I inherited a 21' Nitro that hit a reef. The scar is approximately 3' long and down to the foam. How do I approach this? Can I repair this from the outside, or do I have to go through the floor to access both sides? Opinions and advice appreciated!
I inherited a 21' Nitro that hit a reef. The scar is approximately 3' long and down to the foam. How do I approach this? Can I repair this from the outside, or do I have to go through the floor to access both sides? Opinions and advice appreciated!
That is a big repair to do. You are going to have to rebuild that from the inside and outside.
From the pics, it looks like a good chunk of glass is missing and the floatation foam is exposed. Basically you have a large hole about 6" by 18 " or so in the side of the boat with only the foam holding anything in place.
All the foam in the area should be taken out, looks like some of it was wet . The strake will have to be rebuilt into the glass work.
Not going to be a quick repair.
Yeah, I figured that.
My plan is this: Remove the floor and cut away ragged edge of hole so its clean. I was thinking of tacking down fine wire mesh over the hole from the inside, then laying a few layers of FG cloth from the inside. After that is set, do the repair from the outside, rebuild the strake, and sand until smooth then apply gelcoat. Am I even close in my thinking?
Thanks a bunch!
You pretty much have it.
Follow the contour on the hull. Use mesh, or a piece of cardboard covered in plastic, tape it to the inside of the hull ( after sanding the inside glass down ) so it follows the contour.
Use woven to build up strength. You'll need 2 - 3 layers . First layer should be only slightly larger than the hole, wet that out and apply, 2nd roven patch should be a few inches larger than the first, wet out and apply, the last patch should be larger and cover the repair.
The amount of layers you use will depend on how thick the original glass is, leave enough space for the finish cloth coat and gel.
Finish with a light cloth layer to hide any printout and the gelcoat.
Once cured you can remove the cardboard from the inside and layup a strip of woven from the inside for strength also.
Question: How do I get to it if the floor is glass? Should I cut that out and access, or what? thanks a lot for your advice. I appreciate it!
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BASSCAT7 »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">That is a big repair to do. You are going to have to rebuild that from the inside and outside.
From the pics, it looks like a good chunk of glass is missing and the floatation foam is exposed. Basically you have a large hole about 6" by 18 " or so in the side of the boat with only the foam holding anything in place.
All the foam in the area should be taken out, looks like some of it was wet . The strake will have to be rebuilt into the glass work.
Not going to be a quick repair.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill !!
what model boat is that i had a 2000 dc that did the same thing in dang near the exact same spot
it's a 1992, not sure which model. Buddie hit a reef on Lake of the Woods on plane!
Can you add a photo of the floor above the damaged area ? I have repaired a area like that. The dark area in the damaged area looks like it had earlier damage and water leaked in. On my boat; I cut the area of the floor out above the damage. Cut at a 45 degree angle sloping out all the way around so you can "piece" it back in. The problem you are going to run into is that the fiberglass is just cracked & delaminated or seperated in layers. That is tougher to deal with.
Here is one way:
1. turn boat over.
2. Grind all gelcoat & glass down 1/4-1/2" in the affected areas. make sure to grid all cracks out. Feather back 2".
3. Fiberglass this area back. Alternating a layer of mat, then woven. cut long strips to build up the "V"'s in the hull. When each layer dries, you will have to grind a little to expose the glass for the next session to bond. Last layer needs to be mat.
4. Grind/sand this area back to shape of the boat. You will need to glass more to get the shape back. Mat only will be OK.
5. Use filler to get smooth.
6. Gelcoat the area back.
7. Turn back over
8. grind area out from inside, down to the repaired glass. feather back 2 or 3 "
9. Using same glass procedure, glass back.
10. glass cut out of piece back in.
You could avoid turning boat over by cutting out floor, cut out damaged area. Make a mold or guide of the bottom of the boat in the missing area. Glass back in.
Or Finally, find another hull, put your motor, electronics, on it.
..
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Sea Pro SV1900 bay boat, Yamaha 115HP
Yeah, a bay boat, best of both worlds, peacefulness in the river bass fishing, big fish in bay & ocean !!
have you hugged your wife today ?
I think I will take the floor out and cut away the edge so its clean. I will mold the curve of the hull with strake and attach from outside and build up layers of gelcoat from the inside. When that's dry I will paste and matt in from the inside. When dry I will remove the mold from the outside and gelcoat and buff out.
I know it would be a long drive for you but if you brought that hull to Toledo Fiberglass in Louisiana, he can fix that hull like new. JMO
2000 Champion 203
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