Deck Delamination Repair

tcalebwelch

New Member
Let me start by introducing my self and my boat, my name is Caleb and am out of Chattanooga Tennessee. The boat is a 1984 Laser2. I purchased this boat this weekend and can't wait to get her in the water. Unfortunatley the deck is extensively delaminated ( almost the entire deck) After hours of searching with no avail I have decided to pick the brains of some of you gurus around here!

Scrapping the hull and starting over is not an option I wish to pursue, I would like to atleast attempt a repair.
As a former McLaughlin Boatworks employee I have seen some pretty torn up boats and some pretty amazing repairs. I have some repair experience but mostly new construction.

As mentioned above the deck is soft from about 8 inches from the bow and all the way to the stern, as well as the cockpit floor. I feel the most professional repair would be made by removing the deck from the hull, removing the inner skin, replacing the foam, and then glass in a new skin.

I am confident in my abilities ( or so I think!) to make these repairs. the only thing that concerns me is sepperating the deck and hull. I understand this is a predominately laser forum not laser2, but I am hoping you guys may be able to she'd some light on this subject!


Thanks a ton in advance!
 
Once you have mastered the technique you can charge about £60/m² just for labour ;) it's really quite simple basically you need epoxy a syringe, a drill, some gym weights, masking tape, hardboard, plenty of wipes, a heater, a Dremel or similar rotary tool gel coat and acetone and LDPE sheet plastic or bag.
All you need to do is drill lots of holes about every 6 inches just through the gel coat then mask off around the hole inject the epoxy until it comes out of the nearby holes this bonds it back together then wipe away the excess and place the LDPE over the area then the piece of hardboard and then the gym weights then put the heater on it for about 15-20 minuets (don't melt your boat) then leave it to set for another hour or two at this point you should be able to remove the weights and the hardboard and then the LDPE should just peel away from the epoxy you then repeat the process in the next area and just carry on working your way around the affected area.
Then grind back the over spill of epoxy take some modelling clay - or silicone smear it on to a good section of the deck to get the grip pattern then fill the top of the hole where you injected the epoxy with gel coat and push the modelling clay or dried silicone over the top of the wet gel coat to give it texture warm the area for about 5-10 minuets leave the mould on until it is almost dry. and there you have it the two sections bonded back together and finished back with the deck grip pattern and that's what they do in the boat repair shops when you send it in or rather that's what we do where I work but we have never attempted a repair that large as it would be cheaper for the customer to get a new hull but for DIY purposes it would be economical to do this as you are not going to charge yourself labour :rolleyes: if I have missed anything feel free to message me :)
 

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