Fiberglass repairs

H

HoleInHull

New Member
I am the new proud owner of a pre-1972 Laser. I noticed the hull damage before I cleaned it up. I noticed the mast step? damage later. Since the top and the bottom of the mast step seem solid, what is the best way to fix the middle so that water does not get in.

The boat also does not have a tiller. Can/do people make these or is it necessary to buy one?

The rest of the boat and trailer seem pretty good and I think it will be a great project.
 

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HoleInHull said:
I am the new proud owner of a pre-1972 Laser. I noticed the hull damage before I cleaned it up. I noticed the mast step? damage later. Since the top and the bottom of the mast step seem solid, what is the best way to fix the middle so that water does not get in.
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The mast step damage may be cracked/chipped gelcoat and not significant. Just pour in water and see if it disappears. If it does, we can advise you further.
 
Looks like you will need to cut an inspection port in the deck. I would try to place it so I could reach both the hull repair and the mast step repair but that may be impossible -- probably depends on how long your arms are.

To fix the mast step it should mostly be a matter of sanding the outside of the tube (the part inside the hull) and cleaning it up and then wrapping some glass around it. While you're at it you'll want to check the base of the tube to make sure it is secure, if not that's a bigger job that you can search for tips how to do on the board.

You may also want to do a little work inside the tube and you may want to also address the worn part at the top at the same time. To sand inside the tube you probably need to glue some sand paper to a wooden dowel or something to get at it. Or if you have a Dremel tool with an extension. To spread some filler into the crack you could use an old batten like a spatula. Maybe enough will ooze through from the other side when you wrap it with glass.

With an inpsection port in the deck fixing the hull damage would be pretty straight forward too -- after your prep work lay some glass inside. If you do a search there's probably more detailed tips on repairs on the board.

Yes you can build your own tiller. Get some 1" aluminum tube and some 5/8" aluminum tubing (I think about 1/8"? or slightly less wall thickness) and the relevant fittings and put it all together.

Last time I did this (it's been a while) I think a 12' section of 5/8" aluminum tubing cost something like $20. Cut into 4' sections you'll have three blanks for extensions. Add in a golf grip from the sporting goods store ($2-$4) a universal and saddle (about $10) and you have 3 tiller extensions for about $20 each compared to $48 for the pro model.

For the tiller itself you might want to see if they have a scrap bin for the 1" tube since you don't really need 10 or 12 feet -- or pay the cut charge to get a piece close to the right size. Off the top of my head I think it would be another $10-$20 that way, maybe less. Go to your Laser dealer and buy a tiller wedge (V801220) for about $14 and and a rudder downhaul cleat (anyhwere from $2 to $14 depending on the type). Don't forget to check out the carbon fiber tillers and extensions that you're going to buy as soon as you can save up for them since they are superior and you know you'll end up wanting one. . . Add in a few rivets and a 1" end cap and put it all together and you're in business for around $100 total and a couple hours of time with 2 extra extensions as spares or presents for a less fortunate Laser sailor. . .

Don't worry about anodizing the aluminum, paint it if you like or leave it bare. At this price it's not worth the expense and hassle of anodizing.
 
for the mast step you may also be able to use a product called Marine-tex that mixes to a putty consistancey. You can spread that on the inside and then just sand it down. It will make the step water proof and structurally support the step as well, but make sure you still wrap and epoxy fiberglass tape around the step on the inside. In addition you can buy a mast step wear plate, which is a little metal disk that goes in the bottom of the step to prevent the step from wearing away when the mast rotates. This could be helpful since the laser is so old. That part shouldn't be more than $10
 
Std size port is 5.25" cut the hole, do all the work on the mast tube and the hull, and then mount the port, it will leave you a little more elbow room.

I agree, wrapping the outside of the tube from inside the hull will fix the mast tube issue and make it watertight.

