I have an 84 rebel spindrift daysailer 1- recently purchased and have rehabbed it to sailing order. The last thing to deal with is a small crack/gash in the hull about 4" long just above the waterline and had a shotty repair with some sort of cement. What concerns me is the hull is a little soft in this one spot. I was planning on a float test soon. I've never done any kind of hull repair. Is this something I need to address before it goes in the water? How complicated would a repair be (ie is this a boat yard job?)
Soft spot/hull damage
- Thread starter bburke
- Start date
Any chance you could post a photo of the crack?
It doesn't sound that serious to me and I would definitely be doing my own repair. The nature of the repair depends on the nature of the damage.
Fiberglass work isn't that difficult and mistake are easily remedied.
It doesn't sound that serious to me and I would definitely be doing my own repair. The nature of the repair depends on the nature of the damage.
Fiberglass work isn't that difficult and mistake are easily remedied.
Here it is...
[url]http://forums.oday.sailboatowners.com/picture.php?albumid=3662&pictureid=24796[/url]
[url]http://forums.oday.sailboatowners.com/picture.php?albumid=3662&pictureid=24797[/url]
[url]http://forums.oday.sailboatowners.com/picture.php?albumid=3662&pictureid=24796[/url]
[url]http://forums.oday.sailboatowners.com/picture.php?albumid=3662&pictureid=24797[/url]
Whaaaale.... that can certainly be fixed. From the looks of it you have both scrape and crush damage. The crushing would cause the "softness" you detected. At least its above the waterline.
Now - there are many ways you could fix that and no matter how someone tells you to do it someone else will say that's wrong so - just saying.
IF that were mine:
Circle the entire area that is "soft" and adding 2 inches around that, inside and out.
I would then be taking my "boat eater" (grinder with a flap wheel) and start in the center grinding out the bad glass without punching through. The grind area would be deepest near the center where the cracks are getting less deep to the edges until finally at the edges it flush with the hull (approx 12-1 taper). Then I would begin gluing layers of glass in that depression starting with small pieces and getting progressively larger as it is built up. Once its proud of the hull - after curing, grind and sand until fair. Then I would go inside do do something similar but not quite so aggressively or deep.
Use some fairing compound, sand off, Paint her up and call it good. A few hours work for me.
You can google fiberglass lay up techniques - I use polyester resin but many folks will insist that you use epoxy because in my opinion they like to waste money. My boat is made of polyester and is nearly 50 years old and hasn't sunk yet so it can't be all bad.
Just my 2 cents.
Good luck.
Now - there are many ways you could fix that and no matter how someone tells you to do it someone else will say that's wrong so - just saying.
IF that were mine:
Circle the entire area that is "soft" and adding 2 inches around that, inside and out.
I would then be taking my "boat eater" (grinder with a flap wheel) and start in the center grinding out the bad glass without punching through. The grind area would be deepest near the center where the cracks are getting less deep to the edges until finally at the edges it flush with the hull (approx 12-1 taper). Then I would begin gluing layers of glass in that depression starting with small pieces and getting progressively larger as it is built up. Once its proud of the hull - after curing, grind and sand until fair. Then I would go inside do do something similar but not quite so aggressively or deep.
Use some fairing compound, sand off, Paint her up and call it good. A few hours work for me.
You can google fiberglass lay up techniques - I use polyester resin but many folks will insist that you use epoxy because in my opinion they like to waste money. My boat is made of polyester and is nearly 50 years old and hasn't sunk yet so it can't be all bad.
Just my 2 cents.
Good luck.