Fiberglass Repairs Atop Painted Surfaces

[Whalerdan]

I am working on a 1963 13-footer tha I have owned it for three days. [unnecessary ellipses deleted] I know very little about boats. I have done some bondo on cars.

There is an ugly battleship gray paint on the inside. It has many cracks and is flaking off in about 20-percent of the surface area. I have chipped and sanded on it for two days . Now I have a very uneven surface. Also found lot of cracks in the gel coat. I guess what you guys call spider cracks. Also in the grove between the anti slip floor and sides I found some holes.

I should also say the foam is wet under the hole I found.

Can I remove the loose stuff and lay a whole new layer of fiber glass cloth to make a new surface?

How much would that cost?

Is it done?

How much water is too much?

I am working outside so should I cover it every time it rains?

I have spent some hours reading archives: great info--thanks

I am wondering if this boat is too far gone to fix.

Mostly just want to go fishing. I do not care if it looks brand new . I just want a safe boat.

Thanks , Dan

[jimh]

When making a repair, you want to abrade the hull or deck surface so that all loose material is removed.

If the gel coat surface of the hull or cockpit have been given a top coat of just paint, trying to make a repair adhere to the painted surface is not a good method.

Read the two articles on making repairs in the REFERENCE section. Here are links to them:

Repairing Hull Damage the Whaler Way
by Taylor Clark
http://continuouswave.com/whaler/refere ... epair.html

INSTRUCTIONS -- HULL PATCH KITS
http://continuouswave.com/whaler/refere ... tions.html


Another good source of advice and methods for repair of fiberglass boat is the WEST System Repair Guide. See

Fiberglass Boat Repair & Maintenance
http://www.westsystem.com.au/west_syste ... aintenance