Well, took the 14.2 out in small craft advisory (winds 20-25, gusts higher) and before I was past the docks on White Rock Lake, my windward sidestay popped. I guess 15 years is all you get of those these days. When the stay popped, my mast, sails, etc. took a dive. Recovered everything fine, but now I've got a hole where the mast step used to be. My question is this: is the core of the 14.2 balsa? Can I simply cut out the damaged part (it's all behind the wave break), match a slightly larger piece of balsa to the original core, and re-set a new mast step? Or, is this beefier wood, and what does the group suggest replacing it with? Any help is appreciated. This happened last summer and I've really got the itch to get wet again... John Mark Connolly
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M
mark v.
john, are ya expirienced!
hows your fiberglass repair skills? balsa core should not be located in an compression zone . this is a straight forward repair but will take some time to do. marine plywood is the core to use.many people will suggest epoxy but this repair does not nesesarily need it . post a responce back if ya want to tackle it.
hows your fiberglass repair skills? balsa core should not be located in an compression zone . this is a straight forward repair but will take some time to do. marine plywood is the core to use.many people will suggest epoxy but this repair does not nesesarily need it . post a responce back if ya want to tackle it.
J
John Mark Connolly
response to Mark's response
Mark, Thanks for the post back. Actually, I also emailed the factory (what could it hurt?), and they kind of sent me the same direction (i.e., marine plyboard). My fiberglass skills are pretty weak, having only done it once before on some repair to the centerboard. I'm not that intimidated by fiberglass in general, after all the process is pretty straightforward, right? I guess aethestics will matter much more on this repair than my previous centerboard repair. Other than grinding it down & painting it, is there much more to it? Should I try to re-gel coat the area prior to painting it?
Mark, Thanks for the post back. Actually, I also emailed the factory (what could it hurt?), and they kind of sent me the same direction (i.e., marine plyboard). My fiberglass skills are pretty weak, having only done it once before on some repair to the centerboard. I'm not that intimidated by fiberglass in general, after all the process is pretty straightforward, right? I guess aethestics will matter much more on this repair than my previous centerboard repair. Other than grinding it down & painting it, is there much more to it? Should I try to re-gel coat the area prior to painting it?
M
mark v.
paint/gelcoat
if there is no paint now you should regelcoat the area and it is a very simple process.as far as the repair goes i would remove the splash gaurd first as to facilitate the repair. a small #1 sredriver to split open the teak bung and remove the fastners inside.what type of opening into the bow do you have? mine is the fiberglass box and cannot be removed, i have my ideas on how to fix this problem on my boat if this happens to me and there ugly!! you will need to bevel back the repair area and the best tool for this is a makita 4" disc grinder because of the size of the repair area- most tool rental places will have these. as to putting the ply in place making a mixture of laminating resin and a filler like collidial filler available from west marine, even bondo would work because your just trying to hold the wood in place.take the grinder and bevel back the fiberglass all the way around the hole...is it a clean break? or did the glass tear in the direction the mast fell? either way you want a good bevel so the new glass will have a good surface to bond to,as with alot og things prep is the key.when the time comes to start laying the glass in the repair area you will have some rough areas. just as your ready to go , you've got your fiberglass [mat 3/4 oz.-6 or 8 oz. cloth] cut and waiting , resin catalyzd gloves on etc... mix up a small amount of bondo ,under catalyze it so it slowly cures. spread it around on the areas that are rough as these will be ares that will be bubbles you wont be able to get rid of. apply the bondo spareingly do not over do it. when done brush on a coat of resin and lay down the mat , soak it with resin .using the tip of the brush work out the bubbles. next apply a single layer of cloth let the resin in the mat soak into it don't wet it first this will help to keep the repair resin lean not resin rich.apply a second sheet /layer of cloth when done with the first one .you'll probably need to apply some resin to get it all wet. let this layer dry and lightly grind the new glass when you can. lay down anther mat/cloth combo this time cutting your patches smaller continue this untill you get it just about flush to where it should be the you can apply a marine filler like evercoat putty it works just like bondo[ use evercoat anywhere ive said bondo] you'll need to give the repair a good ginding to get it sorta flush then applie a coat of putty over the entire repair take an orbital sander with 60 grit and sand the piss outa the repair! you'll probably need to put down a lightcoat of putty at this point. and orbital sand it with 80 or 100 grit. try to keep the repair inside the 'triangle' area that the mast base was previously sitting on as this will help when spraying the gelcoat.that part is gonna be in chapter 2. remember to wear long sleeves and a filter to breath through.cold water to wash skin if you get dust on it and roll mask tape backwards- sticky side out to help get any dust off you also.......have fun, i'll watch this site to see how your doing
