removing trim for repair and dagger trunk question

[ylojelo]

After my daughter was sailing, she couldn't pull the boat onto the beach alone. I was surprized how heavy it was and realized it had taken on quite a bit of water. I then realized it has a leak at the top corner of the transom and it appears to continue under the aluminum trip. I found it because water would actually drain out through it. It is a dent/crack and I was going to patch it with something like marinetex or epoxy/glass. Can the trim be easily removed and re-attached?

Also, I noticed the daggerboard was deeply notched on opposite sides; one high, one low; so it looks like my daughter ran aground. Could this cause damage to the dagger trunk? I checked it out, but it was late (dark) and I was in a hurry. It appears there is a vertical line (crack) on the aft end inside the trunk. Could that be the case?

 

[jsimmons248]

I have recently refurbished a 1978 Alcort Sunfish that had damage to the bow. The trim was easily removed by drilling out the rivets which released the front section of the trim. The deck was bonded firmly to the hull except where damaged so all I had to do was take some West Marine epoxy and glue it back together. I used clamps to insure a tight bond. The trim was then replaced and new rivets installed. Be careful not to bend or twist the aluminum trim after removal and before reinstalling.

The daggerboard trunk is a common place to find leaks that can be caused by running aground. The boat I refurbished had that problem. To fix it requires installing an inspection port just aft of the splashguard to gain access to the trunk. (At least that is what I did using a 6" port). I painted the cracked area with epoxy, let sit for a while then applied glass mat that was impregnated with epoxy over the crack and around the side of the trunk for reinforcement. It worked well and no problems since.

Good luck!

 

[Wavedancer]

Good advice, AFAIK.

Just tackle one problem at a time, and once the obvious ones are fixed, run a soap bubble test to see if there are other trouble spots.

 

[ylojelo]

Thanks. Are the rivets special in any way or can I just use the ones from Lowes with my poprivet tool? I have installed an inspection port already, so that will make that a bit easier, but yes, one problem at a time. You glass the dagger trunk from inside the hull (and enough to fill the crack on the outside, I assume).

Looks like I better drag the boat up the hill and into the garage .

 

[L&VW]

Can the trim be easily removed and re-attached?

Fairly easy, just drill out the pop-rivets from the top using a slightly larger drill bit than the rivet diameter. I did that just last month.

If your Sunfish has been around salt water, you may find that some rivets have deteriorated internally anyway. The holes in the fiberglass will have remained the same size, so select rivets for the size of rivet previously installed.

I've forgotten if they were 1/8th" diameter and ¼" deep? The smallest rivets I had laying around worked just fine.

The rivets go through only the top side of the trim—so you can use too long a replacement rivet!

 

[ylojelo]

dagger trunk repair?

got a closer look at the damaged boat this weekend. the lower aft if the dagger trunk is split or cracked (about 6 inches). I can see the crack from the outside and feel the damage from the inside (through the deck inspection port).


I started a new thread asking about this repair, thanks!