1967 NAUSET Repairs

Repair or modification of Boston Whaler boats, their engines, trailers, and gear
EricR77
Posts: 11
Joined: Sat Jan 18, 2020 5:48 pm

1967 NAUSET Repairs

Postby EricR77 » Fri Feb 26, 2021 1:11 pm

Hi All--I've been searching for a classic Boston Whaler boat project for the past year and finally found the perfect one: a 1967 Nauset that was stored, unused, in a garage, for the past 30 years. The gel coat seems to be in fairly good condition for a more than 50-year-old boat.

My plan is to compound and polish the majority of the existing gel coat. There are four spots where the gel coat crazing is bad, and I plan to repair these. My approach was going to be widening out the crazing with a Dremel, and filling those spots with TotalBoat fairing compound. I was then going to apply gel coat over the filled cracks and do my best to match the current color of the gel coat. The crazing is shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Another area of concern is a small splitting of the fiberglass on the edge of the transom seen in Figure 3. The outer layer of fiberglass is splitting and delaminating, but the joint between the inner and outer fiberglass molds looks solid. There are no soft spots around this delamination and the transom shows no sign of water intrusion. I was thinking of filling this gap with a marine epoxy. My other thought was to grind off the split fiberglass, re-glass that small area, and then apply gelcoat.

I've done a decent amount of reading on this forum, which is were I got all these ideas from. I'm mainly looking to get others opinions on if I am approaching these fixes correctly, and certainly am open to suggestions. Figure 4 is just a glory shot.

Q1: Would my technique described above be sufficient to fix the crazing shown in Figures 1 and 2?

Q2: Would epoxy be a sufficient fix for the delamination shown in Figure 3, or should I consider a more involved fix?

Thanks,
Eric

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Fig. 1. Crazing on corner of transom

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Fig. 2. Crazing inside splash-well

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Fig. 3. Splitting fiberglass in question

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Fig. 4. Glory shot of the boat after being picked up. I already unloaded the railings

Tom Hemphill
Posts: 80
Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2015 5:04 pm

Re: 1967 Nauset Repairs

Postby Tom Hemphill » Sat Feb 27, 2021 5:43 pm

It looks like you have bought a nice and fairly unmolested boat.

The damage shown in Figure 1 isn't typical gelcoat crazing. I think the boat was struck in that corner, and the damage may be deeper than just the gel coat layer.

The crazing shown in Figure 2 is common, and I would just leave it alone.

As to the separating "green line" depicted in Figure 3, my boat has that, too. I just sealed it up with marine caulk to keep water out.

Unless you have experience grinding, fiberglassing, and re-gel-coating, you should be careful not to bite off more than you can chew. If you plan to use TotalBoat products, it would be best to get their advice on specific applications.

jimh
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Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:25 pm
Location: Michigan, Lower Peninsula
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Re: 1967 NAUSET Repairs

Postby jimh » Sun Feb 28, 2021 7:09 am

The cracks at the starboard transom corner in Figure 1 seem to radiate from the fastener hole for the rub rail insert hold down screw. As noted, they appear to be deeper than just gel coat surface cracks. Investigate that area closely to see if there is damage to the structure of the boat. Check for looseness or movement.

Figure 2 is a good illustration of the engine mounting method described in Boston Whaler Dealer Bulletin 10-84, which is reproduced in the REFERENCE section.

The gap at the transom-deck join in Figure 3 can be filled with epoxy resin and faired.

Your plan to restore the original gel coat finish as much as possible is a wise choice. Any repairs to small areas can likely be blended in with some skillful work.

EricR77
Posts: 11
Joined: Sat Jan 18, 2020 5:48 pm

Re: 1967 NAUSET Repairs

Postby EricR77 » Fri Mar 05, 2021 3:19 pm

Hi guys-- Thanks for the responses. I'm going to do a deeper dive into the corner of the boat to make sure there is no fiberglass damage.

I also did a little more research on fairing compounds from Total Boat. Since I'm planning on doing a gel coat repair (not paint) it's easier to use a polyester based fairing compound. This allows you to put gel coat directly onto the fairing compound. I bought both the "polyester fairing compound" and "polyester structural repair putty" from Total Boat. I need to be patient and wait for warmer weather to try both products out.

Eric