Anyone know what is the bet all around choice to have on hand for the West Systems fillers. I was at west marine getting some stuff to get ready to do some repair work but there were so many I was not sure what was the best to get. I didn't feel I could afford to get multiple ones. Primary use would be thickening for general repairs filler and I guess fairing. The light ones say they are better for sanding but does that mean they are softer and not as durable for say a bottom job. I hear about colloidal which seems kind a middle row and I hear about high density but just don't know what is best for what. I guess what i want to know is if I was to have one on hand for most repairs what would be best.

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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.
--

The cheapest. Try floor dough. Pete

I picked up colloidal silica for the repairs I'm making. It was something like ten bucks for a big can of the stuff. Not sure if I'd use it on a bottom job, but the high density stuff wasn't that much more expensive. Seems easy enough to pick up both if you do a lot of bottom work along with the occasional hole.

Check near the West Systems shelf at West Marine and see if they have the West System User's Manual. It's maybe fifteen pages, and gives a bunch of different examples of repairs, from filling big holes in fiberglass to filling small holes, to bedding fasteners, etc. Each one calls out the filler for that particular job. Some of them are more applicable to boats than others, so some reading between the lines is required. But it helps explain all the fillers and what each one is for.

I checked their web site, and it looks like they have most of the manual in PDF form. But it's a bunch of little PDFs, not one big one.

Tom

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Tom Benedict
Island of Hawaii
P-Cat 18 / Sail# 361 / HA 7633 H / "Smilodon"
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pbegle

The cheapest. Try floor dough. Pete

Ok, never heard of it what is it and where do you get it? google didn't give me much

I don't mind getting one the west ones I just don't want to have to buy several different versions so wondered what was best for all around general use.

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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.
--

Sorry, I meant flour dough, sawdust, any type of cheap filler to fill holes. If it's a serious hole , then cover with couple layers of 2" cloth tape. Sometimes we get too serious with these 30 year old boats. Pete

Several years ago before Performance Catamarans closed there manufacturing in Santa Ana Ca. I had gone to pick up parts and get some help with a very tricky repair to my N5.2, the guy in charge of the fiberglass operation came up front and walked me through the repair and then asked if I wanted to see how the boats were made, SURE !! who would want a tour of the factory, IT WAS GREAT !! One of the things I was very surprised to see how the filling work was done. At the seams where the 2 halves where put together and other minor flaws in the hulls just before the gel coat went on, they would mix up a batch of what was basically BONDO, it wasn't red like the stuff you get in the auto parts store but looked to worked the same, the guy giving me the tour did say that the red bondo would work just fine as a filler for minor imperfections but that it was harder to sand then the product they used. He told me what they used but I don’t remember what it was. I have used thin coats of bondo with gelcoat or paint to seal the repairs on my boats and it has held up fine.

Good Luck !

--
Jeff O
N5.0
solcat 18(sold),
N5.2,
H16
Camarillo CA
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ohmsj

what was basically BONDO, it wasn't red like the stuff you get in the auto parts store but looked to worked the same, the guy giving me the tour did say that the red bondo would work just fine as a filler for minor imperfections but that it was harder to sand then the product they used. He told me what they used but I don’t remember what it was. I have used thin coats of bondo with gelcoat or paint to seal the repairs on my boats and it has held up fine.

Good Luck !

This is the stuff....



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John Schwartz
Ventura, CA
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Good Morning. I've used baby powder. Works well. Sands easily. Smells good. Jim

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Jim Alker Land locked Boise,ID Prindle 18
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pbegle

Sorry, I meant flour dough, sawdust, any type of cheap filler to fill holes. If it's a serious hole , then cover with couple layers of 2" cloth tape. Sometimes we get too serious with these 30 year old boats. Pete

This the only one I very worried about. it is very low on the bottom just a few inches in from the keel on the curved inside of the hull.


Bur I am also gonna do a bottom job soon as well.





Edited by Quarath on Apr 08, 2012 - 02:49 PM.

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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.
--

So if I wanted to lay down a wear trip on my 5.2 (no damage just worn) Can I use the 3M filler and sand or would I do better laying down 2 cloth strips and fiberglassing.

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Nacra 5.2
--

golfdad75

So if I wanted to lay down a wear trip on my 5.2 (no damage just worn) Can I use the 3M filler and sand or would I do better laying down 2 cloth strips and fiberglassing.

Where is the wear strip going?

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John Schwartz
Ventura, CA
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On the bottom of the hulls. Between where it sits on the rollers.

--
Nacra 5.2
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Are there any fibers coming through?

If it it we me I would build it up using cloth and West Systems or any other brand of resin..

--
John Schwartz
Ventura, CA
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On mine you can see in the pic above that pretty much all the gelcoat is worn off of the center section of the keels.

--
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.
--

In my limited experience, wrecking a boat is far more poignant of a concern than wearing through the keel. Go sailing.

--
Rob
OKC
Pile of Nacra parts..
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Water is still very cold here and I don't have a wetsuit that will fit me so I might as well work on it.

--
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.
--

Quote

Try floor dough.

Sorry, I can't delete the post. I also asked what "floor dough" was.



Edited by Edchris177 on Apr 11, 2012 - 03:58 PM.

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Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
--

Quote

This the only one I very worried about.

Dustin, can you reach that hole from a hatch? If so that is a very easy fix. You can see that the integrity of the hull is compromised to the left of the obvious damage. If it can be reached from inside just wipe it with acetone to get rid of any gunk that might affect bonding. Cut out 3 layers of cloth, severl inches larger than the damaged area, stack them & wet out. Reach inside & slap them into place, then gently smooth them out, obviously latex gloves are in order. You will now have strength in the hull, & backing.
Once they set use an angle grinder & carefully grind away the damaged gel coat & fibres from the front side, going no deeper than just so as to touch the patch you put inside. Taper the area you grind, then cut, wet out & place 2 layers of cloth on from the outside. Try to use as little resin as possible, just enough to wet the cloth. You want the final layer to sit 1/8" below the side of the hull. This will give you some room to apply gel coat. If you are not going to gel coat the repair, give light hand sand to smooth things out, then finger wipe a thin resin layer on top to seal any fibres that may have been exposed by sanding, and level the patch with the hull.
You can buy a small gel coat repair kit for about $15. that little area will be easy to gel coat, & the result will not be noticeable from a few feet away. If it is on the inside & funds are tight, don't bother.
The entire job will only take an hour.



Edited by Edchris177 on Apr 11, 2012 - 04:12 PM.

--
Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
--

I have not tried yet find it from the inside yet but based on it's location I think there is a good chance that it can be reached this way if my arms are long enough. I did probe briefly once could not feel anything out of place so i may just have put a line of tape on the outside from it to the deck to help me identify the area. It ma not even be noticeable from the inside at all.

--
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.
--

Well it actually looks like I will not quite be able to reach it from inside the port so I will have to do it blind from the outside. I will get a good light in there and see if I can see any internal damage and maybe see if one my sons can reach it but I don't want have not done well on the inside because it is just out of reach. I'd rather it was done right from the outside. It is a pretty small spot so should not be too bad.

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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.
--

Somewhere, I saw a video of someone building some kind of boat (think it was a kayak) and there are places to put resin and glass that he wasn't able to reach but he used tools on sticks to extend his reach and did a very good job. Maybe make the tools and try them out using acetone for cleaning to make sure they work as you need them to before using resin and glass.