Need a little help with a hole in the hull.

[CLL2437]

I had a small 1” crack in the hull of my boat that I attempted to fix. I started out by sanding it down and I was going to put epoxy in it to fix it. As I was sanding the crack began to get bigger. By the time I was done sanding; I was left with a 2”x1” hole. I sanded away all the cracked glass and reached a point that it was no longer loose. I sanded around the hole about an inch or so then tried to bevel it. I have a lot of 1.5 oz. mat and woven roven left over from a previous project and I want to use. I have never tried to fix a hole that holds back water. I did a search on this subject but I still have questions. <br /><br />What kind of mat should I use for the hole? What type of resin should I use (I have 5 gal of polyester left)? How much should I sand around the hole? There is no way to put a backer on the hole unless I cut a hole in the floor so how should I put the mat on (I’ll be working upside down)? I was thinking of starting off with one layer of mat glassed in then some tape over that to hold it up and in place. Then I was going to add the smaller to larger pieces of mat until its all built up. Then I’ll sand its all down and blend it in. How does that sound. I don’t care how it looks because it’s under the boat. I just want it to be strong. Any help on this would be grate. <br /><br />Thanks,<br />Charles.

 

[dolluper]

Re: Need a little help with a hole in the hull.

I think you should cut out the section of floor,you might notice it is a bigger problem than just a small hole,water has been getting in.If your lucky it hasn't effected anything. Do it right from the inside clean it up good and lay your mat couple of layers then some of the woven roving to cover the mat ,all in one step.Let it set then do the outside sand and clean, use cloth to build up let set s+C again then filler,the filler a little higher as it will shrink,sand smooth and touch up paint or gelcoat

 

[CLL2437]

Re: Need a little help with a hole in the hull.

Is there any way to do it without cutting the floor up? I would have to cut up some seats just to get to the floor. Then I would have to remove the foam thats in there.

 

[swimmin' for shore]

Re: Need a little help with a hole in the hull.

You're in a spot, CLL. Dolluper is right. The only way to do this properly is from both sides. It isn't just a matter of it being proper, though. It's a matter of it being safe. You value your time, and don't want to do this from both sides. I understand. How much do you value your passengers, yourself, your boat, and your gear? If it was a junk boat that I didn't care much about, and I was going out with a fishing pole in a small lake, I'd probably not worry about the patch just from the outside. By the time I mixed in kids, expensive gear, and deeper, colder water though....I'd take the time to do it right, despite the pain in the butt that it's bound to be.

 

[bigboy]

Re: Need a little help with a hole in the hull.

This weekend i fixed a hole in my boat. Just resin a few mats on the insiede off the boat and than use epoxy filler for the outside...<br />