ContinuousWave   Whaler   Moderated Discussion Areas   ContinuousWave: Whaler Repairs/Mods   Really bad hull restoration    search | FAQ | profile | register | author help

Author	Topic:   Really bad hull restoration
Gottlieb	posted 07-26-2001 10:03 PM ET (US)         Always wanted a BW. Found 1968, 13footer in a boat salvage yard that is damaged on the starboard side and bottom half. The damage is caused by someone sanding down through the fiberglass to the foam in places. I've never done fiberglass work before. Got a couple of books at the library. Thought that I would completely fiberglass the hull with some really strong (8oz) or higher cloth. Should I use resin or epoxy with the cloth. Can I make the cloth stick (and never delaminate) to the foam and remainants of thin fiberglass remaining on the hull. Didn't BW make a reinforced 13 footer? What was the reinforcement and where were the areas? I don't want to make the hull so heavy that my 35hp Johnson won't get it up on plane. I just want a good, strong, reliable, economical, safe boat that will give me years of service. Cosmetics and orginality is secondary to these desires. If you read the last 2 year of forum messages, the BW seems to have a lot of hull repair information requests. I want to make this a sturdy and rugged hull. I posted an abbreviation of this forum message before and only got one reply that wasn't at all helpful. Any suggestions and\or guidelines would be like manna from heaven at this starting point. Please help!!!!!!!!
Hawaiian Bob	posted 07-28-2001 03:39 AM ET (US)             I am doing the same job. Use expoy because it bonds better to fiberglass that regular resin. If the hull and foam are dry, sand off all the old paint and some of the gell coat. 36grit on a big 8 inch sander make this step faster. Grind out any big bubbles. Fill big holes with fiberglas mat and a epoxy filler mix. Epoxy glass any big holes/week spots and bring to fair/level with rest of hull. 3 to four coats of epoxy rolled on sand to fair, paint with good boat paint and you are ready. Make sure you transom is strong.
triblet	posted 07-28-2001 01:16 PM ET (US)             Get a copy of the West System book on repair. Not the freebie, the one you pay about $5 for. Chuck

Hop to: ContinuousWave: The Whaler GAM or General AreaContinuousWave: Whaler MarketplaceContinuousWave: Whaler Repairs/ModsContinuousWave: Whaler PerformanceContinuousWave: Cetacea CommentsContinuousWave: Small Boat ElectricalContinuousWave: Trips and RendezvousContinuousWave: Post-Classic WhalersMETA-Discussion