Damage Repair

S

sailing824

New Member
Hi I'm new to this forum and I was just wondering if anyone knew of any good online or book resources for repairing a hole in a laser. I got a laser for free with just hull and mast, with only a few holes in the hull I was pretty happy. I went to a repair shop that said it would cost 500 dollars to repair, but I dont have the money (I'm in highschool). Thanks.
 
How big are the holes? Depending on the size of the holes you might mess it up, if you know what you are doing it's pretty easy but otherwise I would have someone else do it. It's hard to explain over a forum but you have to do a couple things before you reglass. First, check the material around the holes to see if they have retained moisture cuz it'll be really slow if its soaked up. If you can find a place to rent a Moisture Meter from you would be golden for that. Then I would clear/clean the boat and any debris inside the hull.
 
sailing824 said:
Hi I'm new to this forum and I was just wondering if anyone knew of any good online or book resources for repairing a hole in a laser. I got a laser for free with just hull and mast, with only a few holes in the hull I was pretty happy. I went to a repair shop that said it would cost 500 dollars to repair, but I dont have the money (I'm in highschool). Thanks.
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Hi Sailing824! Welcome to the forum. If you type in "fiberglass repair" using the Search feature on the bar across the top, you should come up with some useful stuff to get you started. Good luck!
 
Congratulations!
Let us know where the holes are exactly located (and how far apart) and how big they are, where the boat has been stored with these holes and what you think is the cause of these holes. Pictures would be helpful too.
Holes are not good, but the beauty of fiberglass is that it can be repaired!
GWF
 
Most of the holes are located on the non skid, I guess you would call it the deck. Most are puncture holeswhere all the material is still connected and hanging on, but there is water seeping in through the hole.
 
I can probably cut you some deck pieces that will match. I'd need sizes and color. Place a white sheet of paper on the deck for comparison, to determine if it's tan, white, or gray.

Is the rest of the hull ok, meaning worth saving?

use [email protected] to reply with specs. Are you USA or other?
 
Vtgent49, do you have some decks lying around? that would be nice if you could help that way!
sailing 824, the deck is not that bad to repair. If you don't care about the deck looking perfect, you could first get rid of all the wet and loose material. get rid of all the wet foam that is in there, then clean with acetone (wear gloves and work preferably outside). tape off the good parts of the deck around the damaged area and fill up the hole with some foam (the stuff that is used for insulation). It expands so be carefull not to overfill. When it is cured cut off the extra foam and sand it down, so that it is more or less level with the underside of the top deck layer. Then the fiberglassing starts. cut out some pieces of fiberglass, so that they fit the holes exactly. prepare some epoxy, mix well and follow the instructions exactly. brush the epoxy on the foam and put a layer of fiberglass in there. brush some more epoxy on there. This is a bit tricky as the fiberglass will move around. When you are more or less level with the top of the deck, put some wax paper on top, so that it is flat. When it is cured you take off the paper and you pobably need to do some sanding, or apply some more epoxy. After sanding it, spray paint the repairs(find a color that matches at the auto store). You need to do this, because epoxy needs to be protected from uv.
That is how I would tackle this. You will be proud of yourself when you fininish it nicely and when you sail your yacht that otherwise would have been discarded!
That having been said, follow the advice to check out whether the hull is sound (mast step?) and worth the work. I am sure there will be more problems that you will discover sooner or later, but any boat has some problems.

Good luck!

GWF
 
Yes, I have spare deck pieces. I save inspection port blanks, and I have another boat that could be partly cut, if anyone needs a bigger piece.

I'm also looking for a totaled boat, to cut the back deck off of. Here's a pic to give you an idea of what I need. If anyone knows of a totaled boat, please let me know.

Al Russell 182797
 

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If the wholes are really small, like big enough to leak but small enough to be hardly noticeable ( like an 8th-inch or less dia.), you can attach a vacuum to an inspection port or the drain plug and set it to suck air out. Then mix up some epoxy or resin and spread it over the holes so it gets sucked in.
 
Dick Tillman's book 'The complete book of Laser Sailing', International Marine, 2000 has some tips and diagrams of 'hole and other repair' techniques/recommendations. (Not quite as radical as the photo on this forum)

There used to be a website titled 'things to do to a laser' circa about 1997 that included tips on lots of things but also on how to repair various damage - including how to cut out the deck panels around the mast tube and restore decking including emulation of original anti skid deck surface texture.

Shevy Gunter's previous site also had some articles dealing with repair recommendations including how to salvage delaminated decks - some forum members may have made 'off-line' copies of these articles or know people who have.

If all else fails, try contacting your most local laser builder for advice. Performance Sailcraft in Australia were as helpful as they could reasonably be when approached for advice on gellcoat colour matching for my Laser - but after getting custom matched 2 part polyurethane locally, I was subsequently surprised to find a 99.9% perfect match one pack spray at a local hardware store that was much easier to apply.

Local Laser builders may also advise local builders who can assist if the repair is technically difficult. A of what is proposed may let you judge whether it is the type of repair you feel confident in attempting yourself. If it is, fiberglass supply companies such as Fiberglass international in Australia give really good technical advice to customers of raw materials. There may be a simmilar supplier close to you.

Your most local Laser dealer may also be able to put you in contact with experienced repair people - or may have in-house expertise based on refurbishment and resale of used Lasers.

West systems also have fairly high levels of technical assistance for amateur and commercial customers - and would be familliar with general Laser construction, repairs and class rules etc.

good luck - hope these ideas help in tracking down good specific advice for your needs.

GL
 
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