I’m lowering the mast I crunched part of the sliding hatch. Not bad damage but the sliding hatch was dented with some cracks in the dent, I repaired it just yesterday with 3m premium marine fillet but forgot to epoxy the cracks. Will not expoxing the cracks be a problem. Should I sand it out and expoxy and then refill?
Question on repairing sliding hatch
- Thread starter Erbardy
- Start date
Only you can be the judge if the damage was structural or surface blemish. If you think the structure is still sound then the filling of the cracks and then gel coat on top should be good. Hoping you prepared the area first by opening up the gel coat cracks by a rough sanding, a good cleaning of the area to be repaired with solvent. Then application of the filler with the proper amount of hardener. Note the 3M Premium Filler is a 2 part vinyl-ester resin and fill material. It is like a thickened epoxy premixed in a can.
If the damage was structural then you need to repair the damage and add layers of fiberglass cloth to repair the lost strength. If not with time and flexing or standing on the hatch it will crack again.
If the damage was structural then you need to repair the damage and add layers of fiberglass cloth to repair the lost strength. If not with time and flexing or standing on the hatch it will crack again.
Pay particular attention to what JS said about surface prep. If it is at all dirty, greasy or oily, it won't adhere well. Did you use a degreaser? You may not need to after a good sanding, but it would be a good idea.
At this point in your repair, I'd be more inclined to take a wait-and-see approach. Unless you drop your mast on it again, you might never have another problem with it.
Good luck and great sailing.
-Will (Dragonfly)
At this point in your repair, I'd be more inclined to take a wait-and-see approach. Unless you drop your mast on it again, you might never have another problem with it.
Good luck and great sailing.
-Will (Dragonfly)
Epoxy will degrade in sunlight from UV radiation. So it needs to be painted or gel coated.
