Hi Tom,
I'm interested in any and probably all the photos you have on your job and Ti. I've taken some advice from my boat yard that I think may have been more than is need and already started, sorry to say. I temporarily removed some bulkhead to be able to reglass over the hatframe cutout front section and build up to the next ribs on each side of the hatframe, but only on one chainplate. So this would be fiberglassing over the entire hatframe and I'm guessing about a foot or more out forward and aft of the hatframe and about 3-4 inches below. On the opposite side main mast shroud plate I was planning to try removing the backing plate from the bottom of the hatframe, reglassing that area and probably adding some glass over the rest of the hatframe for good measure and out several inches forward and aft.
Correct me if I'm wrong please - It appears in the 1st photo the hatframe is cutout from the side removing the backing plate and filler behind the plate, which is what mine has - a half filled area that seems to be poured resin, which is currently in about 3 block pieces and able to move slightly. I've been told not to pour that much resin as the heat may adversely impact the surrounding existing and/or new glass, so not sure how to replace or add to the existing resin filler. The top half of the area between the hull mold and the backing plate is empty on my boat.
On the second pic - it looks like only the side of the hatframe was reglassed and only a couple of inches past the removed area. What is the black material or coloring and the white area?
It may be helpful for me to talk by phone if okay with you. Is there a private message mechanism for number exchange here? thanks
First: I've never found or seen an Alden hat frame with epoxy used as fill inside. It may have been used to hold the backing plate in place so chain plate attachment later(?)
Hat frames I'm familiar with were formed around an aluminum former that was pulled after the hat frame was cured. The backing plates would have been inserted from the top before the deck was fastened and glassed to the hulls.
This old drawing may have been a mizzen hat frame as it is half the size of my main mast hat frame:
Here is another hat frame cut on a Challenger. Most of these photos were supplied by owners that didn't do the work so the actual process isn't always known:
Then a repaired hat frame that was right next to a glassed in bulkhead.
As long as the hat frame is well bonded to the hull - the glass itself sound and not fractured, and the mating surface of the existing glass properly prepared for adhesion, there is no need to add to the structure of the hat frame. It's load is spread and adhered to the hull lay up.
Here's a hat frame removed on a Mistral. The boat yard wasn't aware of the side incision method. They had to build a whole new hat frame.
In fact, I'm in the process of forming a new one on my boat as the existing was damaged by the rusting backing plate. I plan to put the process, and photos, in a post on the Alden forum as we need that information where others can access it.
Note the layup thickness and structure. That has to be duplicated in either patching a side incision or building a new one. These hat frames are structural girders.
Here is that boatyards built in place hat frame on the Mistral. I believe the boatyard said that was a paint (but it looks like it's in the layup). This yard does extensive glass work.
Do you have any photos of the work you're doing? It would be great to get them posted in this thread for others. Let's try to keep the info here but you can PM me on this forum for contact info.
Pics would be best though, we could spend a lot of time on the phone trying to figure out what a photo would say in a glance.
I plan to install the new backing plate this weekend on my boat, and begin the lay up of the new hat frame.