I'm a rookie boat owner and noticed this unidentified stuff, presumably some sort of epoxy, at the tip of the bow under the waterline. It's not big, only about an inch or two long. I bought the boat at the end of last September two weeks before haul-out for the winter. When I noticed the goop, I asked the previous owner if he know what it was and he had only had the boat one season and didn't know anything about it. I'm nervous to start grinding it down since I have no fiberglass repair experience and intentionally putting a hole in the new boat is a bit outside my comfort zone. Any ideas?
Mystery Mastic
- Thread starter jdrutten
- Start date
That looks like it was done by someone with less experience than you claim. Is it hard like epoxy would be? You could just fair it in, but I would be inclined to dig it out and do it right. There are loads of YouTube videos on how to do this and it is pretty easy. Like Jon said “ welcome to the world of fibreglass boats”
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,971
Welcome to the SBO forum @jdrutten. As Jon has said this may be the first of many repairs. New to sailing boat owners usually get a more serious baptism. This looks like a good learning project.
First thing to do is look at other Hunter 306's and build an understanding of their shape and what the should look like in that section of the bow. You can do that on line. Here is a basic structure look..
The shape should be a smooth curved line, no goop sticking out.
You can see the outside. Now you need to look at the inside. Dig down and crawl up into the bow with a good bright flashlight. See what it should look like. It should be the same from the top to the bottom of the bow. If you see goop sticking out there, it means something or some one hit the bow of the boat and did a poor job of fixing it. Lazy or in a hurry.
You will want to get all of the goop out of the bow, outside and in if there is any. Once back to bare fiberglass you can rebuild the shape and patch the bow with thickened epoxy and layers of glass as needed.
You'll will build up the area with a little more than needed, then sand it back smooth, being sure to have several layers (depending how extensive the job is) woven glass as a patch.
It is a job an average DIY guy owner can do. Once you get the repair done then yo can talk about making it pretty. This may be below the water line which would make it a lot less critical to may pretty. It would need to be serviceable and then covered with bottom paint.
A good guy to watch on Youtube is Andy at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0kDqq-pSzdqFUk3oTaHBuA
He is a very talented teacher of boat repair.
First thing to do is look at other Hunter 306's and build an understanding of their shape and what the should look like in that section of the bow. You can do that on line. Here is a basic structure look..
The shape should be a smooth curved line, no goop sticking out.
You can see the outside. Now you need to look at the inside. Dig down and crawl up into the bow with a good bright flashlight. See what it should look like. It should be the same from the top to the bottom of the bow. If you see goop sticking out there, it means something or some one hit the bow of the boat and did a poor job of fixing it. Lazy or in a hurry.
You will want to get all of the goop out of the bow, outside and in if there is any. Once back to bare fiberglass you can rebuild the shape and patch the bow with thickened epoxy and layers of glass as needed.
You'll will build up the area with a little more than needed, then sand it back smooth, being sure to have several layers (depending how extensive the job is) woven glass as a patch.
It is a job an average DIY guy owner can do. Once you get the repair done then yo can talk about making it pretty. This may be below the water line which would make it a lot less critical to may pretty. It would need to be serviceable and then covered with bottom paint.
A good guy to watch on Youtube is Andy at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0kDqq-pSzdqFUk3oTaHBuA
He is a very talented teacher of boat repair.
Incredible. I step away to jump in the shower and come back to three replies already! Thanks!!
The goop is rock hard and the boat was still floating when I bought it.
My original thought was just to sand it down, but then I worried that I might disturb it and get a rude surprise when it gets back in the water. But it sounds like I may need to fully grind it out and patch it properly. I do appreciate the encouragement. I'll try to get a better look inside. It's right at the tip of the bow so hopefully the v-berth doesn't give me too much trouble and I won't need to start tearing things apart. But I guess I know what I'm doing for Easter now!
The goop is rock hard and the boat was still floating when I bought it.
My original thought was just to sand it down, but then I worried that I might disturb it and get a rude surprise when it gets back in the water. But it sounds like I may need to fully grind it out and patch it properly. I do appreciate the encouragement. I'll try to get a better look inside. It's right at the tip of the bow so hopefully the v-berth doesn't give me too much trouble and I won't need to start tearing things apart. But I guess I know what I'm doing for Easter now!
