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willy
Captain

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USA
422 Posts
Initially Posted - 04/18/2008 :  10:42:45  Show Profile
Folks,
Last year I found a crack on the verticle portion of the outside of my boat just above the cockpit step as if someone had rammed their boot into it while boarding. The glass there doesn't seem too substantial considering the amount of foot traffic it gets while people come aboard. Since the winters expansion and contraction have made it worse I am going to probably glass or Marine tex the inside and try just a simple gelcoat repair on the outside but I am curious as to whether anyone else has experienced this...what they did...etc.
Willy
Edgy, WB#655
Dewey Beach, DE
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Nautiduck
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3704 Posts
Response Posted - 04/18/2008 :  11:58:18  Show Profile
Photo?

I bought gelcoat from [url="http://www.minicraft.com/"]Mini Craft[/url] and they have matches for our boat. They sell cans or spray cans of gelcoat. Very helpful on the phone.
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Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5383 Posts
Response Posted - 04/19/2008 :  23:52:16  Show Profile
Did you only crack the Gelcoat, or is the fibreglass material underneath also cracked? You can patch and/or repair the gelcoat as Randy suggests, but if you have a thin section that flexes or is weak, and if you can access the interior of this section of your hull, then you can easily reinforce it with glass cloth and epoxy.

I just read through Don Casey's <i>Complete Illustrated Sailboat Maintenance Manual</i>, and in the section called Core Problems, he has a chapter called Strengthening on page 229.

In it he details that you should clean and dewax the inside of the hull with solvent, grind down the shiny inside surface, cut out four to five successively larger layers of fibreglass cloth, then lay them in with unthickened epoxy, smallest patch first, to build up the area and strengthen it from the inside.

This will make the section quite a bit stronger. Further, you might also want to cover the exterior section with a thick rubber cover to prevent further damage to the gel coat.
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willy
Captain

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USA
422 Posts
Response Posted - 04/20/2008 :  13:40:11  Show Profile
I definately need to strengthen the glass there. The idea of the rubber pad is great! Not only will it be functional, it will hide what is sure to be a noticable scar when I re-gelcoat the exterior. Since I will be doing this while shes in the water, I probably will not use the aerosol gelcoat.
Thanks Guys!
Willy

Oh yeah Bruce, I am sailing a friends Catalina 30 over to Block Island in June from a Marina near the mouth of the CT. River. Last year he kept it at "Between the Bridges Marina" but this year he's moved it over to the sound. Ever take your boat over there?
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Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5383 Posts
Response Posted - 04/20/2008 :  19:39:03  Show Profile
Willy -
Your trip to Block sounds very interesting . . . Hope you have a good time. Saybrook is an excellent starting point because you can hit so many nice places in one day from there.

I got out to Branford and Westbrook last year, and since this year's D1 Power Squadron meetup is located at Essex Island Marina on the weekend of June 21, I plan to sail up there, provided the weather looks promising at the time.

I expect I can make about 25 miles per day comfortably, and since it's near the time of the solstice, I shouldn't have to sail in the dark. I reckon it'll be a five day trip (two days out, one day there and two days back).

This year I'll be sailing out of Brewer's Stratford Marina on the Housatonic, but for 2009 I'm considering a berth in New Haven or Branford harbor. That'd put me closer to Eastern LI Sound.
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Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.