13 Whaler Restoration

Repair or modification of Boston Whaler boats, their engines, trailers, and gear
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Landlocked
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Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2015 5:37 pm

13 Whaler Restoration

Postby Landlocked » Wed Feb 14, 2018 12:18 pm

Slowly moving along with our project 13 as my son finds sporadic doses of motivation. We have outside of hull completely stripped to fiberglass in most areas. As discussed in a previous post, former owner(s) had attempted painting on several occasions so very little gell coat remained from previous restoration attempts.

The hull in very good shape. Going to be some minor fairing work in the usual spots - corners but little else. Only damage is a crushed section of gunwale and damage on the stern that has misshapen once of the recessed handles. Both will require fiberglass matting/resin/hardener. Question is, is it really that critical to go to West and spend the $$$ on the high end materials for a minor structural repair such as this or are bondo products sufficient. I can buy Bondo Resin and cloth, and Bondo glass with short strands fiberglass mixed in locally at auto parts store. A trip to West is a 2-3 hour commitment out of my day. Yes, I know I can order but experience has shown I'm better off using materials from a local supplier as I'll end up running back for more of this or that multiple times during the project. I will make a single trip to West for seal coat primer and paint but is there really enough difference in fiberglass resin to make a difference?

Ll.