Fiberglass/Scratch Repairs

Mike94

Mike94

New Member
Ok, no more Laser Sailing for me this season, so i decided to fix her up some. lots of the problems was not done from me, when i bought it, there was the fiberglass damage, i mostly just did the small scratches.

bowgunnel-2.jpg

this picture is of the bow, the guy who owned the boat used an old crank from a powerboat to keep the laser on it, it damaged it a lot.

topgunnel-1.jpg

this picture of fiberglass damage, no idea how it got there at all

daggerboard-2.jpg

this picture of the daggerboard slot on hull, it's at the stern part, no idea how that happened either, was like when i got

auto-bailer-2.jpg

this picture of the autobailer at the bow, it's seperated from the hull and i can't figure out how to make the whole thing flush with the hull.

hull-1.jpg

bottom-1.jpg

bottom-2.jpg

bottom-3.jpg

these are all just general pictures of scratches that i want to repair too


can anyone give me tips on what to do and how to do it, i never really did fiberglass repair nor scratch repair. i am not sure if i should just re-gellcoat the bottom or just sand it all down with a fine grit paper and then just re-top coat it or not

thoes are the only problems with the boat, the rest is beautiful and i want to get ready to race for next year already.
 
For the larger chips at the bow, daggerboard trunk, and the random one on the gunnel, You should use a random orbit disc sander with a really coarse disc on it and grind the areas down some all around it so it is all basically smooth. Then, you'd want to get some fiberglass, not the cloth matt but the loosly buched glass, apply some epoxy, then lay the glass over it, then lightly put more epoxy over that too. Then just let it dry over night and sand it down to smooth. If, which is not uncommon, there is still an indent where the area was ground down, apply more epoxy and if the indent is really large, more glass too.

For the smaller scratches, you'd want to use a tool almost like a can opener, with that one sharp triangular wedge, and scape out those scratches. It may look and sound painful, but just drag it through the entire length of the scratch. Then, fill it with epoxy, let dry, and sand to smooth.

Unfortunately, thats the easy part. Painting, is the hard part. If you live near a full service shipyard that's awesome. Just take the boat to them and they'll paint it most likely using Awlgrip. If you don't live near a shipyard, it's not neccisarily bad, because through your Vanguard dealer you can get the right color gelcoat and appropriate hardners or thinners which you can take to an autobody shop and have them spray it for you. If you dont feel like paying anybody to do it for you, again, get the appropriate gelcoats, hardners, and thinners through your Vanguard dealer, and go to your local paint store where sometimes they'll have these mini areosole (sp??) spray cans that you can fill with the gelcoat and do it yourself.

Whatever you do, I would not suggest doing anything but spraying it on because I think you'll find the scratches looking pretty nice compared to a rolled on outcome.

About the auto bailer, I have no clue. Try taking the entire thing apart and putting it back on. I that doesn't work...and you have $48 kicking around...you might want to consider getting a new one.
 
Hello Mike,
I had the same problem you have with the auto-bailer (with a new auto bailer).... When I tried to screw the screw into the spot into the hole with the bailer in place. It would cause the bailer to stick up on the front (bow) end almost an 1/16". What I ended up doing and so far it is holding nicely. I used super-glue, I took my bailer and put the screw through it and got it started a couple of turns. The I pushed the auto bailer down into position. Where it was flush all the way around. Then I ran a small bead around edges of the bailer where it met the boat and weighted it in place with a couple of large bolts until the super glue cured. Then I ran another bead of super glue over it, let it cure for a couple of hours and then screwed the screw down completely and filled the hole with a dab of Silicone with a piece of scotch tape (to keep it smooth) over it till it dried. I think I can cut through the super glue with an exacto knife when I need to replace the "O" rings on. As for your chip on the rail, I repaired a couple that were similair on the top edge of my mast step. I used a wire brush on my drill to clean and rough up the damaged spots and it left a good rough surface for the gelcoat to adhere to. I cleaned it with acetone and mixed up a tablespoon of gelcoat & a couple of drops of hardner ( west marine brand-white). and used packaging tape (clear cellophane 2") around the mast step with a 1/4" sticking up above the deck. Then I filled the damaged area to above the original deck height, wet sanded it smooth and called it good.
Good luck with your boat repairs!
Fishing Mickey
150068

p.s. Your bottom gel coat looks mighty good already. Macwas16's epoxy for scratch repairs sound llike the ticket or just wet sand them smooth.
 
I'll add my two bits of repair skillage in here;

before attempting to repair and scratch, clean it with acetone and a rag, this will remore andy dust, dirt grime and grit that would otherwise get into the repair material, weakening and discoloring it.

thats my advice
 
And not bad advice at that either!....I was going to add that same thing but I forgot...and then became to lazy to post again :(
 
I am thankful for Mike's questions, but I have a few more in the same general area to add on top of his.

A) My '73 hull leaks, but I guess I'm too dense to figure out where. The mast step holds water, and when I fill the hull with water through its inspection ports, no water drips. Should I assume it is taking on water through the gunwale joint (doesn't make sense in flatwater sailing Arizona)?

B) What is the benefit of adding fiberglass to a crack or hole rather than just gellcoating it?
 
Finding leaks -
How to find leaks in a Laser
Heed the warning about too much air pressure !

Why add fiberglass to a hole - Gelcoat or just plain resin does a good job of filling and sealing a small surface imperfection, but it's reinforcing properties are terrible (you would never build a boat out of just gelcoat or resin) and it's very stiff (which causes it to crack when stressed by flexing, compressing or tension)

On some of those dings in the pictures above, you most likely could use just gelcoat or resin with pigment in it to repair, however any hole or crack completely thru the hull or deck should always be reinforced with fiberglass.



Originally posted by AZ 8783
I am thankful for Mike's questions, but I have a few more in the same general area to add on top of his.

A) My '73 hull leaks, but I guess I'm too dense to figure out where. The mast step holds water, and when I fill the hull with water through its inspection ports, no water drips. Should I assume it is taking on water through the gunwale joint (doesn't make sense in flatwater sailing Arizona)?

B) What is the benefit of adding fiberglass to a crack or hole rather than just gellcoating it?
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top