12' Sears Gamefisher Fiberglass "potato chip"

[r16409]

Just bought this rig with hopes of using as a dingy dock boat here in socal. It had some really cheap paint on the bottom of the outer hull and a few leaks and a poorly done patch on a 6'' crack in the bow. I removed the the cracked area cut out all the cracked material and re-glassed the area as well as a stip over the keel and the bow.. After doing this job I am really concerned about how thin the , "Potato Chip like", fiberglass laminate is and I am thinking of removing the gel coat and glassing the entire hull with one piece cloth/mat to beef it up so I don't have to worrie about the thing cracking up if I plane out with a 10Hp in some chop.... The gel-coat in the area that I patched came off without too much work and I am interested in getting some experience with gel-coating, (I know everyone says after one re-gel-coat they would never do it again). I am more curious if any experts have advice on pros/cons of re-glassing the entire hull from the outside -- I think most hull re-enforcement work is done from the inside.

Thank You

 

[ondarvr]

Re: 12' Sears Gamefisher Fiberglass "potato chip

Re: 12' Sears Gamefisher Fiberglass "potato chip

There were several styles and builders of these boats for Sears, so it's hard to say the best way to do it without more info. Post some pics if you can.

Most of these boats were built on the cheap side and longevity wasn't their strong suit, some had no gel coat at all and were painted at a later time by the owner, so is yours gel coated or painted?

 

[r16409]

Re: 12' Sears Gamefisher Fiberglass "potato chip

Re: 12' Sears Gamefisher Fiberglass "potato chip

It has gel coat! It is the 12' Non PVC Fiberglass "V-Hull". What about glassing over the outside of the hull from the water line down? I want to make the hull stronger. Or maybe it is better to glass a few spots like the keel, chines and a few stips down the length to add some strength/thickness?

 

[ondarvr]

Re: 12' Sears Gamefisher Fiberglass "potato chip

Re: 12' Sears Gamefisher Fiberglass "potato chip

Without knowing more about the boat it's hard to say whether doing from the inside or outside is better. It can be done on the outside, but requires fairing and re-gel coating or painting, if it can be done from the inside it is much easier....but only if you can actually get to the entire hull from the inside.

Again, we really don't know what you have yet.

 

[r16409]

Re: 12' Sears Gamefisher Fiberglass "potato chip

Re: 12' Sears Gamefisher Fiberglass "potato chip

Thank you for the input. I posted some pictures of the outside and one of the inside. I removed the gel-coat which is shown in the pictures. The inside has a layer of foam covering the entire floor which would make it difficult to glass without removing all the form. Eventually I think we need to remove the foam from the floor since it will hamper with any water that gets on deck. This is why I was leaning towards re-glassing the outside -- the entire bottom up to about 5 inches above the water line. I am a bit concerned about air bubbles and the best technique for laying the glass out -- if I glass the bottom should I use one piece or several pieces and or one piece with cutting slits along edges like the chines etc?

Thank You