Looking for what and how much to buy to repair both decks of a P-16. I have read about using West Marine 105 resin, 205 hardener and 404 filler but uncertain how much I need and have also read people using fiberglass resin from wall-mart which is a cheaper cost. Any insight to pro-con would be great.

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Mark

Prindle 16 and Laguna 18DS
Ripon, WI
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Polyester resin has a very shortpot life after you put hardner in. You've just paid $6 for a pair of plastic syringes at West Marine. You open up syringe & pour in resin & inject; takes about a minute. Then you repeat process & resin kicks, ruining syringe & mixed batch of resin. So start over. Epoxy has at least 15 minute pot life--enough to finish the job. Q!uart is all you'll need & be sure to use the 5:1 pumps. Pete

So you use the West Marine products or something else? I need all the specifics. I have heard you are the man when it comes to Prindles. I need to repair complete decks.

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Mark

Prindle 16 and Laguna 18DS
Ripon, WI
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Can you pull the decks off of a Prindle and put them back on? That seems like a monumental task given the cost of most of the P16s out there, and I've never heard of anyone doing it, but if the whole topside is mush it seems like you'd want to pop it off, sand it down, and lay some glass.

The web is FULL of opinions/tips/arguments re: polyester vs epoxy. I'm of the opinion that anyone with a beach cat should have (or have access to) a full West System epoxy set.

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Rob
OKC
Pile of Nacra parts..
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Wests is great because it is easy to use and mix with no trouble with the pumps. I personally had a really hard time getting any resin to inject where I needed it to in my soft spots on my Hobie 17. IT hardened up some but not all the way. Since this way my first attempt at soft spot repair I am a little disappointed as everyone makes it sound so easy. I have not done it one Prindle yet.

Be very careful drilling just barely break through the surface of the first layer. use the drill bit in your fingers to manually go through the foam til get to the inner glass.

I have heard many people really like Git Rot for this because it is much thinner and more penetrating. Others have argued that the act of thinning it makes it weaker. I have not tried it but heard of many who been happy with it.

I think on my Hobie 17 I am looking at sanding down to the glass and maybe putting a couple layers of matte down over it to strengthen it.

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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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I have been following cat repairs for many years, although I haven't done this specific one. I remember reading that some people bend a piece of wire, like coathanger, and slide it into each hole. Twist the wire in the hole and wipe out the foam between the layers. This allows the epoxy to fill the voids better.

The deck one one of my hulls was so bad, I could flex the inner as well as the outer shells. I have used 1 gallon and 1 quart of epoxy resin to do just the tops of two hulls. There were some places where the epoxy leaked into the inside on the hull so if I had been more observant, I probably would have gotten by with just 1 gallon. Some spots didn't get hard with the first application and I drilled more holes in the areas that needed more epoxy injected and injected more epoxy. I mean this hull was as soft as a mattress. It is pretty much solid now. I used a cheap brand of epoxy that I believe is the same as some expensive brand name. I has the color change to red to tell you when the mixing is thorough. I only use the high density filler to make a paste to fill holes that had recesses in the surface after it hardened. Just keep at it.

Anyone use the West System Six10 for delam repairs? I'm looking at fixing some soft spots (one rather large one) in the next couple of weekends and was trying to figure out the best bang for my buck! I would love to know if anyone has used this product yet. Thanks!

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=14969&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&storeId=11151&storeNum=50218&subdeptNum=50219&classNum=50225#showReviews

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- Shaw

1985 Prindle 16

Virginia Beach, VA
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I am using 105 and 206 for my deck and various other repairs. I like the slow set time, it gives the resin a chance to creep into the old foam and glass to give a better bond and I don't have to race to get it all done. With the syringes remember to leave some resin with a wire in it and the next day when it is hard you just pull the wire and the hardend resin pops right out.

On all my other repairs I wet out with the same mix for the same reasons, this will give a better bond.

One of the things you are paying extra for with the West System is its ease of use, to me it is worth the money, one less thing I need to worry about.

good luck
Jim

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Jim
New Orleans

'83 H18 SX mods 2013 -
'65 Lavey Craft 2005 -
'69 Cal 25 1997 - 2001
'80 P16 1980 - 1996
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I use " total boat 1 Gal system " from Jamestown Dist. ( they support this site as well )
Comes complete with mixing buckets, gloves, pumps, resin and hardener. Everything together in one package. ~$80. The 1 gal kit is plenty to do everything on a 16-18' boat. My H16 now has super solid decks, no flex at all that I can find. Prob will flex a little when pushing it hard in heavy winds tho.
I got "slow" cure so it would flow out into all the little nooks and crannies between Fiberglass layers and the work time Is about. 30-45 min before it starts getting hot and hardening.
Tim

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Tim Grover
1996 Hobie Miracle 20
Two Hobie 14's
1983 G-Cat Restored
Memphis TN / North Mississippi
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I had a large area on one of my hulls that needed repaired. I bought a gallon of Bondo brand fiberglass resin for $35, the West marine brand is $120 for the resin and $40 for a qt of hardener, and you need the $28 pumps... Last year I used the Wally world resin and the other hull is rock solid. I can't justify spending the big $$$ on a boat that I paid the same as 3 gallons of West's stuff.



Edited by panic_button on May 04, 2013 - 06:06 PM.

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16' Prindle
Emerald Coast of Florida
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For whatever it is worth West System Epoxy is made by Gougeon Brothers, Inc. and is not a West Marine product. That is why you can get it cheaper everywhere else but West Marine.

Sorry I am just not a West Marine fan, the only reason I will shop their is a very good sale or absolute necessity. Too expensive and way too much Chinese junk!

Jamestown is an excellent company to deal with, but they too can be expensive, but if you buy it from them it is designed for boat use.

Try Amazon, I just bought my last batch of 105 and 206 with free shipping for $92, for a gallon of resin with hardener. You just have to keep watching for a good price.

The Gougeon products are very very good, I have been using them for over 20 years. I have also used System Three in boat applications and both perform in water very well. JMTC



Edited by shipchips1 on May 04, 2013 - 06:39 PM.

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Jim
New Orleans

'83 H18 SX mods 2013 -
'65 Lavey Craft 2005 -
'69 Cal 25 1997 - 2001
'80 P16 1980 - 1996
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i have done large repairs using both west and 3m/bondo...no difference at all. 36 year old beater boat rode hard and put up wet...i try to destroy my 500$ boat and can't...i can't justify west for big delam repairs on antique boats. prindles are always soft on the front decks because people always want to sit/walk on them-don't let them! just make sure you have all prep completed before you start to inject and get after it. the biggest problem with polyester resin is old mek peroxide activator...just buy a new gallon and no problems/old activator doesn't always work. have a couple of syringes ready to go and by the time the first one starts to set up, use another leaving the plunger in the first one. when the second one starts to set up, pull the plunger out of the first one and the excess resin comes with it. i have re-used syringes several times. it's cheap and easy to do these repairs!

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