It may be something someone just smeared there when it was on the hard. Assuming none found inside, of start by grinding it off and see what it looks like.
Ken
Ken
Or it might have been an underwater repair. There are goops that set up underwater.
Welcome to the forum,
Looks like some of that “as seen on TV” glop for coating screen replacing the bottom of aluminum rowboats.
Seriously, I would second the idea of getting a look at the inside. It appears to be a hasty last minute in water repair. I would try grinding it back. If its soft, get it all out and repair properly. It does not appear to be structural.
Looks like some of that “as seen on TV” glop for coating screen replacing the bottom of aluminum rowboats.
Seriously, I would second the idea of getting a look at the inside. It appears to be a hasty last minute in water repair. I would try grinding it back. If its soft, get it all out and repair properly. It does not appear to be structural.
If it’s rock hard it could be that two-part repair putty sold under a variety of names. West Marine sells it in 4 oz tubes as “Epoxy Putty Stick” for emergency repairs. Also sold as “Mighty Putty.” Comes as a stick of putty wrapped in a green sheath which is held inside a plastic storage tube. You open the tube and slice off a chunk of the stick (like cutting a sausage) and then knead the green sheath part with the putty under some water until it’s well mixed. Then apply the putty to the hole. It hardens when wet to the color as in your pictures. Looks just like it. It’s grindable and sandable, etc. I’ve used it and keep a stick on the boat; works well. But it’s hard to imagine anyone leaving it that way if applied from the outside.
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I was able to get to the boat today to try to get a better look. Unfortunately, the v-berth is well sealed up and I can't make much sense of what I see. So I know that there was some anchor locker repair that was done previously. There's an anchor locker drain that goes to the starboard side of the bow. But inside in the v-berth, there looks like some other drain but I don't know where it's coming from since the anchor locker is sealed up from the v-berth. Most surprising is what looks like a trail of pooled epoxy coming from the v-berth drain down towards the water tank, and another epoxy trail from the anchor locker drain to the outside of the hull. The outside epoxy trail goes from the anchor locker drain to the spot of the goop from the original post at the tip of the bow. What?!?! I ground down the goop with a dremel and then a little sanding. It doesn't seem to look too bad from what I can tell. I've attached a couple photos. I can only assume that the first level repair of the anchor locker consisted of a failed attempt at dumping a bunch of unthickened epoxy in the hopes that it would plug whatever hole was there. I still have no idea what the goop was or why it was there, but I'm inclined to believe that it was some sort of "Epoxy Putty Stick" as mentioned. But I'm still pretty confused as to what must've happened.
Attachments
I'm pretty confused about a few of the photos. What is the first picture that has a rope at the top? It seems obvious that it is the bow, but is it in the anchor locker or in front of the anchor locker? There is daylight just above what looks like a floor of some kind. Exactly what is that compartment and why is there daylight? It doesn't look like the daylight is related to the repair, it must be well above waterline. I also see what looks like 2 bolts, but I don't see a bow eye. Is this whole thing directly under the stem fitting? I'm most curious about where the daylight is coming from. I've seen fiberglass that is almost transparent in corner locations. Perhaps this is the case. It looks like the bottom could be the floor of the anchor locker, but the daylight in that location makes absolutely no sense to me. It looks like it is a hole in the bow above the waterline. There must be some explanation for this.
So the next photo is obviously interior at the bow. Is it under the anchor locker? The hoses make me think this is just underneath the v-berth platform so it must be near the waterline. The bulkhead reinforces the anchor locker, perhaps? The limber hole appears to allow water to drain toward the bilge. This makes sense. It is stained because it is dirty, stagnant water, I think. It doesn't look like a trail of epoxy to me, but I can't touch it to know if it is just a dirty stain or something different. I'd suggest that it is just a dirty stain, which is very common in older boats. I assume that the water might originate above the water line, perhaps at the deck joint. My previous boat had some daylight just under the deck joint, right under the stem fitting. When water splashes over the bow, as it would in steep waves & headwinds, I'm sure some water got inside and needed to drain to the bilge.
