Dumb Question

[nofishjoe]

I have a hole in my boat that I recently purchased and yes was aware of it from the start. The hole is about 2" in diameter. Now do I neeed to fill the hole first or should I just start placing the foberglass over the hole and not worry about the gap. And also is the gel coat needed to protect the fiberglass. Or what is the reason of the gel coat. The hole is below the water line and I plan trying to repair the hole from the inside first. Any help would be excellent.. Thank you very much.

 

[tscott]

Re: Dumb Question

You need to fill that hole.You might try www.westmarine.com and purchase their fiberglass repair kit then purchase their gel-coat repair kit.You do need the gel coat.The gel-coat gives the hull it's "smoothness" and handling characteristics.

 

[KenOhki]

Re: Dumb Question

My 14 foot fiberglass boat came with a hole in the keel from the previouse owner. Mine you could throw a baseball through. anyway, I cleaned the hole, and then sanded around it. I then used a fiberglass kit. it had 1 piece of flimsy metal with holes in it to reinforce the hole and give the fiberglass something to cling too, then I placed a 3 layer patch of mesh cloth 1 layer at a time, each patch a bit bigger then the last. I then sanded it smooth and painted with bottom paint. It is on its second year and holding strong. Its the strongest part of the boat in my opinion. I patched from the outside, and did not patch from the inside at all,, I supose I should, But If I did it would be for pure cosmetic reasons.<br /><br />I relize the patch on the outside has changed the contour of my keel ever so slightly, But I feel a outside patch is much stronger then a inside one.<br /><br />I did not use gel coat, only fiberglass resin, cloth, a bit of thin metal with holes in it, and bottom paint, For a small hole such as yours, you probably dont need the metal brace thing.<br /><br />Good Luck