My "new" baby Nacra 5.8 suffered some minor fiberglass damage over the winter storage. The crease is in a double thick section of the hull. The damage does barely rip into the glass mat. I do not have any fiberglass repair experience. I have searched the the forum but most repairs shown are for large repairs.
With damage of this size can I use filler only?
Or do I need to perform more extensive work?

Thanks.
http://www.thebeachcats.c…ctures/?g2_itemId=108217
http://www.thebeachcats.c…ctures/?g2_itemId=108221



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Marty R.
Nacra 5.8
SE Michigan
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Marty, Welcome to TheBeachcats.com!

I edited your post to make the pictures show. You were using the image tag for a page url which is why nothing was showing. To make the image show you have to use the image tag with the actual address of the image and not the page the image is on.

You can get that in most browsers by right-clicking on the image (make sure it's the full size image and not the thumbnail) and selecting something like "copy image url", or you can use "open image in new tab" and copy the url of that page.

Hope that helps.

As far as your damage, that a pretty healthy crease, we have a lot of fiberglass experts here who should be able to give advice.

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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN

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Mrekker, have 2" rolls of fiberglas tape, email me, but you'll need to buy qt of epoxy & microballoons. You'll need palm sander to finish. Pete

Do NOT just fill that with putty if you want to make a lasting repair.

That looks like pretty extensive damage and you have no way of knowing how deep the damage goes until you start to grind into it. It is impossible for anyone to recommend a repair process based only on that picture because it is very possible that the damage extends into the core and possibly even into the inner layer of glass. You will need to grind away the gelcoat several inches back from the damaged area and inspect closely. I would also do a coin tap test all around the damage to determine where the damaged area begins and ends. It could very well go past what you visually see in that picture and a coin tap test will help you determine the extent of the damage.

The basic repair process is to remove any material that is damaged and continue removing material until you reach un-damaged material. So if the crack is just the gelcoat and the outer skin, then you grind out the gelcoat and outer skin until you reach the core and then start building back up. If the damage extends into the core, then you have to remove core material and then start building back up from there. If the inner skin is cracked too, then you have to go all the way through the core, to the inner skin, reinforce the inside skin and then build the laminate back up from there.

If you're feeling adventurous, then give the repair a go, but its possible that this could end up being a pretty involved repair and if you've never worked with fiberglass before, you may want to have it fixed by a professional, especially if you're looking for a seamless repair. There are a lot of tricks to getting a repair to be both structurally strong and cosmetically acceptable.

sm



Edited by Dogboy on May 22, 2014 - 11:36 AM.

Marty,

SM speaks wisely. If your boat is 1985 or newer, it is foam core, 1984 and back is lay up glass/stringers. The foam core is more involved to do it right.

Do you have insurance?

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Philip
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Marty,

You can have a look at how I repaired mine there:

http://www.thebeachcats.c…ctures/?g2_itemId=106232

Start with the picture 5279 going up to the 5293. Can someone explain me how to sort the pictures?

I am now ready to spread the gelcoat. I'll add the pictures once done.

It is a foam core construction.



Edited by coolhead on May 22, 2014 - 01:55 PM.

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AB
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coolhead

Marty,

You can have a look at how I repaired mine there:

Nice work, and a perfect example of how some damage that doesn't seem too extensive when initially just looking at the external surface can turn into a major repair once you start grinding and digging into it.

sm

Quote

Can someone explain me how to sort the pictures?

It's easy Andre. just log in , then go to where your album is, Tech Tips I think?
See the menu window, just below the thumbnail of your album?
Click on the little triangle, & it will give you more options, the bottom one is "reorder".
Select that,(or you can also access it from the menu on the left side of the screen once you are in the album).
That will give you a bunch of Boolean options, ie photo #xxx before/after yyy.
It is easier to write down the photo #'s, look at the photos, then make a list of the order you want them in, then do the Boolean thing.
Once your done, there will be a "save" box at the bottom.

your repair looks good, as you know prep & organization is the biggest part of the job.



Edited by Edchris177 on May 22, 2014 - 02:47 PM.

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Thank you Edchris. The planning has been the most difficult part since i'm doing that outside and there's not much day warm or dry enough. I'm ready to re-gelcoat the entire hulls but haven't done anything since last weekend because of the weather.

It looks like saturday could be the day. Once the gelcoat is applied ans cured, the weather will have almost no effect on the progress of the job.

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AB
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Thanks for the comments guys.

Andre - that's impressive and certainly beyond my capabilities. Is the extent of the damage due to water getting in and deteriorating the core layer?

Does it make sense to chip the loose pieces away to see how far the damage goes?

If I look for a pro, are there other fiberglass guys other than marine repair? The one marine repair ad I found had a bunch of big yachts which equated to big bucks in my mind.

Thanks again.

Marty

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Marty R.
Nacra 5.8
SE Michigan
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mreckker

Is the extent of the damage due to water getting in and deteriorating the core layer?

Probably that and the shock that cause the damage.

mreckker

Does it make sense to chip the loose pieces away to see how far the damage goes?

I would say it's the only way to go to make a lasting repair. You have to remove all the loose material.



Edited by coolhead on May 22, 2014 - 08:37 PM.

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AB
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I got adventurous and started in on the damage. I was a bit surprised to see how big the area ended up (6x2").

The the core was only damaged at the seam of the dent. This left an irregular bottom.

I bought the rookie fiberglass repair kit from West Marine. I was pleasantly surprised at detail of the kit contents.
The buildup layers went smoothly. I got a bit conservative on the skim coat. I left myself a lot of sanding.


Now I need some finishing tips.

How high do I need to go with the sandpaper grit?
What are my finish options for an area this small?
Paint or gelcoat?
Can I brush on (no sprayer)?
How do I match the hull color (1995 white)?

Thanks for your continued advice.

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Marty R.
Nacra 5.8
SE Michigan
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Marty,

What I understand is you ground the damage area until you reached sound material. After, you layed-up some fiberglass cloth with resin and then you applied the filler.

If that's the case, you're in business. Now, to sand the filler you can start with coarse grit like 60 or 80. Sand it until it's surface is below the level of the gelcoat in the surrounding area to make room for the layer of gelcoat you will apply.

You will have to sand also a 1.5 to 2 inches of the gelcoat around the repair to fair the gelcoat you will apply. To do that, use a 80 to 120 grit sandpaper. After sanding, clean the area with acetone and you are ready to apply the gelcoat.

If you want the repair to be invisible you will have to match the gelcoat color to your boat gelcoat. here's a link explaining how to do that. http://boatworkstoday.com/archives/1512

Once the gelcoat is cured, sand it starting with coarse grit and going finer like 320-600-800-1200 and polishing with compound. 600 and up, sand with water to not clog your paper.

Good luck,



Edited by coolhead on May 29, 2014 - 07:48 AM.

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AB
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Thanks Andre.
Gel coat does not need a high grit sanding underneath - correct?

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Marty R.
Nacra 5.8
SE Michigan
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Anything between 80 and 120 grit will do the job.

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AB
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