Fiberglass damage

Why on earth would you drill a hole through it and solder it back together when you can very easily pry the entire assembly off without damaging anything??
This has been mentioned several times in this thread alone.
PULL THE PLUG!!
 
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We've got the same question from two different members. :confused:

Yes, pulling the entire assembly will work, but in one of my Sunfish, the deck paint overlaps the assembly. :oops: Pulling the drain could require finding a matching paint.

(The drain pulls straight out).

I haven't tried that. You are thinking a small hole in the plug? what solder do you use to close the hole?
There are at least two lead solders--either will work. The are several types of Flux (a pre-cleaner, which also needs heat).

If you've already drilled the hole, use that hole for a big screw to help remove the drain assembly.

Drain the boat and weigh it. We'll see if more of our collective expertise is needed to get "light" and get sailing.
:)
 
Here's my Marine Tex adventure. First the damage, then the initial application, and finally after sanding. I tried to sand the edges down to a perfect blend with the hull, but I was starting to buff the hull on the off-side of the edges as much as I was bringing the edges down and so I quit early. Consequently, many of the edges are still fractionally sharp, as you can see in the photos.. Likewise, I tried to sand the face of the Marine Tex smooth but eventually felt that I was removing protective material more than I was perfectly smoothing the surface, so again I quit. Since it's all bottom work, aesthetics don't matter anyway -- which is a good thing because the MT is vastly brighter white than the hull's apparently egg-shellish tone. The color mismatch is rather stark.

One thing I did was rub a pretty thick layer of MT all the way around the inside of the daggerboard hole to blend the transition between the bottom hull and the fiber glass slot. I could see (and feel with my finger) a pretty distinct edge that retreated back from the hull hole to the wider fiberglass slot and decided to taper the edge with MT all the way around the hole (the way you would quarter-round caulk a seam under other circumstances), with careful attention paid to not actually narrowing the hole in the hull very much. Since the fill only tapers from the narrower hole back to the slightly wider fiberglass slot, it won't represent a risk to fitting the daggerboard through the hull. Presumably this last step should help with any possible leaks that might occur along that transitional edge inside the bottom of the slot.

Or it might have been a huge waste of time and effort. Who knows. But I had MT to spare and you can't save it once you mix it, so...

Cheers!
 

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I must have missed the Saran-Wrap part...:oops:

I tried smoothing it out with thin clear plastic (a thin bag instead of saran, but whatever), but I found that it just made a big sticky mess. In the end I just smoothed it out with my gloved fingers as best as possible and relied on sanding afterwards. Admittedly, examples showing the plastic trick make it look smooth as glass. I had no such luck.
 
I suspect that removal of the thin plastic film took place too soon. :oops: (Epoxy and Marine-Tex won't stick to most plastics after curing).

Not being skilled in adjusting plastic film (which takes skill), I seek out and save firmer plastic films--such as here:

Next time, I'll coarsely brush the repair, and squeeze the epoxy so air escapes between brushstrokes. If the repair has too much material in it, I'll poke a small hole in the middle of the plastic, stretch it taut, and let it cure overnight.
 
Here's my Marine Tex adventure. First the damage, then the initial application, and finally after sanding. I tried to sand the edges down to a perfect blend with the hull, but I was starting to buff the hull on the off-side of the edges as much as I was bringing the edges down and so I quit early. Consequently, many of the edges are still fractionally sharp, as you can see in the photos.. Likewise, I tried to sand the face of the Marine Tex smooth but eventually felt that I was removing protective material more than I was perfectly smoothing the surface, so again I quit. Since it's all bottom work, aesthetics don't matter anyway -- which is a good thing because the MT is vastly brighter white than the hull's apparently egg-shellish tone. The color mismatch is rather stark.

One thing I did was rub a pretty thick layer of MT all the way around the inside of the daggerboard hole to blend the transition between the bottom hull and the fiber glass slot. I could see (and feel with my finger) a pretty distinct edge that retreated back from the hull hole to the wider fiberglass slot and decided to taper the edge with MT all the way around the hole (the way you would quarter-round caulk a seam under other circumstances), with careful attention paid to not actually narrowing the hole in the hull very much. Since the fill only tapers from the narrower hole back to the slightly wider fiberglass slot, it won't represent a risk to fitting the daggerboard through the hull. Presumably this last step should help with any possible leaks that might occur along that transitional edge inside the bottom of the slot.

Or it might have been a huge waste of time and effort. Who knows. But I had MT to spare and you can't save it once you mix it, so...

Cheers!
Nice work! Make sure that daggerboard fits and you’re ready to sail!
 
I would recommend that in the future you sand back further. You need a much longer taper for the (insert type of glue your are using) to get a proper bond.

You little grinds that really did not get through the gel coat may not hold well over time.

If they dont it is not a big deal. You just sand it all back futher and redo it.

You have to keep in mind the adhesives in this case are bonding by getting into the scratchmarks left by the sand paper. A small area of scratch on a steep vertical surface can't hold as well as say a inch long taper on either side.

So as the boat bends or moves with the sun heating it you will get a pulling action on the gel coat. This may or may not cause the epoxy to pull and crack over time. I do not have enough experience to know how well your repair will hold up.
 

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