if there is no paint now you should regelcoat the area and it is a very simple process.as far as the repair goes i would remove the splash gaurd first as to facilitate the repair. a small #1 sredriver to split open the teak bung and remove the fastners inside.what type of opening into the bow do you have? mine is the fiberglass box and cannot be removed, i have my ideas on how to fix this problem on my boat if this happens to me and there ugly!! you will need to bevel back the repair area and the best tool for this is a makita 4" disc grinder because of the size of the repair area- most tool rental places will have these. as to putting the ply in place making a mixture of laminating resin and a filler like collidial filler available from west marine, even bondo would work because your just trying to hold the wood in place.take the grinder and bevel back the fiberglass all the way around the hole...is it a clean break? or did the glass tear in the direction the mast fell? either way you want a good bevel so the new glass will have a good surface to bond to,as with alot og things prep is the key.when the time comes to start laying the glass in the repair area you will have some rough areas. just as your ready to go , you've got your fiberglass [mat 3/4 oz.-6 or 8 oz. cloth] cut and waiting , resin catalyzd gloves on etc... mix up a small amount of bondo ,under catalyze it so it slowly cures. spread it around on the areas that are rough as these will be ares that will be bubbles you wont be able to get rid of. apply the bondo spareingly do not over do it. when done brush on a coat of resin and lay down the mat , soak it with resin .using the tip of the brush work out the bubbles. next apply a single layer of cloth let the resin in the mat soak into it don't wet it first this will help to keep the repair resin lean not resin rich.apply a second sheet /layer of cloth when done with the first one .you'll probably need to apply some resin to get it all wet. let this layer dry and lightly grind the new glass when you can. lay down anther mat/cloth combo this time cutting your patches smaller continue this untill you get it just about flush to where it should be the you can apply a marine filler like evercoat putty it works just like bondo[ use evercoat anywhere ive said bondo] you'll need to give the repair a good ginding to get it sorta flush then applie a coat of putty over the entire repair take an orbital sander with 60 grit and sand the piss outa the repair! you'll probably need to put down a lightcoat of putty at this point. and orbital sand it with 80 or 100 grit. try to keep the repair inside the 'triangle' area that the mast base was previously sitting on as this will help when spraying the gelcoat.that part is gonna be in chapter 2. remember to wear long sleeves and a filter to breath through.cold water to wash skin if you get dust on it and roll mask tape backwards- sticky side out to help get any dust off you also.......have fun, i'll watch this site to see how your doing
M
mark v.
forgot to add
you want to put putty on the ply once its cut to size and put it in place on the under side of the hole you could put a stick on the outside with a drywall screw through it going into the plywood this will apply upwards pressure on the plywood until the putty 'kicks' don't put too much downward pressure on the wood while grinding as the putty does not have a great bond
you want to put putty on the ply once its cut to size and put it in place on the under side of the hole you could put a stick on the outside with a drywall screw through it going into the plywood this will apply upwards pressure on the plywood until the putty 'kicks' don't put too much downward pressure on the wood while grinding as the putty does not have a great bond
J
John Mark Connolly
Thanks Mark!!
I don't know when I'll get to it, but your advice is greatly appreciated. I've got a new baby around the house, and between the infant, the 3-yr. old, grad school, oh yeah, and my day job, time is kind of short. But, this sounds like a great project to do since it's gotten good and hot down here. FYI, I've got one of the early boats, so the cuddy is completely open. The only problem is that the teak door (which never really shut well in the first place) long since bit the dust. Once I get her closer to the water, I'll screw with putting on a new door. The break wasn't clean, but I was going to get a circular saw and make it neat before fitting any new plywood to it. Also, I was going to make the new piece slightly thicker (1/2" maybe) and larger than the hole so there would be some overlap. The orig. rip didn't get outside the V area, but it is almost touching the teak just over the cuddy opening. I'll probably just take that off as well while I'm at it. Thanks again for the advice!! john mark
I don't know when I'll get to it, but your advice is greatly appreciated. I've got a new baby around the house, and between the infant, the 3-yr. old, grad school, oh yeah, and my day job, time is kind of short. But, this sounds like a great project to do since it's gotten good and hot down here. FYI, I've got one of the early boats, so the cuddy is completely open. The only problem is that the teak door (which never really shut well in the first place) long since bit the dust. Once I get her closer to the water, I'll screw with putting on a new door. The break wasn't clean, but I was going to get a circular saw and make it neat before fitting any new plywood to it. Also, I was going to make the new piece slightly thicker (1/2" maybe) and larger than the hole so there would be some overlap. The orig. rip didn't get outside the V area, but it is almost touching the teak just over the cuddy opening. I'll probably just take that off as well while I'm at it. Thanks again for the advice!! john mark
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