Hi all, long time lurker, first time poster looking for a bit of advice.

I'm trying to resurrect a 1980 Prindle 16 with not just delaminated, but in some spots rotten fiberglass. Pretty much the whole top of the right pontoon is delaminating, and once I started drilling holes for exoxy injection, some spots are wet with rot.

So, I think there's really 3 questions:

1) If I let the rot dry, is injection still a viable option?

2) If the above is a yes, there's another problem. In some places the inner skin is either gone or non-existent, so I'd say about 10% of the holes are straight through. What's the strategy with epoxying on top of this? Is it thick enough to not drip into the boat?

3) There's a nice Nacra 5.2 being sold on the same lake my Prindle is moored at for $1500, and I value my time; I think I should just scrap the project and get the Nacra. However, what on earth would I do with a hole-y Prindle?

Thanks!

-Woody

If there is no inner-skin, the project becomes a little more difficult but not impossible. As you may have figured by now, the layup is inner-skin/foam/outer-skin, when delamination occurs, the skins, either the inner or the outer have pulled away from the foam, repair consists of filling the void with the above injection method. If the foam is wet, it must be dried prior to injection, fortunately, the P16 has inspection ports so that will help. But you say the inner-skin is missing, are you able to visually inspect the interior to confirm this?, Fibreglass does not just rot and disappear, yes the foam will get wet if water is entering the boat, but that is not rot, just wet foam. Wet foam can rot if it has been wet long enough. Insert a digital camera and take pics of the inside of the hulls to confirm missing inner-skin

If the inner-skin is missing, you have to use a new strategy, you will have to dis- assemble the hulls, invert hulls and setup on saw-horse. Using gravity as your friend, pour the resin/hardner mix straight into the hulls, the mix should be liquid enough to run across the inside of the hull, raise the stern slightly so that the mix will run down to the bow, once it has covered the area, level the hull and the mix will become self-leveling. You can use this method only if the inside of the hull is clean and free of debris and has been dried out completely.

But first you need to confirm missing inner-skin, it may just have "sagged" so far down that you cannot feel it when inserting a probe. If this is the case, then you will have to pull the inner-skin back into place using sheet metal screws as described on thebeachcats homepage, your screws will be just a little longer than normal........

I had a P16 with the hulls delaminating. I tried to do the injection. Spend a fair amount of money and time without much success. I gave up and purchased a P18 for $2000 that was in very good condition. Based on you assessment of the problem and that you value your time, I would abort and buy the Nagra!

the-rennovator, thanks for the instructions! really helpful in assessing how to move forward... for the next person who wants to take a stab at it :) Going to do what Mike suggests and get the Nacra, assuming it's in good condition (checking it out today).

Now, what to do with a delaminating prindle (the rest of the hulls are good, BTW)? Take it apart and put the parts on craigslist? It does sound like a fun project for someone who has the time, do you think anyone would want to try to restore it, or would everyone have the same assessment?