srm, I would contest that my hackjobs are structural, just not pretty
A proper repair involves sanding/tapering down the glass around the repair area, and then layering/tapering back in glass to patch the repair. If you have a power sander and patience it is not difficult to do. Done 'right' a hackjob repair omits most of the tapering of the original material. Instead of a mostly flush repair you get a bulgy band aid repair. It saves a bunch of sanding, slightly reduces strength (due to eccentric load path from offset repair material) and doesn't look good. ngompf's crack runs parallel to the principle tensile stress, so the crack won't be as highly stressed, making the hackjob acceptable.