I don't think I would spend much time trying to clean up the inside of the tube to filling the crack there. If you do decide to sand inside the tube, some other suggestions are a baseball bat wrapped with sandpaper or a 1" or 2" sanding drum made for electric hand drills with a 18" drill bit extender.

Other ideas for tiller are castoff lacrosse sticks - can usually get those for free from a HS lax team. They are plenty stiff and light and you can bolt it right into the rudder head for a tight fit w/o any adaptors.

Other tiller extension idea is 3/4" PVC pipe - really cheap, buy the 10' section so you have a spare.

If you have inside the hull access for fixing the hole in the hull, it will be really easy to lay a few layers of mat down and then fill from the outside. If you need to fix it from the outside, the following is a great guide.
http://www.lasersailing.com/article/uk/grp-fixing-a-hole
 
I will post my progress in this forum. Does anyone have any ideas about where any blocks or any other obstruction might be before I start cutting my inspection port. I will try and do both repairs through the same opening but I may be able to move it an inch or two one way or the other to miss a vital part.
 
Since you really need to cut away the damaged section of the hull to do a proper hull repair, I would do that now, you can then peek into the hull cavity and see if you have any foam blocks in the way of where you want to put the inspection port.
 
As long as you don't put the inspection port on the centerline you'll miss the stringer there. There isn't much else to hit under the deck, although it is cored I believe.

Personally, I would not completely cut out the damaged area of the hull. I would clean up/feather the edges of the cracks on the outside and get the main piece back in proper position but then do the repair layup from the inside. I would try to tape something stiff and smooth (plastic or at least cardboard wrapped in plastic so the resin doesn't stick to it) on the outside of the hull to work against and keep my repair pretty fair. I hate the sanding and fairing part the most. . .

I'm not an expert but my rationale here is that since I'm not an expert working with a piece that is still attached will ultimately be easier than removing it and replacing it and then fairing the repair. Maybe an expert will weigh in with the pros or cons of this approach. . .

On the other hand, it's possible you could eliminate the need to have an inspection port within reach if you did completely cut out the damaged section. The chief advantage of that would be you could then place one inspection port closer to the mast step repair job to make that easier.

You could either attach tabs on the inside of the hole (pieces of popsicle sticks or tongue depressors) around the edge of the repair. Once that's set you then replace the piece you cut out and glass over the cracks.

Or you could do a lay up on a piece of card board that's bigger than the hole, fold it to fit inside and hold it in place with string until the glass kicks -- think of it like a really big toggle bolt like you would use on a wall.

I've done smaller repairs both ways but probably not that big. The largest I've done was to use the tabs to seal up an inspection port hole one time when I was too cheap to buy another inspection port. . . (yes it did look king of ugly on the deck but it was pretty sound and I believe the boat is still in operation years later. . .).
 
New thread - Similar problem. Looking at 1980 Laser with a soft section port side right about where one would hike out. Small holes (smoothed over) in deck on both port and starboard deck but soft spots only on port side. It looks like some sort of epoxy/hardener was injected and that the port side has started to delaminate. Will I need to cut out both deck sections and reglass 2'X2' sections? How much would something like this cost?
 
HoleInHull said:
I am the new proud owner of a pre-1972 Laser. I noticed the hull damage before I cleaned it up. I noticed the mast step? damage later. Since the top and the bottom of the mast step seem solid, what is the best way to fix the middle so that water does not get in.

The boat also does not have a tiller. Can/do people make these or is it necessary to buy one?

The rest of the boat and trailer seem pretty good and I think it will be a great project.
Click to expand...


A friend had the same problem on his boat that i helped fix a week ago. Get your self some epoxy resin and (i forget the name) fiberglass cloth? Cut 1 1/2 foot by 4 inch strips, mix up some epoxy and w/ paint brush paint the epoxy on to the fiberglass cloth then wrap the mast step once around completly. If once doesnt work do it again that will definatly do it.
If there is no porthole on the deck you need to cut one, but not in the center of the boat or like sorosz said or yull cut the stringer.
 
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