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Author Topic:   Bow railing base repair

divtruk posted 06-13-2011 08:17 PM ET (US)
I removed the bow railing base located in front of the norman pin today and had two screws seized up in the aluminum block underneath. I had to remove a section of fiberglass to be able to drill out the sheared off screws. I was planning on reworking this area anyway as the gelcoat had significantly cracked under and around the base. Right now I have a section of bare aluminum exposed that is a little larger than the railing base. I ended up taking off about an 1/8"-3/16" of fiberglass that was on top of the aluminum.
What would you folks recommend to use to build up the shape again before new gelcoat? I was thinking of using Marine-Tex because I think it would have a good bond to the aluminum. Any other suggestions?
John McBride posted 06-13-2011 10:11 PM ET (US)
Marine Tex is pretty hard and I have had some difficulty in the past getting it fair to surrounding surfaces as the surrounding surfaces sand off way too fast compared to the harder Marine Tex. Marine Tex is questionable for use in what is obviously a high stress location.
I would use epoxy resin and fiberglass cloth to build it up and then fill with a light filler material added to the resin. Do not put any resin over gel coat because it wont bond too well. Feather the edge of the removed area at a slope of 8:1 or better and lay in concentrically larger pieces of FB cloth until close to flush, then fill the rest.
West Systems has many good books and YouTube videos to show you exactly what to do.
divtruk posted 06-13-2011 10:34 PM ET (US)
Because it is right on top of the narrow piece that the norman pin goes through I am not concerned about sanding it to prep for gelcoat. The top is pretty much gone right now anyway. I am more concerned with getting a good bond with the aluminum plate underneath and what little edge of the fiberglass there is. Being right on top of that narrow strip there is no room for me to grind back under the existing fiberglass to get a good bonding area with the fiberglass.
Tom W Clark posted 06-14-2011 10:22 PM ET (US)
Just top it off with some color matched gel coat patch paste. It will be fine. You are only talking about a very small area that is exposed.

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Author	Topic: Bow railing base repair
divtruk	posted 06-13-2011 08:17 PM ET (US) I removed the bow railing base located in front of the norman pin today and had two screws seized up in the aluminum block underneath. I had to remove a section of fiberglass to be able to drill out the sheared off screws. I was planning on reworking this area anyway as the gelcoat had significantly cracked under and around the base. Right now I have a section of bare aluminum exposed that is a little larger than the railing base. I ended up taking off about an 1/8"-3/16" of fiberglass that was on top of the aluminum. What would you folks recommend to use to build up the shape again before new gelcoat? I was thinking of using Marine-Tex because I think it would have a good bond to the aluminum. Any other suggestions?
John McBride	posted 06-13-2011 10:11 PM ET (US) Marine Tex is pretty hard and I have had some difficulty in the past getting it fair to surrounding surfaces as the surrounding surfaces sand off way too fast compared to the harder Marine Tex. Marine Tex is questionable for use in what is obviously a high stress location. I would use epoxy resin and fiberglass cloth to build it up and then fill with a light filler material added to the resin. Do not put any resin over gel coat because it wont bond too well. Feather the edge of the removed area at a slope of 8:1 or better and lay in concentrically larger pieces of FB cloth until close to flush, then fill the rest. West Systems has many good books and YouTube videos to show you exactly what to do.
divtruk	posted 06-13-2011 10:34 PM ET (US) Because it is right on top of the narrow piece that the norman pin goes through I am not concerned about sanding it to prep for gelcoat. The top is pretty much gone right now anyway. I am more concerned with getting a good bond with the aluminum plate underneath and what little edge of the fiberglass there is. Being right on top of that narrow strip there is no room for me to grind back under the existing fiberglass to get a good bonding area with the fiberglass.
Tom W Clark	posted 06-14-2011 10:22 PM ET (US) Just top it off with some color matched gel coat patch paste. It will be fine. You are only talking about a very small area that is exposed.