zbeekman
Zaak
Hi all! I am embarking on a laser restoration project and could use some advice. I have been watching quite a few videos from Boat Works Today over on youtube and have some ideas about what the right way to enact these repairs is but I wanted to get a second opinion to check my work. I'll try to give a brief overview of the problems I would like to fix up front and then save additional context and discussion for more dedicated readers.
The Problems:
My laser (hull/sail no. 170142) circa ~2000, has been sitting in my parents yard in Connecticut on a Seitech laser dolly for the past ~13 years. (My parents didn't want it in the garage even though its a large two car garage that only ever has 1 car in it and is otherwise generally used to store things. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ) Originally I had a cover for the hull, and I put it on "the wrong way" to cover the deck spars and foils, but over the years the cover started to disintegrate. The cockpit and mast step filled with water and leaves and the inside of the hull as well. The cockpit and hull probably froze and thawed a number of times over the years. Fortunately I had an inspection port installed forward of the mast step, because the bow of the boat was impossible to lift---much to my surprise---despite it being on a well balanced laser dolly. When I opened the forward inspection port I found that the hull was completely full of brown water which I had to siphon out with a hose since the boat could not be tipped to drain the water from the stern drain plug.
Notes After Initial Inspection
I was a bit confused as to why there was so much water in the hull. I wanted to completely flush the inside of the hull with clean fresh, soapy water, and also determine where the hull might have any leaks or holes. With the hull cradled in a hull shaped depression on a gently sloping portion of lawn, I rinsed and filled the hull again with fresh soapy water. To my surprise I found a very large leak where the deck to hull bonding compound has cracked and started to separate, but also a very oddly sized and placed hole in the cockpit. It appears to be on the centerline of the boat and virtually circular. It seems like this was a hole in the fiberglass that was either drilled or molded with the original manufacture of the boat that then only had a thin layer of gelcoat disguising its presence. Very curious indeed. The weight of the water in the cockpit and/or the thermal cycling and freezing of water in the cockpit might have caused the gelcoat to fail. This hole, along with a formerly-slightly leaky mast step were probably the main means that hull filled with water.
I am wondering if anyone else has had a similar hold develop in the cockpit, since it seems like it was the result of the manufacturing process or, perhaps even designed this way---maybe as a mechanical pressure fuse?
Open Questions and Advice
The Problems:
- Leaky mast step
- Very leaky hull/deck joint at gunwale where pressure point from Seitech laser dolly is created
- Strangely circular and symmetric hole in interior front cockpit wall, a few inches up from the cockpit sole, but under the forward hiking strap attachment on boat centerline
- Replacing and re-sealing inspection ports
- Addressing very discolored cockpit grab rails through cleaning/bleaching or replacement
- Inspecting for further damage to FRP hull, deck and core
My laser (hull/sail no. 170142) circa ~2000, has been sitting in my parents yard in Connecticut on a Seitech laser dolly for the past ~13 years. (My parents didn't want it in the garage even though its a large two car garage that only ever has 1 car in it and is otherwise generally used to store things. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ) Originally I had a cover for the hull, and I put it on "the wrong way" to cover the deck spars and foils, but over the years the cover started to disintegrate. The cockpit and mast step filled with water and leaves and the inside of the hull as well. The cockpit and hull probably froze and thawed a number of times over the years. Fortunately I had an inspection port installed forward of the mast step, because the bow of the boat was impossible to lift---much to my surprise---despite it being on a well balanced laser dolly. When I opened the forward inspection port I found that the hull was completely full of brown water which I had to siphon out with a hose since the boat could not be tipped to drain the water from the stern drain plug.
Notes After Initial Inspection
I was a bit confused as to why there was so much water in the hull. I wanted to completely flush the inside of the hull with clean fresh, soapy water, and also determine where the hull might have any leaks or holes. With the hull cradled in a hull shaped depression on a gently sloping portion of lawn, I rinsed and filled the hull again with fresh soapy water. To my surprise I found a very large leak where the deck to hull bonding compound has cracked and started to separate, but also a very oddly sized and placed hole in the cockpit. It appears to be on the centerline of the boat and virtually circular. It seems like this was a hole in the fiberglass that was either drilled or molded with the original manufacture of the boat that then only had a thin layer of gelcoat disguising its presence. Very curious indeed. The weight of the water in the cockpit and/or the thermal cycling and freezing of water in the cockpit might have caused the gelcoat to fail. This hole, along with a formerly-slightly leaky mast step were probably the main means that hull filled with water.
I am wondering if anyone else has had a similar hold develop in the cockpit, since it seems like it was the result of the manufacturing process or, perhaps even designed this way---maybe as a mechanical pressure fuse?
Open Questions and Advice
- Epoxy vs Poly resin: I know that gelcoat won't bond to epoxy very well, so I was planing to do all of my repairs using poly resin. This should match the original manufacture of GFRP hull and deck, and allow me to apply gelcoat over any exterior repairs like the hole in the cockpit. Is there a reason I should consider using Epoxy instead?
- Gorilla Glue vs "Peanut Butter" vs Bondo for Gunwale deck/hull splitting: My initial instinct was to use "Peanut Butter" (resin with colloidal silica and fibers from CSM glass) to perform the repair where the original bondo (or other) adhesive compound is separating and falling out. However I have seen some other methods of fixing this proposed on this form. Things from either using gorilla glue with a weak vacuum to suck it into the cracks, or applying bondo.
- Gunwale Grinding/Surface prep: I've seen people advocate replacing the bonding compound around the entire hull/deck seam to cleaning up the localized area with a dremel cutting disk or oscillating multi tool, to doing no additional surface prep. My plan (when using the "peanut butter") was to remove the cracking and weakened bonding agent in the vicinity of the repair only, and ensure a rough enough surface for good bonding.
- Gunwale Clamping Pressure: I know the gorilla glue repair will definitely need strong clamping as the glue foams and expands as it cures, but I'm less sure of how much clamping and clamping pressure to use if I follow a different repair approach.
- Cockpit Hole Repair: The hole is relatively small but my current plan is to sand/grind down the exterior surface around the hole and lay down some glass to patch it. I don't have interior access so I wasn't going to do anything besides ream out the hole with a drill bit slightly larger than the hole diameter. Should I install an additional inspection port next to the centerboard trunk so I can get at the back of the hole? Is there any reason I should explore a different approach than laying down some glass followed by sanding and fairing and gelcoat?
- Where else should I check for rot and damage? I have two inspection ports installed but they don't provide great access to all interior portions of the hull. Is there anything I should be particularly weary of with a boat that has been sitting with a hull, cockpit and mast step full of water (and mud other than the hull) for 13 years?
- Any tips for cleaning or replacing the grab rails? They were white originally, but now they're stained and a muddy red-brown. I haven't looked into how they're attached (rivets vs screws or something else). I also don't know if I could sand them and then wet sand and polish them to restore they're color use some sort of bleaching agent vs just buy new ones as they are fairly inexpensive.
- Sealing Compound Choice for Inspection Ports and thru-hull/deck Hardware: I have some white 3m 5200 marine sealant that I was going to use for the obvious parts (inspection ports) but I was wondering if people have other recommendations, especially for the screws holding the inspection ports and other hardware.