Damaged fiberglass.....darn rock.

[AltheaToldMe]

So I hit a rock while boating last weekend. This was on Sunday night. I checked the bottom of the boat today to assess the damage. I found that the cut is about an inch wide at it's widest and about 10" long. The disturbing part (to me) was the fact that it appears wet after 2 days on dry land.

Is there water stored between the layers of fiberglass and if so, what is the best way to dry it out before attempting a repair. Secondly, if the hull is breached (and it does not appear to be,) is there a way to dry out the foam?

I'm kicking myself right now, but I have to find the best way to repair it and move on. I have no idea what course to take, but I'll bet there are plenty here that do. I have access to glass mat and resin now. I happen to out of town right now and there is a marine supply place a block or so from here. I am going to pick up some Marine-Tex as I have read about it here.

~~snip~~

Here are some pics of the damage for further consideration. Tonight I got the large kit of Marine-Tex, some fiberglass mat and resin. I went and lightly sanded the area this afternoon. These pics are post-sanding. Still looking for opinions on the situation though.

 

[eli_lilly]

Re: Damaged fiberglass.....darn rock.

That doesn't look too bad, looks like the boat took it well. I've seen other impact damage here where the hull shatters/rips.

There's ten trillion threads on iboats on how to fix a gash like that, just look back through this restoration forum.

-E