A few more questions on hull repair, etc.: 1. What are the advantages of fiberglass cloth vs matting? When I've tried to work with the matting, it pretty much just came apart as soon as I got it in the resin, with fiberglass strands going everywhere. The only way I found I could apply it was to put a heavy coat of the resin on first, then lay the dry matting on top, and then paint more resin on top of it (ie on the other side). 2. My keel line is pretty worn, so I was thinking of laying a strip of fiberglass tape embedded in epoxy just along the keel line, then smooth it over with the top coating. I remember someone else (I think it was Matt) commenting (hopefully I'm not taking this out of context) to the effect that if you reinforce one area very solidly, then the junction point between that area and the unreinforced areas receive more stress and thus become more susceptible to cracking. Is it best to try to feather it out, like in taping drywall? Or is this unnecessary for this kind of reinforcement. 3. In which situations is adding a filler advantageous? And what are the pros and cons of different types of filler? Evan Dallas Woodinville, Washington *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Hi Doug, I'm not really a professional boat repairer, but I play one on TV. Actually, I'm a "paid amateur" with plenty of opinions, but I'm always looking for others' ideas on repairs. Doug wrote: >1. Deep hull scratches - I normally use a gel coat filler (this is the >paste variety, not the thin stuff),<<snip>> Does anyone use >any other product? I use the thin stuff and squeegee it into the scratch. It keeps the excess off the top, and usually only one or two coats will fill a deep scratch to the level of the surrounding hull. The advantage of the squeegee is that you avoid about 95% of the sanding necessitated by any other method. I usually use a squeegee cut from the side of a plastic yogurt or ice cream container. >2. Excessive keel-line wear (usually near the stern) - I will either >use thick multiple layers of gel coat fill (thick stuff), or add cloth >impregnated with resin, then perhaps top off with gel coat fill. Does >anyone do it differently. I know one fellow who uses the thinner gel >coat resin, and works it right into the cloth, rather than using the >clear resin with the cloth. Any thoughts? I've used gel coat resin for wetting out cloth. It seems a tad slower to soak in, but seems to be work just as well. Its main advantage is that a deep penetrating scratch will show the same color, albeit with some protruding glass fibers. I don't think the pigmented gelcoat has much less adhesion than the clear resin--it's just more expensive. Someone may correct me if I'm wrong here, though. >3. There was a discussion a while back, with reference to a product one >could apply to the wear points on the rear keel area. Anyone remember >the name of the product. It wasn't part of the normal fiberglass repair >product "family". All I can think of is kevlar felt, but you'd have thought of that. Oh, wait, was it Dynel or some other polyester fabric? Polyester wets out clearer than kevlar, but not nearly as clear as fiberglass. It's just a little translucent. >4. Anyone have ideas/suggestions/experience with glassing-in thigh >support within the inside diameter of the cockpit opening? Start with some kind of shaped mold--make it look just like the desired thigh support should look. Wood, styrofoam, minicell--just something to provide a shape for the glass. You could either make it permanent or just a temporary mold for the glass. Hot glue it in place and place glass over it. If you want to remove your mold later, cover your cockpit and the mold with wax or plastic wrap. Glass, let cure, remove the glass and mold from the boat. Then, peel the mold out of the glass and epoxy in the thigh support. >5. If you were attending a seminar, what would you like to see >covered/explained/demonstrated? Hull repairs, custom outfitting (your Nordkapp should be a poster child for outfitting!) such as deck rigging, under deck rigging/storage, cockpit (seat/hip pad/knee hook-thigh pad/foot rest) customization, storage options (drybag options, canisters, Pelican boxes, trash compactor bags), sea socks, bulkheads, dry/wetsuit maintenance (303/sink the stink!), fixing dinged fiberglass paddle blades. Of course, I think all this stuff is fascinating, but it might bore others! To each their own. Shawn -- Shawn W. Baker 0 46°53'N © 2000 ____©/______ 114°06'W ~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^\ ,/ /~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^ baker_at_montana.com 0 http://www.geocities.com/shawnkayak/ *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Evan said: >> I remember someone else (I think it was Matt) commenting (hopefully I'm not taking this out of context) to the effect that if you reinforce one area very solidly, then the junction point between that area and the unreinforced areas receive more stress and thus become more susceptible to cracking. Is it best to try to feather it out, like in taping drywall? Or is this unnecessary for this kind of reinforcement.<< Not sure it was me but it could have been. Keels are usually very strong so feathering would not be necessary (to minimize stress risers) but it will probably look a lot better if you feather the patch. And for a keel keep the patch narrow so it just covers the wear area. Marinetex will work for this but it will probably be more difficult to do a smooth job and I think it only comes in Gray or White. Matt Broze http://www.marinerkayaks.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Thanks for this interesting thread. I revisited a small spider crack that occurred during the original shipping of my Nordkapp with a clear coat over Carbon/Kevlar. I originally ground it out and filled it with epoxy. The job was sloppy and the epoxy eventually turned brown and ugly. I fixed it this weekend with Gelcoat and it'd now virtually invisible. I no longer have to hang my head in shame when I unload the boat. I huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders! cya -----Original Message----- From: owner-paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net [mailto:owner-paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net]On Behalf Of Matt Broze Sent: Friday, June 16, 2000 4:37 AM To: Paddlewise Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Hull Repair Evan said: >> I remember someone else (I think it was Matt) commenting (hopefully I'm not taking this out of context) to the effect that if you reinforce one area very solidly, then the junction point between that area and the unreinforced areas receive more stress and thus become more susceptible to cracking. Is it best to try to feather it out, like in taping drywall? Or is this unnecessary for this kind of reinforcement.<< Not sure it was me but it could have been. Keels are usually very strong so feathering would not be necessary (to minimize stress risers) but it will probably look a lot better if you feather the patch. And for a keel keep the patch narrow so it just covers the wear area. Marinetex will work for this but it will probably be more difficult to do a smooth job and I think it only comes in Gray or White. Matt Broze http://www.marinerkayaks.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Bob Denton wrote: > > I originally ground it out and filled it with epoxy. The job > was sloppy and the epoxy eventually turned brown and ugly. I fixed it this > weekend with Gelcoat and it'd now virtually invisible. I no longer have to > hang my head in shame when I unload the boat. I huge weight has been lifted > from my shoulders! A boat repair where the boat gets lighter! Amazing. We know how important lift weight is to you, Bob. :) Steve *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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