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Author Topic:   13-Footer Restoration: First Timer

age7877 posted 03-11-2010 11:46 PM ET (US)
Two weeks ago I purchased a used 13’ Whaler that I would like to restore. I know how to do labor and I’m fairly mechanical but I’m not sure how to proceed with this boat.
Structurally the boat seems solid. I’ve stripped it down and would now like to begin bringing it back. The interior has spider cracks that I’m thinking I should sand down but I’m not sure if that’s the way to go. I read somewhere on line that you need to actually make the cracks larger and then fill and sand them. Can anyone suggest how to repair the spider cracks?
There are a few areas in the interior where the blue shell is worn or cracked exposing a black base or fiber below. Can I patch that with new material?
Last thing in the interior: The bolt that goes through the boat to hold the anchor has pulled into the boat and created an indentation. I took out the bolt but need to repair it. Is that just a fiberglass patch or do you need something stronger.
Any assistance appreciated. For someone who knows what they’re doing this boat will come up nicely. I can do the work but I have no experience with this type of material.
I keep thinking (from my experience working with drywall) that I should just sand the hell out of it and patch and repaint. Thought I would check with the experts before I really mess it up.
Thanks in advance.

tedious posted 03-12-2010 07:33 AM ET (US)
Hello, and welcome! There's lots of information on here regarding repair of spider cracks, gelcoat, bow eyes, and such. If you try the search function, you'll come up with a lot.
Sounds like your 13 is in fairly rough shape, but you are correct in that it's somewhat like drywall - sand the hell out of it and refinish is what's required. But the devil is in the details, so spend some time reading first.
One thing you'll need to decide up front is whether you want an original-quality finish (gelcoat) or you want a "daily driver" in which case Awlgrip would be a lot easier. Again, lots of info here on that.
Tim
jimh posted 03-12-2010 09:20 AM ET (US)
To repair a gel coat surface with many small cracks, you may have to approach the repair as a completely new total overall surface rather than a repair of individual cracks, one by one. The extent of the cracking will determine which way to proceed.
To repair areas where the upper layer of the skin has been abraded or worn away to expose underlying layers of laminate, see the instructions in the REFERENCE section:
NSTRUCTIONS -- HULL PATCH KITS
http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/repairInstructions.html
The method is demonstrated in an illustrated article:
Repairing Hull Damage the Whaler Way
http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/whalerRepair.html
If the threaded rod for the bow lifting eye has been pulled through, you may want to add reinforcement when making the repair and building up the hull structure around the hole.
Where extensive refinishing of the original gel coat layer is needed, it is common that the top coat be changed to paint instead of polyester resin or gel coat. Often a specialized marine paint such as AWLGRIP is used.
contender posted 03-12-2010 01:44 PM ET (US)
I just got finish with my whaler and it had the same problems being 35 years old. The gelcoat was cracking everywhere on the non skid. I wanted to keep the interior factory but it was just to much work to match all the holes with the non skid not to metion about the bad spots. I ended sanding down the entire non skid (even the screw heads in the water groove) on the interior. I shot the boat with awlgrip and mixed a non skid material with the paint.(When you mix the non skid with the paint remember to keep the gun moving not to pile up the paint/material). I think the boat now looks better than a factory finish, and glad I did it.
Your anchor locker is just a fiberglass repair, however I would do extra glass in this area for more strenght. This eye is also one of your lifting eyes for the boat so reinforce the area...good luck
age7877 posted 03-14-2010 09:11 PM ET (US)
Follow up question:
I've wet sanded with 600 grit paper and will be moving to 1000 grit then plan on compounding and polishing.
I'm noticing that after the sanded area dries it is still pretty chaulky. I think that's normal and expect it will clean up at the compoundig stage.
Is that correct or am I just not cleaning the sanded area enough?
Thanks

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Author	Topic: 13-Footer Restoration: First Timer
age7877	posted 03-11-2010 11:46 PM ET (US) Two weeks ago I purchased a used 13’ Whaler that I would like to restore. I know how to do labor and I’m fairly mechanical but I’m not sure how to proceed with this boat. Structurally the boat seems solid. I’ve stripped it down and would now like to begin bringing it back. The interior has spider cracks that I’m thinking I should sand down but I’m not sure if that’s the way to go. I read somewhere on line that you need to actually make the cracks larger and then fill and sand them. Can anyone suggest how to repair the spider cracks? There are a few areas in the interior where the blue shell is worn or cracked exposing a black base or fiber below. Can I patch that with new material? Last thing in the interior: The bolt that goes through the boat to hold the anchor has pulled into the boat and created an indentation. I took out the bolt but need to repair it. Is that just a fiberglass patch or do you need something stronger. Any assistance appreciated. For someone who knows what they’re doing this boat will come up nicely. I can do the work but I have no experience with this type of material. I keep thinking (from my experience working with drywall) that I should just sand the hell out of it and patch and repaint. Thought I would check with the experts before I really mess it up. Thanks in advance.
tedious	posted 03-12-2010 07:33 AM ET (US) Hello, and welcome! There's lots of information on here regarding repair of spider cracks, gelcoat, bow eyes, and such. If you try the search function, you'll come up with a lot. Sounds like your 13 is in fairly rough shape, but you are correct in that it's somewhat like drywall - sand the hell out of it and refinish is what's required. But the devil is in the details, so spend some time reading first. One thing you'll need to decide up front is whether you want an original-quality finish (gelcoat) or you want a "daily driver" in which case Awlgrip would be a lot easier. Again, lots of info here on that. Tim
jimh	posted 03-12-2010 09:20 AM ET (US) To repair a gel coat surface with many small cracks, you may have to approach the repair as a completely new total overall surface rather than a repair of individual cracks, one by one. The extent of the cracking will determine which way to proceed. To repair areas where the upper layer of the skin has been abraded or worn away to expose underlying layers of laminate, see the instructions in the REFERENCE section: NSTRUCTIONS -- HULL PATCH KITS http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/repairInstructions.html The method is demonstrated in an illustrated article: Repairing Hull Damage the Whaler Way http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/whalerRepair.html If the threaded rod for the bow lifting eye has been pulled through, you may want to add reinforcement when making the repair and building up the hull structure around the hole. Where extensive refinishing of the original gel coat layer is needed, it is common that the top coat be changed to paint instead of polyester resin or gel coat. Often a specialized marine paint such as AWLGRIP is used.
contender	posted 03-12-2010 01:44 PM ET (US) I just got finish with my whaler and it had the same problems being 35 years old. The gelcoat was cracking everywhere on the non skid. I wanted to keep the interior factory but it was just to much work to match all the holes with the non skid not to metion about the bad spots. I ended sanding down the entire non skid (even the screw heads in the water groove) on the interior. I shot the boat with awlgrip and mixed a non skid material with the paint.(When you mix the non skid with the paint remember to keep the gun moving not to pile up the paint/material). I think the boat now looks better than a factory finish, and glad I did it. Your anchor locker is just a fiberglass repair, however I would do extra glass in this area for more strenght. This eye is also one of your lifting eyes for the boat so reinforce the area...good luck
age7877	posted 03-14-2010 09:11 PM ET (US) Follow up question: I've wet sanded with 600 grit paper and will be moving to 1000 grit then plan on compounding and polishing. I'm noticing that after the sanded area dries it is still pretty chaulky. I think that's normal and expect it will clean up at the compoundig stage. Is that correct or am I just not cleaning the sanded area enough? Thanks