CONTINUOUSWAVE

I'm one of those lurkers who has been boat-less for about three years now.

I moved from Maryland to Ohio about two years ago, I am contemplating moving to the Carolinas within the next year to be closer to blue water.

I am fortunate to have an amazing father who introduced me to fishing and crabbing since the age of three. He is a Whaler fanatic and has three boats, a 13, a 17, and a 22. They are all 1970-1980's. The only one needing restoration is the c.1971 13-footer. I've helped do a complete cosmetic restoration on the Montauk 17, but I've never done any structural repairs.

I have contemplated buying a boat for the small lakes around Columbus but with the potential move it doesn't make financial sense. What does seem to make more sense is to restore and repair the 13. I know this is pretty worthless without pictures--I'm working on getting him to send me pictures but he's still the old school flip phone type. The boat has about a 10-inch vertical crack above the water line on the starboard side, plus a new rub rail and a ton of cosmetic work.

I'm looking for advice and help with repair of the crack. It is all the way through the hull. The hull has been stored inside upside-down for three years, so I'm positive the foam is dry by now, if it were ever wet to begin with.

I understand the process of laying new fiber glass but how do I go about repairing to like-new condition? YES this is going to be a tremendous learning experience for me.

Would I be better off cutting out around the crack maybe four-inches-wide and an inch deeper, creating a rectangle?

Then rebuilding from the outside then fill with foam or removing the gel-coat down to the glass around the crack and lay new glass from there?

There isn't really any space between the crack now I just thought it would be better to remove the old foam right around the crack.

Jim is going to tell you to read this http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/repairInstructions.html and also this http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/whalerRepair.html. In fact the more questions you ask here the more you will learn. I am on my first Whaler, a 15 footer, and everything I know is from this great site.

Before planning on the repair, determine the cause of the crack and determine the depth of the crack.

It is common to have cracks that are only in the gel coat layer. These are mostly a cosmetic problem. They occur when the gel coat layer is thick, and when there is some movement or flexing. They also occur when the gel coat is allowed to dry out. Gel coat needs to be maintained with periodic rubbing with compounds that will put some oils back into the gel coat. When gel coat gets really dry, oxidized, and has a chalk-like top coat, it will be more prone to cracking. Cosmetic cracks in gel coat can be repaired without too much fuss. The usual approach is the use a V-shaped tool, like an old can opener, to cut a V-notch into the crack, making it wider at the top and exposing fresh gel coat resin layers. Then you fill the crack with new gel coat. Well, not quite that easy, but that is the short version.

If the crack is only in the gel coat but the cause was from movement, you have to figure out what is moving that should not be, then repair that structural problem. If you don't do this, the crack will just come back.

If the crack is deeper than just the gel coat layer and has gotten into the laminate below, a more serious repair is needed. You need to make a repair that restores the structural integrity of that area.

All of these methods are described in the two articles that were mentioned above.

When making any repairs like these, start your learning on an area that is not very visible. Fix a crack in an anchor locker or some other place that won't be in view.

You need to post a close up image of the interior and exterior crack. This is not a simple repair. Your plan to cut a four-inch "window" in the hull is not a good one. Remember one thing, always grind the gelcoat off around any repair, so that when you laminate new mat over the repair, it does not cover any old gelcoat, because polyester resin will not stick to old gelcoat. --rich

Unfortunately the boat is in MD with my father I'm now in Ohio I would be bringing the boat up this fall for a winter project. I will work on getting pictures but is a Bare hall. The crack tho is all the way through literally all the way through about 6 inches deep about half way down the starboard side. The foam around it is dry at least now and the hull has been drilled to check for moisture. This is a full-resto. I'll work on getting pictures but it may take a while. I'm kinda looking for a worse case
Scenario. I've grown up on whalers I'm looking forward to doing a restoration of this modernizing it and making it my own. I'm thinking 40-50 hp four stroke. I know 50's a lot buddy had one growing upnBut boy was it fun and it's not Like it only operates of full throttle...sorry getting a little Ahead of myself

What caused this crack? Impact? Hit something on the water? Dropped on land? (ask me how I know that one!) If it really goes all the way through and the inside is also cracked, then I would modify your plan. Yes, open the inside hull crack area up, and clean out the foam, but only wide enough to lay new glass cloth on the insides of the outer hull crack area. Do not cut a big hole in the outside hull, but do widen the outer crack slightly and rough it up so the glass will adhere well. A tiny grinder attachment like on a Dremel tool is ideal for that. Build it up thick and strong, crisscrossing the glass mat. Then inject foam into the void and let it expand. After it has cured then you can glass up the hole you made on the inside. (if you are clever, you can carefully cut the hole in one piece and use that piece to fill the hole later) Finally you can grind down the visible repair and finish with color matched gelcoat.