeaJayOR]

Try Brittain boat repair.
CJ

Originally Posted by 4-Fun

What do I do to fix it? I live in the Salem area, if there is a specialist for this kind of thing or is some one has some ideas on what is going on, please let me know, I am lost on this one.

Thanks,
M

[Bandy76]

if it is a straight crack then it probaly just is in the gel coat.
If the crack is spidered webbed then I would guess you have hit something & have a crack that needs repair.
these are the first guestions to answer.

[SecondSeason]

cracks can lead to water being pulled in to the hull. this is real bad have an expert at least look at it then fix it your self if its minor.

[CATCH AND EAT]

I'm guessing stress crack in the gel coat. Those whalers do not give up easily. I think I would have someone take a quick peek that is in the repair business first before attempting to do anything.

[Orca]

Originally Posted by Pilar

Whaler uses a composite hull. Fiberglass sandwich with foam? or Balsa filler.

That's not a straightforward repair like solid glass. You need an expert.

Yep., was thinking my solid glass hull, forgot to think what your whaler hull might be made of.

[adobe wall]

let someone check it out who knows what they are doing. a composite hull with wood layers can rot from the inside out if water gets in.

I've got a few years of fiberglass experience and thought the crack in my boat was a no-brainer to fix. I did the doityerself thing to save a few bucks. The plywood inside the fiberglass rotted out, and my boat did a great impression of a taco in a storm. Yeah, I got it to shore but I think "breaking it in half" counts as a sinking.

regards, aw

[tomictime]

Pilar is correct, the Whaler is a gelcoat, glass/resin, foam, glass /r, gelcoat sandwich. Wood may also be present in the wich at various places in the hull, inc transom, gunnels and floor. Whalers typically come w wood location diagram in the manual. It is an engineering dwg from the factory. You can get that, matching gelcoat and MOST importantly repair instructions also from them. At one time they also sold a patch kit w proper resin, mat, fill fibers, etc..

I general you do need to determine if these are gelcoat cracks, or deeper. You also need to determine IF the foam has been breached and IF it has absorbed water.

general repairs into foam do require a scarf (taper), my memory is at least 5:1 and a foam carve out below. The foam void is filled w resin and loose fibers.

Yes, owned and repaired whaler and a few other glass boats

Call Whaler.

Originally Posted by Pilar

Whaler uses a composite hull. Fiberglass sandwich with foam? or Balsa filler.

That's not a straightforward repair like solid glass. You need an expert.

[Grady252]

Britton Boat repair on South Commercial in Salem.... They have been in the glass repair, boat building business for a lot of years.... talk to Jim Kirby. I have to guess what many other already guessed..... hopefully it is simply cracks in your gel coat.... not a big deal... gel coat is very brittle, and fiberglass is flexible... older boats get gel coat cracks. The older the gel coat the more brittle it becomes.

You don't need to repair them if it is gel coat.... simply for to a marine store, get interlux, interprotect epoxy barrier coat and put one three coats as they recomend before you apply bottom paint, and they are all gone.....

If it si actually cracks in the glass, they can fix those too.

Good Luck!:smile:

[5 Salt]

Pic up a copy of the "West Systems How-To, DVD" from West Systems $18, and the $4.95 each books on Repair and Finishing/Fairing.

This repair stuff is not rocket science regardless of the core material. Hairline cracks are a simple repair and you can secure a color matched repair kits from the Whaler Dealer, or from Spectrum Color by your Whaler year and color. http://www.spectrumcolor.com/catalog.htm. Spectrum shows 3-colors of Whaler Gel coat in for 1997 model years. $18 for 2oz or $85 for a quart.

Read the gelcoat how to's at: http://www.spectrumcolor.com/technicalinfo.htm

The repair is basically a light grind to increase surface area of the repair bond and to get the bottom of the cracks, then fill, sand, buff, polish, and wax

Grind or open cracks V-shaper scraper (sharpend can opener per West Systems repair manual) followed by a light sanding to feather the egdes. Then you do a complete and thorough clean/prep with Acetone solvent. Next you apply repair material (repair kit or West epoxy)...the trick to a invisable repair is do the best job you can getting the repair material as smooth and fair as possible before it cures....you can wait for the repair to cure up some then work with a flexible blade or scraper to better smooth off high/rough spots.

