I need some help in repairing, I have a sol cat 18 and it was damaged on a old dock.need some help in what needs to be done and how to do it. I know that it is hard to tell what need to be done without seeing the boat but any help would be greatly appreciated.

From what I can see is that the hull is fiberglass cloth on the inside with about 1/4 foam in the middle and then gel coat on the outside.

Take some pictures to post so we can have a look. Also Google fiberglass boat repair and you will find lots and lots of options. Youtube is your friend as well. You will need to determine what you can or are willing to spend in supplies. Determine if you can get them local or need to order.

Jamestown distributors has new line boat repair and paint products called Totalboat that looks promising. I have not used any of it but I look forward to hearing from anyone who gives it a try. Looks similar to west systems with pumps for 1:1 mixing and is a bit cheaper.

http://www.jamestowndistr…y=779&refine=1&page=GRID

Jamestown also has a bunch of repair videos that may be helpful.

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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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The great thing about fiberglassing is there is nothing you can put on that you cannot take off. Sandpaper is a wonderful thing.

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Nacra 5.2
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http://www.thebeachcats.c…ctures/?g2_itemId=103424

Those are gouges and can be repaired very quickly, if you're not too concerned with the cosmetics of the boat. There is a product called Solarez, a resin that is activated by UV, goes off in about 3 min once in sunlight. You have to make sure your work surface is level, pour the resin into the gouge, and let the sunlight activate the resin. If you use a strip of plastic as per instructional video, you get a very smooth finish to the resin. The gouges are on the outer skin, seal them and keep sailing.

http://solarez.com/uses/surfboards.html

I will swear by solarez, easy to work with.

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Nacra 5.2
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I disagree with the-renovator about the repair. The pic shows that the hull is damaged through both layers of glass leaving a hole in the hull which creates a structural problem. The damaged area needs to grinded out until you reach the undamaged hull area, then lay a layer of glass on the inside of the hull, then apply multiple layers of 10 oz cloth on the outside until it's even with the hull, then sand and gelcoat.

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Kenny Boudreaux
2010 C2 F18 USA 323
Goodall Design "Southern Area Rep"
Owner of Sailboxes.com
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+1
that area of the cat (i am assuming thats the front 3rd of the cat) handles an extreme amount of twist & torque and a shotty repair could result in catastrophic failure

Quote

The pic shows that the hull is damaged through both layers of glass leaving a hole in the hull which creates a structural problem. The damaged area needs to grinded out until you reach the undamaged hull area, then lay a layer of glass on the inside of the hull, then apply multiple layers of 10 oz cloth on the outside until it's even with the hull, then sand and gelcoa

I agree with Kenny, one thing i found on putting on the inside patch. Cut a small thin piece of cardboard slightly bigger than the cloth. Put masking tale on the cardboard and one you wet the cloth place it on the cardboard. Apply the cloth. The fiberglass will not stick to the tape, and it will be much easier to put on it the cramped porthole space. It goes on smooth . Before I always had problems getting it to stick and smoothing with one hand sight unseen. I ma y even go two pieces on that repair.

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Nacra 5.2
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Hard to say for sure fom the pictures, but the third one- DSCN0856- looks through and through.
If so, it should be laid back up with fiberglass cloth.
If some of the others are only through the outer skin and stop in the foam, they can be strongly patched with Solarez.

Whatever method you use, plan on spending most of your time on preparation. Nothing effects the outcome more than properly preparing the area and materials for the repair. Remove the loose bits and make the mating surfaces inviting to your repair materials by sanding and cleaning them.

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Sheet In!
Bob
_/)_____/)_/)____/)____/)_____/)/)__________/)__
Prindle 18-2 #244 "Wakizashi"
Prindle 16 #3690 "Pegasus" Sold (sigh)
AZ Multihull Fleet 42 member
(Way) Past Commodore of Prindle Fleet 14
Arizona, USA
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judotim

I need some help in repairing,

Fixed your pictures, the problem was that you had used the url of the page the picture was on rather than the url of the actual image. Good luck with the repair, looks like you have some good advice already. L

Look through the Technical Help Albums there are several albums devoted to fixing this kind of damage.

Here's one that fixed even worse damage than you have.
http://www.thebeachcats.c…ctures/?g2_itemId=101703

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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN

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It will help the next guy if you document your repair process with pictures as you go along. Sometimes examples and tutorials from amateurs are more useful for other first timers than examples from experienced pros who are using tools and equipment we all don't have available.

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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN

How To Create Your Signature

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Thanks everyone for the advice I did not know where to start at.Will take pic's as I progress.And thanks Damon for the fix