After sharing a garage with an idiot for part of the winter, I pulled the boat out for its 1st paddle of the season and found a large whole in the fiberglass. Looks like something was dropped on it, the gel coat is shattered and the interior lining coat is cracked. Unfortunately I was in the water for an hour before I realized it was damaged, so the glass is now wet. What's the process to get it back in shape? *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On 31 May 2005 at 6:00, Doug Nartker wrote: > Looks like something was dropped on it, the gel coat is shattered and > the interior lining coat is cracked. Unfortunately I was in the water > for an hour before I realized it was damaged, so the glass is now wet. > > What's the process to get it back in shape? First, make sure it dries out before doing anything. Then remove all the cracked gelcoat and inspect the glass. If the glass layer is damaged, you'll want to reinforce it with a couple of layers of light fiberglass. The bottom layer should be somewhat larger than the damage and the top layer should be a bit larger. If you tell us how large the damage is, I'll tell you how large I think the patch layers should be. Once you've epoxied those layers on, and it's well cured, you can cover the outside with new gelcoat. Start here for info: <http://www.greatlakeskayaker.ca/repairingCompositeKayaks.htm> and tell me if it makes any sense. No one's critiqued that stuff yet. Mike *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
"Doug Nartker" <dnartker1407_at_charter.net> wrote: > Looks like something was dropped on it, the gel coat is shattered and the > interior lining coat is cracked. Unfortunately I was in the water for an > hour before I realized it was damaged, so the glass is now wet. > > What's the process to get it back in shape? Three choices: A. If the damage inside is truly just a crack, and the glass is not holed, clean it with fresh water, allow it to dry thoroughly, and then roughen it up with 80 grit paper, and apply a couple layers of 8 ounce glass with epoxy and call it good. Fix the outside starting with step B. 5. (below). B. If the glass inside is holed and/or the damage is really bad: 1. Allow it to dry thoroughly after a fresh water rinse. 2. Remove the damaged glass and gel coat until you get back to unaltered glass -- rough tools, including rasps and maybe a right-angle grinder. Wear a mask. 3. Start on the inside and lay in a layer of roving (go to the marine supply shop and tell them what you're doing) using **laminating resin** not **finishing** resin. 4. Build up layers inside and out using lighter cloth (8 ounce or 6 ounce is OK), and laminating resin, applying pressure (a vacuum kit is a good idea, but expensive). 5. When you get the outside close to the desired contour, sand with 80 grit so the patched area is a little under the ultimate surface you want. 6. Get a gel coat patch kit from the marine supply store, and follow instructions to match the color of the outside, using enough resin to get it a little proud of the desired contour. Matching the color is the tough part. Ask here about this later, if you need to do this kind of repair. 7. Sand **using a sanding block** with 80 grit (carefully!), then **wet sand** with 120 grit, 220, 400, and then 600 to fair the new surfaces into the old. 8. Finish off with polishing compound (marine store), and then apply a layer of furniture wax, working it in well. C. Or, pay someone who has done this before to do the job. -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
"Michael Daly" <mikedaly_at_magma.ca> wrote: > Start here for info: > <http://www.greatlakeskayaker.ca/repairingCompositeKayaks.htm> and > tell me if it makes any sense. No one's critiqued that stuff yet. That looked pretty good to me. Wish I had known about it before I responded. A good resource. The trickiest part is getting a good color match in the gel coat, so email us back when you get to that stage. There are some simple tricks to make a match more certain. -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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