Bottom, Mast Repair and Introduction

sh2053

New Member
Hello,
New to the forum and I must say there is a wealth of info on this site.
Thought I would share my recent projects. I have an '85 or so 14.2 that had a completely blistered bottom. My repair was to sand/grind all gelcoat and paint off the bottom and get down to raw fiberglass. I then applied 2 layers of epoxy resin, then 2 coats of bottomkote. A little wet sanding on the bottomkote and I have a nice smooth hull! Can't wait to try it out on the water. But, while stepping the mast to make sure all was OK, the mast shifted to the side and cracked the aluminum mast around the bolt hole.
I need to be on the water this weekend for a informal race so needed to repair mast ASAP. I shaped a block of wood to fit the inside of the hollow mast, used some small stainless screws to fasten the mast to the wood plug and then epoxied the whole mess together. Then redrilled the hole for the mast bolt. Hope it works! will try to test tomorrow afternoon.
I sail out of Leeslvania Park on the Potomac, live close by and would like to invite other 14.2 sailors to join up for a sail.

Steve
 
I've re-enforce the exterior of the mast by making a stainless sleeve to wrap around the exterior of the mast. I have also had a small mast welded by an aluminum welder. Both repairs worked out fine with the welding being the best.
 
Thanks Fan,
I didn't think I'd have room the fasten some type of support the the outside of the mast. Will have to think about welding as the mast now has a crack in it about 14 " long from the bolt hole.

Steve
 
Hi Steve,
Wood isn't the best material to plug your mast bottom. It will swell if it gets wet or even because of a large rise in relative humidity. Epoxy won't stop this from happening. Depending on how tight it's fitted within the mast, your crack could get a lot larger fast. My suggestion follows fan's - get it welded after removing the wood. Most small architectural metal shops can do aluminum welding, probably while you wait.
I also have blisters on my bottom; why my boat was so cheap! And though I probably will never find time to fix them, at least until the kids get out of high school, I was thinking of laying on a layer of glass after the grinding. Did you consider doing this? Your thoughts would be most welcome.

Jim
 
Jim,
Thanks for the insight. didn't think about the wood swelling up that much. I'll repair it by welding sometime! As for the blistering, the bottom of my boat looked like the surface of the moon-cratered blisters of all sizes covering the entire bottom below the water line and a big patch of "blister puke", that black tar like fluid created when fiberglass gets wet. After two seasons I finally did the bottom job. I was looking for more of a barrier coat than a strengthening of the hull so elected to use just epoxy resin applied directly to the raw fiberglass. Also, did not want to add more weight than necessary. Might one day talk the admiral into buying good sails and going racing!

Steve
 
Update on hull blister repair

Hello,
Just wanted to post an update. Put the boat in salt water 1 week after finishing the bottom. Pulled the boat Dec. 2008. After a good scrub, smooth as a babys **s and no blistering! This year will be new sheets, lines and a good fairing of the centerboard.

Looking forward to spring!

Steve
 

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