Fiberglass Repair Advice

Hi. I am new to fiberglass repair. I have two issues to try to fix:
1. Top of hull worn down showing fibers
2. Crack in side of hull, discoloration around it

I'd appreciate any advice on how to approach these kinds of repairs.
Here are pics, if I can get this to work!


Thanks!
John

There might be more going on there than just the fibers showing through. 1st question, if you push down on the top of the hull, is it soft?
Same question for the hulls both where the crack is and the rest of the hulls.

The rudders look like the original EPO rudders that are epoxied and those should be repaired following the advice you can find on this site. Just do a search for repairing epo rudders or restoring I forget which.

_________________
84 14T Redline #67 Blue Hawaii faded but still working!
82 Yellow hull16 '81 Boomer nationals 20.9 on GPS
83 White hull 16 No sails "Clean and Purty Now!"
87 White hull no sails no tramp

Thanks for the reply.
I pressed around both, but I don't detect any softness.
I will look for the epo rudder repair posts.
Regards,
John

So, following on to that....
It looks like an epoxy resin will do the trick on the rudders, after I sand down the fibers and scuff it up to prep. That sounds do-able. Would you use recommend using a black pigment, or keep it clear?

On the hull top...given that it is not soft, would this be a job for polyester resin or epoxy? I don't really know the appropriate uses for one or the other. Multicoat? Fillers? I am also a bit fuzzy on how a gelcoat is different, and when/if to apply one.

Then on the crack....well, I could really use some advice. It is about 5" long. Also, I do have inspection ports on the hulls and these two items are within 2-3 ft of the ports.
Many Thanks,
John

On the rudders, There is a carbon additive for the epoxy that gives the epoxy better uv protection. Most add the carbon to the epoxy AND paint the rudders with a black epoxy paint like appliance rattle can paint.

The hulls were made using polyester resin as far as I know and that is what most recommend for repairing the bottom where it gets worn from beaching. I had to add some matt to my 14 when I did that one as it was pretty worn and I wanted to build it up a bit.

Gelcoat is the original durable finish coat used on fiberglass, basically a fiberglass paint. It can be used to repair worn through gelcoat but not so much if the wear is past the gelcoat into the fiberglass itself.

On the crack, it would be helpful to know how it happened, ie, was it an impact or?
If it was me and I could get to the inside easily I would probably clean the crack real good. Rough up the inside and out for good adhesion. Maybe even v it a bit add some resin and glass some mat both inside and out.

_________________
84 14T Redline #67 Blue Hawaii faded but still working!
82 Yellow hull16 '81 Boomer nationals 20.9 on GPS
83 White hull 16 No sails "Clean and Purty Now!"
87 White hull no sails no tramp

This is really helpful, thank you!

So, for the top of hull where it is wearing and I can see the fiberglass (but the glass fibers are not poking out), it is adequate to just cover with a few coats of colored polyester resin?

Yes, the crack is most likely from an impact, although I can't remember it specifically.
So, if you add glass and resin on the outside, would that cause a bit of a bulge outward, once it is finished? I've never worked with fiberglass before. What type of mat would you use for that type of repair?

I really appreciate your advice!
John

Did you end up repairing? Any before/after pics?

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