After full cure, you sand starting with a "very" light grind to remove high spots, (Drilmel works nicely here, and for crack grinding) then with 180/220, 280, 400, 600, 800, 1000, and 1200 wet or dry sand paper (sanding goes quickly and will not require alot of work). From there a quick buff with 3M Fiberglass Restorer on a wool buffing pad until shiny - couple of passes with medium pressure intially, transitioning to light pressure to polish. Now, 3M Finess-it Polishing compound on s foam polishing pad to get that glass finish and to remove buffing swirl marks. Finally, a couple of coats of 3M Marine paste wax to protect.

You can sand by hand or with radom orbital sander. The buffer will need variable speed, something you can adjust down to 1400-2500rpms. Any faster, your compound/polish dries too quickly; you cannot get a good cut or polish; and you risk burning the finish.

A really good video at the below link shows auto finish from rough sanding to glass smooth on a dark color. Working gelcoat is the same procedure, tools, sanding, buffing, and polishing as show in video. Substitute "Prefect It" products discussed in the video with the "3M Fiberglass Restorer" and "Finess It" products as mentioned above - for use on gelcoat. http://shows.implex.tv/3MTV/Root/AAD/2676/preflight.htm


For larger repairs and for excellent information on small repairs, start with West Systems Repair DVD and publications for crack repair before you purchase any products. Small investment of $18 for DVD and about $5 each for the publications:
DVD: http://www.westsystem.info/wesyephodvd.html,
Repair manual: http://www.westsystem.info/fiborema.html,
Fairing and Finishing: http://www.westsystem.info/fifafi.html

AND rememeber....if you screw up the finish or repair, let it cure, grind it out, and re-apply repair kit or epoxy again. POC!

If cracks (not likely) go all the way through, prep the area and fill with epoxy (West Systems), sand, buff, polish and wax so you can later come back can do a thorough repair. The temp repair will prevent further water intrution. The DVD covers larger scale repairs in depth on both foam and balsa/wood cores.

Repair Tools and Supplies:

-Repair Kit - Whaler Dealer/Spectrum, or
-Epoxy (West Systems Brand) - Fishermans Marine or your fav marine supply store
-Various Epoxy Supplies (brushes, smoothing blades, and others) Fishermans, etc..
-Sand paper - Lowes or Home Depoe
-Buffer - Variable speed Detailing type - Rental Shop or purchase for about $175-190
-Foam or Wool Buff (compound) Pads - Local Napa Dealer
-Foam Polish Pad - Local Napa Dealer
-3M Marine compound (Restorer), polish (finess it) and paste wax - Fishermans or Marine supply store.
-Good rubber surgical gloves - where ever.
-Acetone Solvent for suface prep and tool clean up - Lowes

Additional Reading:

Major repair including restroration of diamond non-skid gelcoat (pics)
http://www.greatgrady.com/forum/view...iamond+nonskid

Removing Bottom Pait and complete restore of original bottom finish (pics)
http://www.greatgrady.com/forum/view...iamond+nonskid

[5 Salt]

Spectrum Color Gel Coat Patch Paste Repair

SPECTRUM GEL COAT Patch paste is an easy to use repair system. Patch Paste allows even the inexperienced to make professional looking cosmetic repairs to damaged gel coat in the form of dock dings, scratches, trailer, gouges, nicks, screw holes, canvas button holes, blisters, and many other episodes.

Spectrum gel coat Patch paste is a factory color matched gel coat that is converted into a paste form that spreads like Vaseline, sets in approximately 30-40 minutes, and will stay in place on vertical and overhead surfaces.