I'm only familiar with anchor lockers that are entirely encased at the bottom and sides and virtually water tight except from above. That appears to be the case, obviously, because you have a locker drain. The drain fitting is probably connected to a hose, which is in turn connected to a fitting at the base of the locker. Again, the stain just looks like it's from dirty water. I mean, you are on the Mississippi and the anchor drags up mud, does it not? The trail is simply from drainage that is never cleaned off. I don't see how these stains are connected in any way to the ugly repair, but you haven't really defined the relative positions of any of these features other than we can see that the anchor drain is well above the waterline and the ugly repair is below the waterline.
You did a nice job grinding the repair. I suspect that the previous owner wasn't very careful about nosing his boat into places and receiving some chips in the gelcoat in the process. It looks like there were other repairs made with some gray epoxy that have been sanded smooth in the past. The bow surely has some serious structural thickness with built-up fiberglass. These reinforced areas can usually take some abuse without any structural damage. The gelcoat breaks off quite easily. I suspect that the repairs have been made with epoxy sticks that are commonly available. If your boat sits in the water without leaking, I would be inclined to be not so worried about an ugly gel coat repair below the water surface. Smooth it out and paint the bottom. If you can't explain water that finds it's way to the bilge, when you are just sitting in the water and it's not raining, then I would look into the repair area as a possible source. But if the boat can sit in the water and stay dry, no worries.
So the next photo is obviously interior at the bow. Is it under the anchor locker? The hoses make me think this is just underneath the v-berth platform so it must be near the waterline. The bulkhead reinforces the anchor locker, perhaps? The limber hole appears to allow water to drain toward the bilge. This makes sense. It is stained because it is dirty, stagnant water, I think. It doesn't look like a trail of epoxy to me, but I can't touch it to know if it is just a dirty stain or something different. I'd suggest that it is just a dirty stain, which is very common in older boats. I assume that the water might originate above the water line, perhaps at the deck joint. My previous boat had some daylight just under the deck joint, right under the stem fitting. When water splashes over the bow, as it would in steep waves & headwinds, I'm sure some water got inside and needed to drain to the bilge.
I'm only familiar with anchor lockers that are entirely encased at the bottom and sides and virtually water tight except from above. That appears to be the case, obviously, because you have a locker drain. The drain fitting is probably connected to a hose, which is in turn connected to a fitting at the base of the locker. Again, the stain just looks like it's from dirty water. I mean, you are on the Mississippi and the anchor drags up mud, does it not? The trail is simply from drainage that is never cleaned off. I don't see how these stains are connected in any way to the ugly repair, but you haven't really defined the relative positions of any of these features other than we can see that the anchor drain is well above the waterline and the ugly repair is below the waterline.
You did a nice job grinding the repair. I suspect that the previous owner wasn't very careful about nosing his boat into places and receiving some chips in the gelcoat in the process. It looks like there were other repairs made with some gray epoxy that have been sanded smooth in the past. The bow surely has some serious structural thickness with built-up fiberglass. These reinforced areas can usually take some abuse without any structural damage. The gelcoat breaks off quite easily. I suspect that the repairs have been made with epoxy sticks that are commonly available. If your boat sits in the water without leaking, I would be inclined to be not so worried about an ugly gel coat repair below the water surface. Smooth it out and paint the bottom. If you can't explain water that finds it's way to the bilge, when you are just sitting in the water and it's not raining, then I would look into the repair area as a possible source. But if the boat can sit in the water and stay dry, no worries.
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That streak from the clam shell fitting is not from the anchor locker. [IMG-2046]
That is the drain from the Bow hatch that covers the Anchor Locker.
That drain is important to stay clean and open, to drain bow waves and rain fall, overboard.
The clam shell fitting is designed and directional pointed to prevent back flow from bow waves.
Never let that drain plug and overflow into your anchor chain/rode closet/locker.
Jim...
That is the drain from the Bow hatch that covers the Anchor Locker.
That drain is important to stay clean and open, to drain bow waves and rain fall, overboard.
The clam shell fitting is designed and directional pointed to prevent back flow from bow waves.
Never let that drain plug and overflow into your anchor chain/rode closet/locker.
Jim...
