Trailer to hull damage
06Rinker270
Member Posts: 1,277 ✭✭✭
I had my boat hauled out a few weeks back using a hydraulic trailer. It ending up putting a few large gouges in the hull. My tech, who I trust, told me I can use some sort of fiber glass puddy filler and then bottom paint over it. This worries me that that is not an adequate fix. I will post pictures later. I really dont want to run this through insurance as it would be a second claim this year but I will if it needs substantial work. Any opinions or advise is much appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Thanks in advance.
Patrick
06 Rinker 270
06 Rinker 270
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06 Rinker 270
Regards,
Ian
The Third “B”
Secretary, Ravena Coeymans Yacht Club
https://www.rcyachtclub.com/
get it fixed right when time comes
@AlswaggWill this do? Any other steps between sand and paint? Appreciate it.
06 Rinker 270
I've been doing fiberglass work for 20+ years, on and off; both helping others and doing it on my own boats. I'm going to put this in the strongest possible terms: do not patch this, and don't allow anyone else to do it. You must do a proper repair, or you're looking at a chance of sinking your boat.
Item #1: In boats, the fiberglass in the hull is not just a structural material; it is both the container for the air it displaces and a designed load-bearing structure. All of it - the entire thing. Any significant damage to it means that it is no longer capable of carrying the load, or distributing the forces that it was designed for. Patching may result in the hull looking fine cosmetically, but it does not correct the structural damage; in fact, given that boats "work" when they're at sea, it provides an entry point from which the entire hull can destroy itself.
Item #2: What you're showing is the marine version of Bondo. That stuff is fine for patching little dings, but it is not flexible. And given the temperature-based expansion and contraction that the glass on your boat goes through every day, it will crack and flake off. Whatever subsequent damage your boat takes will most likely not be covered by any insurance company when they find out the method that was used to "fix" it.
Do yourself a huge favor: glance through the Gougeon Brothers "Fiberglass Boat Repair and Maintenance" manual. It is the bible for understanding fiberglass repair, and it will teach you everything you need to know in about 100 pages. Here's an online copy:
http://www.westsystem.com/wp-content/uploads/Fiberglass-Manual-2015.pdf
In fact, here's a quick cite that reinforces what I'm saying:
"A fiberglass boat is a composite structure, made of many layers of various reinforcing fabrics and core materials, bonded together with plastic resins. [...] The continuity of these resin/fiber skins is critical to the integrity of the structure. It is often necessary to cut through the skin while carrying out repairs, even though the skin itself may not be damaged. Keep in mind that one objective will always be to rebuild for skin continuity to return the load carrying ability of the fibers in the laminate to original or greater strength."
In short: you need to have a professional examine the damage; it will most likely need to be cut out, or at least ground out if the damage has not gone all the way through (but at 1/4", it probably has), and a proper repair will need to be made.
If I were you, I'd be on the phone to my insurance company right now. Hull damage must be treated with extreme seriousness.
A ship in the harbor is safe... but that's not what ships were made for.
Making a good-quality secondary bond is a pretty high-level skill, and I've seen people screw it up even with all the proper tools and materials. I sure wouldn't recommend doing it yourself unless you really know your business.
A ship in the harbor is safe... but that's not what ships were made for.
2. As mentioned, insurance and forget about it.
Lets see some pictures.
Know anything about Fiber Strand or Kitty Hair? Then gel coat, then paint. These are the products he recommended.
Has anyone had two claims within one year? Will this dramatically increase my premium?
06 Rinker 270
To give you an outline of how an actual repair would work: you cut out or grind out the damage, feather/dish the edges, thoroughly wet out the entire area with a good quality epoxy - this is the critical bit! - and then lay in shaped pieces of epoxy-wetted glass mat until you've completely filled in the repair area and come up a bit above the hull surface. Let it kick off, grind it flat, and sand it down just a bit below flat, then lay down your gel coat (with a vinylester tiecoat under it if the area is bigger than a few square inches.) Half a day to a day's worth of work for a pro.
A ship in the harbor is safe... but that's not what ships were made for.
I looked at a boat that had a screw hole (don't ask how) below the waterline that slowly let in water for a few months. Owner found it the end of the season and used 5200 from inside, then ignored it - the bilge pump kept up. The stringers nearby were starting to rot out.