HOW TO USE PATCH PASTE :


· Clean area thoroughly to remove oils and waxes. This should be done before sanding, using acetone diluted with 10% water. Use paper towels, changing often, to prevent contamination. CAUTION : acetone is highly flammable, use carefully. Dispose of paper towels properly.
· Rough and/or sand area to be repaired using course sandpaper, sharp instrument or small grinding tool such as a drill. The object is to get enough “tooth” to repair area to assure a good bond. Use a tag rag to remove dust, take care not to damage surrounding areas. Masking tape around the repair area will minimize this possibility.
· Place a small portion of patch paste in waxed paper cup and add M.E.K.P catalyst at approximately 12-15 drops per ounce of patch paste (2% by volume). Take care to mix thoroughly to assure an even surface and to minimize air entrapment.
· Using a Plastic putty knife or spreader, apply catalyzed mixture to gouge or scratch. Leave area slightly raised
· Let the repair cure thoroughly, normally 2-4 hours, or preferably overnight.
· Start sanding cured repair with 200x wet paper. Sand lightly, working your way down to a finer grit 400x to 600x wet paper. As you sand with finer and finer paper you will notice the shine starting to brighten.
· Buff and polish repair to achieve original shine

HINTS FOR BETTER REPAIRS
· Work at room temperature (75 degrees F)
· Heat repair area with a lamp or hair dryer. CAUTION : Be careful using electrical appliances around flammable materials. Elevating the temperature of a repair area will accelerate cure time.

NOTE : Patch paste matches the original O.E.M factory color. Slight color difference may be noticed due to gel coat degradation from ultraviolet rays and environmental exposure. Follow directions carefully.

[Chesapeake]

I agree with most of whats above but maybe not the "If cracks (not likely) go all the way through, prep the area and fill with epoxy (West Systems), sand, buff, polish and wax so you can later come back can do a thorough repair" part.

Most if not all commercialy produced boats are Polyester resin, the more expensive boats are Vinylester resin. The gelcoat is also a Polyester resin.

Polyester resins generaly dont bond well to epoxy resins. Also alot of paints and adhesives dont bond well to epoxy. So if you were to do a repair with epoxy on a polyester resin boat you could cause a situation where you have bonding issues with the gelocoat, or any other paint or repair product that are used in the future.

I think it would be best to repair a polyester boat with polyester.

Others opinions may vary.

[5 Salt]

Originally Posted by Chesapeake

I agree with most of whats above but maybe not the "If cracks (not likely) go all the way through, prep the area and fill with epoxy (West Systems), sand, buff, polish and wax so you can later come back can do a thorough repair" part.

Most if not all commercialy produced boats are Polyester resin, the more expensive boats are Vinylester resin. The gelcoat is also a Polyester resin.

Polyester resins generaly dont bond well to epoxy resins. Also alot of paints and adhesives dont bond well to epoxy. So if you were to do a repair with epoxy on a polyester resin boat you could cause a situation where you have bonding issues with the gelocoat, or any other paint or repair product that are used in the future.

I think it would be best to repair a polyester boat with polyester.

Others opinions may vary.

Agreed,

I was suggesting to make temp repair until time allowed a complete repair. Trying get fiberglass work done right and expecting to have the boat back before the end of the season can be asking too much from your fav fiberglass repair person. Good one's are always booked 20-30days out, if not then maybe you don't have a good one.

[Chesapeake]

Originally Posted by 5-Salt Fever

Agreed,

I was suggesting to make temp repair until time allowed a complete repair. Trying get fiberglass work done right and expecting to have the boat back before the end of the season can be asking too much from your fav fiberglass repair. Good one are always booked 20-30days out, if not then maybe you don't have a good one.

Understood, I agree that epoxy would be best for a temp repair, better bonding, and more water proof. Just need to make sure and grind it all off before the final repair.

[Trick]

Can you take a couple pics of the cracks and post them?

[5 Salt]

Originally Posted by Chesapeake

Understood, I agree that epoxy would be best for a temp repair, better bonding, and more water proof. Just need to make sure and grind it all off before the final repair.

Note: - Spectrum Color gel coat repair kits will match factory material types and colors - check with your Whaler dealer it you are uncertain as to what products to use to repair your cracks. Specifically, do they sell repair kits, etc...