How deep would the "bow hatch" be? I would expect that 61900 looks like it might be the "bow hatch". I don't understand the daylight, though. Is it a drain directly beneath the stem fitting? (We can't see from the photo). That clam shell looks to me that it is about the same location above the waterline as my anchor locker drain (my boat is more similar in size).
I speak about Hunter boat design and confirmed that with Hunter 1 to One service Available on SBO.
Mine hatch drain was damaged this year and must be repaired.
You can confirm your design by testing it with shore water hose, like rain fall on the weather deck.
I inspect and clean mine each season.
Hunter designed a drainage canal, that the edges of the hatch fit into. Thus water entering the hatch edges flow into that canal and overboard.
Jim...
PS: My anchor locker does drain to my main bilge. Hopefully not a normal thing, since continued water on your anchor chain will destroy it.
Dry anchor chain, little corrosion.
Holy smokes! Your anchor locker drains into the bilge! That seems crazy to me. Perhaps it's more common with larger boats that have a need for much deeper lockers. Mine has an overboard drain, as did my previous boat. I can't imagine washing down the chain and having all that water and mud going to the bilge! I do have to rod out the drain hose with a flexible wire occasionally to keep it clear. I still don't understand the daylight in Photo 61900.
Sorry for the photo ambiguities. 61900 is a photo from the deck looking down into the anchor locker. The two bolts are from the stem fitting. I'm not sure I'm understanding the distinction between "anchor locker" and "bow hatch." I only have one compartment/locker at the bow, so are these terms interchangeable for my boat? Or are you saying that the bow hatch (i.e. anchor locker hatch), channels collected water halfway down the starboard side of the bow to the clamshell?
The sunlight seen in 61900 is coming in from what I believe to be a drain which is covered by the clamshell which can be seen at IMG-2046, but I guess I may be mistaken on that. IMG-2040 is under the v-berth platform and is beneath or maybe just aft of the anchor locker. The hoses are water fill and tank vent. Both the streaks under the v-berth as well as on the hull are definitely some kind of flexible epoxy/sealant. The epoxy streak under the v-berth sits over the top of a dirty streak, so there's definitely been some stagnant drainage from there. In fact, I can lift up the trail as one long flexible strip. I haven't tried to fully remove it yet.
And here's where my limited experience has me a bit confused. Because it looks like the daylight seen at the bottom of the anchor locker is draining out to the starboard clamshell, but I don't understand the limber hole under the v-berth platform. But I guess it could be from the anchor locker? That would certainly explain where the dirty v-berth streak is coming from. But then I don't understand where the daylight's coming from. And most importantly, why are there leftover trails of epoxy coming from everywhere? So confused!!! I attached a shot of the previously damaged anchor locker in case that helps the context at all (of course the anchor line is conveniently covering the spot where the drain might be).
Maybe I'll have to check-in with Hunter 1 to One to see what I might have going on!
The sunlight seen in 61900 is coming in from what I believe to be a drain which is covered by the clamshell which can be seen at IMG-2046, but I guess I may be mistaken on that. IMG-2040 is under the v-berth platform and is beneath or maybe just aft of the anchor locker. The hoses are water fill and tank vent. Both the streaks under the v-berth as well as on the hull are definitely some kind of flexible epoxy/sealant. The epoxy streak under the v-berth sits over the top of a dirty streak, so there's definitely been some stagnant drainage from there. In fact, I can lift up the trail as one long flexible strip. I haven't tried to fully remove it yet.
And here's where my limited experience has me a bit confused. Because it looks like the daylight seen at the bottom of the anchor locker is draining out to the starboard clamshell, but I don't understand the limber hole under the v-berth platform. But I guess it could be from the anchor locker? That would certainly explain where the dirty v-berth streak is coming from. But then I don't understand where the daylight's coming from. And most importantly, why are there leftover trails of epoxy coming from everywhere? So confused!!! I attached a shot of the previously damaged anchor locker in case that helps the context at all (of course the anchor line is conveniently covering the spot where the drain might be).
Attachments
Perhaps a photo from above the anchor locker would help put the close ups into context. The same for the v-berth. It would seem the clamshell drain indeed drains the anchor locker. The limber hole under the v-berth wold seem to drain the space under the anchor locker and forward of the v-berth. Perhaps the damage at the bow had allowed seawater to enter the bow space and drain through the limber hole.