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How to Fix a Large Hole in Fiberglass?
cjmcfall	#1  Posted on 12/13/10 - 8:54 AM
Member Posts: 15 Comments: 0 Joined: 11/15/10	Due to an unfortunate event, I know have a large circular hole in the sole of my 13'. The hole is the exact shape as my orbital sander..........to make a long story short, I was sanding the gel coat when the power went out, I didn't turn off the sander so when the power came back on the sander kept sanding. It sanded through the gel coat and some of the glass and was starting on the foam. On the bright side, there was no fire and I now know the foam on the floor is dry. My thoughts for repair are as follows: use glass mat and west system to repair the large areas, then use a waterproof long-strand filler to fair the surface. Can I just build the glass back up like this? I will probably be going with an Ultra TUFF surface because this is a camp boat and it will take a lot of future abuse. Any other suggestions for repairing this stupid mistake?? Other than this issue, the restoration project is coming along great!! Here is the pic: [IMG]http://i892.photobucket.com/albums/ac126/cjmcfall/Whaler/SoleHole.jpg[/IMG] http://s892.photobucket.com/albums/ac...ll/Whaler/
captnickm	#2  Posted on 12/13/10 - 12:23 PM
Member Personal Page Posts: 64 Comments: 0 Joined: 11/30/10	That sounds about right. Grind the fiberglass down so it tapers to the center of the hole. You should use at least 3 layers of glass. Once you sand it down you can get out all the imperfections and texture it with marine bondo. I had a monster hole in the bottom of my 15 when I bought it and repaired using west system and glass. I have some pics of the repair in my personal paig under my photobucket link. Nick - 19' Outrage II
cjmcfall	#3  Posted on 12/13/10 - 12:32 PM
Member Posts: 15 Comments: 0 Joined: 11/15/10	Have you seen any issues with the long-strand bondo "wicking" any moisture? The type I am using says "waterproof" on the can, but just curious?!
doshill246	#4  Posted on 12/13/10 - 12:46 PM
Member Posts: 20 Comments: 1 Joined: 02/28/10	If you look at the West System website you can download some information in how to repair holes in fibreglass.
captnickm	#5  Posted on 12/13/10 - 2:15 PM
Member Personal Page Posts: 64 Comments: 0 Joined: 11/30/10	cjmcfall wrote: Have you seen any issues with the long-strand bondo "wicking" any moisture? The type I am using says "waterproof" on the can, but just curious?! The only bondo that I have used is Boatyard Bondo. It works great for me. You can also ad some 404 or 405 filler in your westsystem. Nick - 19' Outrage II
Finnegan	#6  Posted on 12/13/10 - 3:37 PM
Member Posts: 1926 Comments: 16 Joined: 05/02/08	Use polyester resin, not West System Epoxy, and follow Boston Whaler's instructions published here: http://continuouswave.com/whaler/refe...tions.html
thegage	#7  Posted on 12/13/10 - 4:18 PM
Member Personal Page Posts: 341 Comments: 1 Joined: 06/25/09	Everyone has their preference. I'd rather work with West epoxy than polyester resin. John K. John Kittredge 1991 16 SL - 2013 E-TEC 90
Bake	#8  Posted on 12/13/10 - 5:05 PM
Member Personal Page Project Albums Posts: 902 Comments: 8 Joined: 01/30/06	Wow that's wild I can't believe it did not just run all over the floor rather than finding a place to bore a hole. any way you sound like you have a good handle on it but I would now worry about leaving room for fairing. after you sand the edges to a bevel you can fill with mat and raisin to the finish floor. if you plan to go over it with the ultra tuff no need to fair to perfection.
cjmcfall	#9  Posted on 12/13/10 - 5:26 PM
Member Posts: 15 Comments: 0 Joined: 11/15/10	Yeah, it's too bad it didn't just sand off all of the non-slip or even the gel coat. Maybe that should be my "million dollar invention". A Roomba Sander.....set it and forget it. Speaking of Ultra Tuff, what is your opinion on the original non-slip finish, can I just coat right over it? I don't really want to sand it all down if I am going to just cover it up with a thick finish.
Blake Whitney	#10  Posted on 12/13/10 - 5:36 PM
Member Personal Page Posts: 113 Comments: 3 Joined: 12/19/06	I think you might be on to somthin' I'll take the first Roomba! If you are going with the bedliner concept I would just scrub it down and coat it...no need to hafe it perfedctly smooth. The coating should simply fill in the nonskid