Hull Repair Help
 

Hi Guys,

I am about to repaint a second hand seaducer hull that I got my hands on with a CMB45. The guy before hit a rock and it took a large gash (Approx an Inch) out of the bottom of the hull. It looks like he filled the hole with fiberglass resin but its a rough job and hasn't got a smooth finish. The repair job is a bit lower than the bottom of the hull and given that it is at the back of the hull I want this smoothed out before painting. I was thinking of filling the hole with more resin then sanding it back. Does this sound right or should I be using another type of product like epoxy?

I have put a picture of the damage in my gallery.

Thanks for the help/advise.

Scorp

RE: Hull Repair Help
 

Can you any pics of it?I would sand it and use autobody spot puddy,but the one you use hardner.I used this stuff made by USC called icing.It light weight and sands supper easy and it's awsome!! You can sand it with 180 grit paper.It is made for auto and marine use.It's used for small dents pinholes lowspots and imperfections.I've been using that stuff since 1991 and I've have found anything to beat it eather.Epoxy the holes in and use the stuff I'd told you about over it to smooth your finish out with.Go look at my boat that I'd posted.I'd used reson and a skim coat of icing to finish it off before I'd painted the boat.I'd moditfied the tail fins and cowl and replace the front spoiler too.If you need anymore advice on painting I can help!I've been painting and doing autobody work for over 20 years now.[>:]

RE: Hull Repair Help
 

Thanks Misshydro. I will look into those products. I am getting a guy who painted my full scale boat to work his magic on this hull. It was 5 years since he painted my boat and its still in top shape. As for the Seaducer I am thinking about going with an Mopar orange faded into a white near the rear quarter. Should be different.

RE: Hull Repair Help
 

If that repair was done from the outside and you sand it flush, the resin and fiberglass will no longer have anything to hold onto and likely punch thru the bottom.
You are best to start fresh. Grind the area out removing the old repair and feather abou 1/2" all around the hole. If the breach is all the way throught the hull, grind around the hole from the inside as well. Start filling the hole first with a piece of fiberglass and West System or similar epoxy. You will use two layers of fiberglass, the first being smaller than the ground area and the second being the same size as the ground area. If the breach was clear through the hull, put an additional layer inside the hull. Don't use alot of epoxy here, it will float the fiberglass, just use enough to get the glass wet. After it kicks, sand the repair level with the hull, if there are any areas that are low, fill them with epoxie mixed with micro ballons (to a paste) then sand after it kicks. You don't need to sand it to perfection, just give it to your painter, he will do the final finishing before he paints it.

RE: Hull Repair Help
 

Hi Flabum, Thanks for the advice but what are micro ballons?

RE: Hull Repair Help
 

Micro0 ballons are glass balloons, very small... looks like a powder. You use it to mix with epoxy or resin to make a paste to use as a filler. You can get it at any hobby store or marine supply store. I have even seen it at Home Depot

RE: Hull Repair Help
 

Thanks for that Flabum. I will probably give that a go. There are a few Marine supply stores near where I live so I will ask them. Its hard to say if the repair was done from the outside or inside as the previous owner didn't even fiberglass the stuffing tube in, ity looks like he just poured resin over it...hmm shortcuts never work out for long! I will be doing some repair work today so will post some pics to see how it goes. We don't home depot in Australia. To be honest I didn't even think that was a real store just something that I have heard about on movies :D

RE: Hull Repair Help
 

I've always had a problem with epoxying glass repairs because the glass sands faster than the epoxy.

Whats the secret?

RE: Hull Repair Help
 

I use expoxy simply because it is stronger and if I come across a hull that I don't know if it's made of resin or epoxy, can't go wrong with epoxy. Sanding....I always use a block of hardwood as a sanding block, will tackle the epoxy down before it gets to the original surface. Plus, no matter how good you are at sanding, you will always nee to use a filler to fair in the edges anyways.

RE: Hull Repair Help
 

Oh yeah.... one other point of advice.... if you are going to use gel-coat as your finish, do not use the red glazing compound for fairing.... it is not compatible and will lift and curl when you do the final buff. it works fine if you use paint as the finish.

RE: Hull Repair Help
 

Found a great product at my local Marine store Aquaepoxy. Basically you hand mix it into a thick dough and then simply push it into the damaged area. Is 100% designed for water and sets as hard as rock! You can then sand it, drill it paint etc etc. Apparently it will even set if you needed to do a repair while the hull is wet although I wouldn't recommend it.

RE: Hull Repair Help
 

That stuff is good for temporay hull repairs, I would not trust it on a hull of that nature. There is a bit of flexing going on and that type of epxy is too hard to stay on. You really need to do it the right way as explained above. There are plenty of quick fixes, but very few right ways.