Laser bow damage repair strategy?

Riv

Active Member
As I'm isolating myself it's time to start on all those small jobs at the club that need to be done. First one is the bow of this Laser, the front 8" Starboard side was bashed by another boat. I've cut all the damaged area away. What strategy do you suggest?
 

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Clubhouse locked up, no access for weeks...........

That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard yet in this phony 'crisis' manufactured for political reasons... :confused:

Maybe the management will let you in to grab one project at a time... as for the damage, it can be rebuilt, no worries, you'll want to fair out the surrounding area so the new resin & glass can bond more securely. Use plastic-wrapped cardboard 'forms' if necessary to obtain the desired compound curve. If I were doing this repair, as I've done in the past when my boat slid off the roof of my car, I would actually start with fiberglass matt (or mat), then alternate layers of cloth and matt until the rail was rebuilt. You'll probably wind up 'overbuilding' it a bit and then grinding and/or sanding it back down to original specs, aye? :rolleyes:

The important thing is to prep & wet up all surfaces thoroughly, and wet each layer of matt or cloth as you lay it up... no air bubbles, be sure to eliminate those as they lead to structural weakness. Apart from the power tools you may use, you'll need sanding blocks, rasps or files, a small rubber squeegee, scissors & tape for your throwaway forms as well as your matt & cloth pieces, latex gloves, acetone, rags, plus your materials & sandpaper. This is not a difficult repair, even with the compound curve... you'll have to eventually paint or gelcoat the rail to hide the repair. ;)

Good luck! I'd try calling the management and asking them to allow access to your project(s), if only for a few moments each time to grab what you need. :cool:
 
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I hope that the rate of testing in the UK will increase rapidly and we will all get back to normal as soon as possible. Thanks, good ideas. I was considering using plasticene to build up a form underneath the gunwale area, but lower by the thickness of the deck laminate, grinding back the deck laminate at about 25:1 gradient, buliding up the deck area, when set turning the boat upside down and building up the underneath of the gunwale.
 
Ah, yes, a good point which I failed to mention in this particular thread, though I've harped about it in other posts... always use gravity to your advantage when laying up glass matt or cloth, no reason not to with a craft as small as the Laser. Flip her every time you need to do so, aye? Otherwise, your strategy should work just fine, getting those first cured layers in place is most important, once you've done that you'll have a solid backing upon which to build. Regardless of which material you use for the forms, they are only temporary and should be cleared away as soon as there's enough solid cured glass to provide support for future layers. Also remember, no matter how ugly a repair may look at any given moment in the process, appearance matters not a bit compared to solidity, and the repair will eventually be hidden anyway under surface coats of some sort. Good luck to ya, and cheers!!! :cool:
 

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