I have to reglass my port transom where the lower rudder attachment was punched into the hull. I read somewhere that Hobie used polyester resin in their hulls. Did Prindle use the same? I don't want to use epoxy if it's originally polyester.

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Prindle 16
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It is polyester, basically all the cats are polyester in the original layups. You should still use epoxy over polyester IMO.

I had a similar issue. I removed the gudgeon brackets, filled and faired the damaged area, then dropped aluminum plates on the outside with thin cork gaskets, and bolted the gudgeon brackets through the exterior plates, to the interior gudgeon plates. It's strong as hell and doesn't leak.


Most of the crap stuck to the hulls there is from previous owners' efforts at patching.

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Rob
OKC
Pile of Nacra parts..
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yurdle

It is polyester, basically all the cats are polyester in the original layups. You should still use epoxy over polyester IMO.

I had a similar issue. I removed the gudgeon brackets, filled and faired the damaged area, then dropped aluminum plates on the outside with thin cork gaskets, and bolted the gudgeon brackets through the exterior plates, to the interior gudgeon plates. It's strong as hell and doesn't leak.


Most of the crap stuck to the hulls there is from previous owners' efforts at patching.

Thanks, what product did you use to fill and fair the area and how did you preserve the original holes?



Edited by froski on Mar 22, 2011 - 05:01 PM.

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Prindle 16
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I just used marine-tex type stuff. At the time I'd never used epoxy, but it still was a good choice as even epoxy wouldn't have added much strength without grinding out a whole lot of the transom, including the outside edge.

I just put the bolts in before I applied the stuff and unscrewed them after it dried and sanded it flat.

You can see it better here. It's a very ugly repair, but it's held strong for 2 years now. The load is all handled by the aluminum.



This is right after I did it. I put gelcoat on it after it was done, so it looks a little better.

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Rob
OKC
Pile of Nacra parts..
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I recently fixed the same spot and it was a bit tough since it included almost the whole edge. I started by taking out the cracked and weakened material with pliers and then sanded until reaching a very low angle. I reached the wooden support of the gudgeon inside the hull and was a bit put off by the size of the hole I had just made...
I then prepared a bit of thick epoxy resin, soaked pieces of glass fabric in it and filled the gaps inside the hull that I needed to cover to give some support form the inside. I had no access from the inside of course.

To get a thick resin you only have to mix it with the hardener and wait for it to gel enough so it would stay in place without dripping . In my case it was about 4 hours. Next morning I applied more thick resin to finish the inside part and started the exterior reparation. That was more of a standard thing: sandwich of (from inside to outside) glass fabric, epoxy resin glass fiber, epoxy resin, glass fiber and then three layers of epoxy resin. To even the edge I had to apply a bit more thick resin. The last layer of thin resin had the color of the boat mixed into it (close at least) and the thick resin was transparent. Then sanded little by little from big grain sand paper to thin, drilled new holes to put the gudgeon and it was done.

The boat had a crack there since I bought it and when it leaked, I applied sealant or fiber glass repair cement and it resisted for a while, then it lost grip, started leaking, then again, etc.
Since I had to repair a soft spot on the boat and bought some epoxy resin for that, I also bought fiber and fabric and I thing it was a very good long lasting solution and looks decent now, but I am painting the whole boat anyway.
The lines of the boat in that spot are exactly the same as the other side but much stiffer, If you consider how much water (trapped in the fiber and the wood) along with the old fiber I took of as weight and compare to about 200 grams of resin, 30 grams of fabric and 20 grams of fiber, I would say I broke even in terms of weight.

Very happy with the results, even though I was a bit scared to be honest.

I will try to get and post a couple of pictures a friend took on the final part of the process if you are interested.

Hope this helps someone since I have had a lot of excellent tips from this forum...

I would be interested in seeing pics. I'm planning on painting the hulls black when all the gouges are filled and the transom is fixed. I'll be researching Paint soon.

chilecat

I recently fixed the same spot and it was a bit tough since it included almost the whole edge. I started by taking out the cracked and weakened material with pliers and then sanded until reaching a very low angle. I reached the wooden support of the gudgeon inside the hull and was a bit put off by the size of the hole I had just made...
I then prepared a bit of thick epoxy resin, soaked pieces of glass fabric in it and filled the gaps inside the hull that I needed to cover to give some support form the inside. I had no access from the inside of course.

To get a thick resin you only have to mix it with the hardener and wait for it to gel enough so it would stay in place without dripping . In my case it was about 4 hours. Next morning I applied more thick resin to finish the inside part and started the exterior reparation. That was more of a standard thing: sandwich of (from inside to outside) glass fabric, epoxy resin glass fiber, epoxy resin, glass fiber and then three layers of epoxy resin. To even the edge I had to apply a bit more thick resin. The last layer of thin resin had the color of the boat mixed into it (close at least) and the thick resin was transparent. Then sanded little by little from big grain sand paper to thin, drilled new holes to put the gudgeon and it was done.

The boat had a crack there since I bought it and when it leaked, I applied sealant or fiber glass repair cement and it resisted for a while, then it lost grip, started leaking, then again, etc.
Since I had to repair a soft spot on the boat and bought some epoxy resin for that, I also bought fiber and fabric and I thing it was a very good long lasting solution and looks decent now, but I am painting the whole boat anyway.
The lines of the boat in that spot are exactly the same as the other side but much stiffer, If you consider how much water (trapped in the fiber and the wood) along with the old fiber I took of as weight and compare to about 200 grams of resin, 30 grams of fabric and 20 grams of fiber, I would say I broke even in terms of weight.

Very happy with the results, even though I was a bit scared to be honest.

I will try to get and post a couple of pictures a friend took on the final part of the process if you are interested.

Hope this helps someone since I have had a lot of excellent tips from this forum...

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Prindle 16
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Sorry, but no pics, apparently he deleted them.
I am also thinking black, but not sure yet... Season is over here anyways so lots of time to decide.
Good luck with your project!

Black might look cool but remember your going to be in the hot sun a lot and black will get hot and also visibility on the water is an important safety measure to keep in mind.

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Dustin Finlinson • Magna, UT
Member: Utah Sailing Association
1982 Prindle 18
1986 Hobie 17
1982 Prindle 16
1980 Prindle 16(mostly)
1976 Prindle 16(mostly)
Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook.
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Yeah, the heat absorption is what worries me the most. Thinking of bright yellow or Ferrari red now...

i went yellow in case i end up adrift...just in case

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Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook!
bill harris
hattiesburg, mississippi
prindle 16- "BLUE RIBBON"
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