Have you exposed your gel coat?

[25yearslater]

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/polyester-over-epoxy Here is a link that should dispell the myth of using gelcoat over epoxy. My own boat is now 1 year into active use with temperature ranges from -10 to 98 degrees farenheit having used this technique and no delamination or other adverse outcomes.

 

[monkeybars]

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/polyester-over-epoxy Here is a link that should dispell the myth of using gelcoat over epoxy. My own boat is now 1 year into active use with temperature ranges from -10 to 98 degrees farenheit having used this technique and no delamination or other adverse outcomes.

This is one of those old myths from thirty years ago in the infancy of marine epoxies that just will not die. I see it almost every day on one forum or another warning others that epoxy-polyester bonding wont work. Even with most of the suppliers stating their products are compatible the false advise still is propagated.

 

[Chris Patterson]

I gotta admit, that was an eye-opener of an article. I really should spend more time reading those technical briefs, because I myself have long said and thought the same thing. It rarely bothers me much being wrong on an opinion, because after awhile you start to get used to being wrong.
Besides the utter arrogance and ego's that will not let some personalities do this, bone-headedness dictates well here, (me), too..
But as others have also done, and true it emphatically does say on some poly products not to do this, maybe the poly research being the almost ancient technology it is, testing is less common. West seems to have covered this well. Even on the yard we rarely use poly's except on large deck pours, ie: removing the teak off of the decks of these poorly built oriental boats, because of the adhesion 'myths'. (20 gallon mixes can get prohibitively expensive quick). Our number one body man almost refuses to use poly for this reason, myself included, for the uncertainty of not knowing if there has been epoxy used there before, and failures are really not part of our long term strategy for repairs. Flat unacceptable would be a closer mentality.
I guess that is why I just asked about how the gelcoat went over the epoxy as opposed to simply stating that it would not work..

Myths die hard, huh?

Good info.

 

[25yearslater]

Agreed monkeybars. One advantage of using gelcoat over epoxy is the ability to recreate original nonskid deck areas in gelcoat after recoring or repairing using one of the various molds commercially available. In my case the Oday basket weave pattern is so fine that painting over an epoxy substrate would have rendered it useless or resorting to another method such as Kiwigrip destroying any chance at an original condition restoration.

 

[25yearslater]

You are not completely wrong Chris. If the epoxy isn't PROPERLY prepared a craptastic job is in the making. The removal of ALL amines and providing 'tooth' for the gelcoat adhesion is the deal breaker.

 

[Chris Patterson]

Craptastic. HAAHA, I love it Joe. Haven't heard that, but now it's part of my cynical vocabulary.

 

[PSR]

Getting better....

In the 3 weeks since this thread started, my C27 has finally started to get to a finished bottom. A rare cold snap in N. California slowed the work by extending the curing time for various things. I'm confident that the hull is good for another 30+ years now, and in a few days, it will look very pretty too. Then we can go back to the other work--repairing spider cracks in the cockpit, checking shaft alignment, rewiring the motor to a new panel, etc.

Here she is as I left her in the shop last Friday:

There's a white stripe in the boot stripe hiding beneath masking tape in the photo. The stripes are color matched to Sunbrella burgundy through the RAL color identification system.

The experiences shared here have been very informative--thanks! I learned much from my experience and from yours that probably would have at least slowed me down when buying a 30+ year old boat. With respect to cost, Thomas, owner of the marine service where the work on my boat is being done, says with some confidence that the rule of thumb is that to put an old boat into truly seaworthy condition will cost $1000 per foot. Even at that cost, since truly seaworthy means as good as new (or better), the old boat is cost-effective relative to a similar new one. This is if you want to keep the old boat for a good long time, not flip to another boat. Obviously the cost of all the work could not be recouped in a sale. Just have to take pleasure in knowing your boat is safe and sound, and take pleasure in the sailing. At the beginning of the hull work, Thomas asked me if I intended to keep my boat for a good long time, since decisions about what to do on the hull should take that into account. I'm quite happy with the Catalina 27 for what will be mostly single-handed sailing as I grow older. Too bad I can't get back to like new condition for $1K per foot! If I could, I might hope to last as long as my boat will....

Fair winds for 2014!!

 

[25yearslater]

She's a beauty PSR. The $1000/foot rule is pretty accurate. That is just about what I spent to recycle YOT my Oday 27. Of course I went silly as I stripped to bare hull and replaced everything or at least worked on it at some point. Both our experiences as well as many others indicate what can be done without the typical $3000/foot of a new boat. Someone considering a DIY boat in better shape than mine could conceivably trim the cost to $500/foot or less. As you have also demonstrated sailing doesn't have to be a pastime of the wealthy only.

 

[PSR]

Hull problems now sealed with barrier coat

One more photo of the slow progress to re-launching:

Here she has about 4 coats of Interlock 2000 barrier coat over the gel coat. The bottom will be painted with Interlux Micron Plus in Shark white. That's the only step left for the hull below the waterline. I'm happy my boat has come out as pretty as those you all have shown me in the after photos.