Fiberglassing a Laser Deck

A

aleman

New Member
Hello everybody,

I'm new to the forum, and have a question. I've gotten an old Laser which its deck is delaminating around the cockpit. Now the most important thing for you to know is that I wont use the Laser for Racing. It's just to sail every once in a while. Now I was thinking if I could maybe give the deck a couple layers of fiberglass around the cockpit and around the mast area. For which I would of course have to Sand off some of its gelcoat. Do you think that would make it a little stronger? Like I said, it's not for racing or anything. It's either that or not having one at all. What I would do is sand of the whole deck, and then give everything two layers and one or two more around the cockpit and around the mast to strengthen it a little. Maybe I dont need to do the foredeck.

Thanks for your advice everybody

aleman
 
Thanks for the message WCsailor,
I actually dont have any pictures. But there is some stress cracks around the mast, and after reading up on some more stuff, I figure maybe I should put in an inspection port while I'm at it and fiberglass the maststep as well. I don't mind the work really. I've built a rowing dinghy before which I took a mold off another one. So it can't be more work than that :).
 
Welcome Aboard Aleman:

The first thing I would do is to invest $5.00 and buy a booklet put out by West System which details many basic fiberglass repairs. It is worth every penny. There is also a section dealing with repairs to delaminated decks. Be advised that most if not all methods of deck repair will not be pretty or look original when you are done.

You might also try a forum called Classic Mako. I have been a member there for years and have gotten the some of the best boat repair advice around.

Lastly, there is member of this forum who has actually removed the deck from the hull, posted some pictures; and put the two back together. I learned a lot from what he had done, but I never asked him exactly how he accomplished the separation. If you're really ambitious, you might go that route.

Hope this helps.
 
Aleman, I have the same problem. My deck is about 80% delamed. I have been thinking about several options. The easiest one is to resin inject the deck. However depending on how bad your boat is, this can add a lot of weight. the next option is what pete said. That's going to be a lot of work. The third option is to take the top of your laser off and let the core dry out and put new glass on it. also a lot of work. and forget about ever being class legal. what ever you decide, let us know and we'll help you where we can
 
aleman said:
I've gotten an old Laser which its deck is delaminating around the cockpit. Now the most important thing for you to know is that I wont use the Laser for Racing. It's just to sail every once in a while. Now I was thinking if I could maybe give the deck a couple layers of fiberglass around the cockpit and around the mast area. For which I would of course have to Sand off some of its gelcoat. Do you think that would make it a little stronger? Like I said, it's not for racing or anything. It's either that or not having one at all. What I would do is sand of the whole deck, and then give everything two layers and one or two more around the cockpit and around the mast to strengthen it a little. Maybe I dont need to do the foredeck.
Click to expand...

Based on what you wrote -- "delaminating" which I assume to mean separating from the foam core that provides stiffness and becoming "spongy" to the touch, I'd recommend leaving well enough alone.

These types of jobs *always* turn out to be more work than you bargained for, and *never* turn out as nice as you were hoping.

Folks racing are obsessed with boat stiffness, and a spongy or flexy boat gets into their head, and they're convinced they can't be fast, which becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.

For just tooling around the lake, leave it be, enjoy sailing, and spend your time either sailing, or working on more important projects.
 
You guys are a little off base... in regards to even bringing up the concept of removing the deck.

If you find that post (here on TLF), the member "Gouv" recommends against it as there are issues with hull deformity, CB alignment and gunwale edge adhesion if not properly done.

And he is a repair professional (Schroth, ryhmes with both).

aleman: Your on the right track with inspection port(s) as you can add glass work under the surface (if needed) to avoid additional work of deck refinishing and unsightly repair area.

Just my $.02

ps. I agree with the moose (bjmoose)
 
Thank you everybody for your advice!

I actually started my project today. And I took an unconventional way. The problem with my deck is that at some places there are big gabs between the core and the glass. I was going to try to inject resin, but after some more thinking I figured it would take gallons of resin to fill the space and add a really big amount of weight to the hull. So I went to the Hardware store and bought seven cans of Expansion Foam, drilled holes every 4" and filled in the Foam. And surprise surprise it worked really good. Of course it doesn't look like a new hull, and it is definetly not a solution for everybody, but since I just want to do a little sailing of the beach, it worked great. The deck feels really sturdy now. Then I started sanding the complete deck, and will cut the holes for the ports tomorrow, and start doing some glass work around the mast and cockpit. Then I'll give the deck a complete coat of Fiberglass. And that should be way more than I need. Like I said, it's not a solution for everybody, but instead of throwing the hull away it's a fantastic option.

Aleman

Ps: Just be careful with how much foam you use, because you can inflate it like a balloon if you're not careful.
 
aleman said:
I actually started my project today. And I took an unconventional way. ...So I went to the Hardware store and bought seven cans of Expansion Foam...
Click to expand...

It's actually not all that unconventional! ;)

If you get a good bond between the new foam and the skins (and don't blow the boat apart with the expansion!) it should be a good fix.

Cheers,

Geoff S.
 
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