Major Repairs

Sigh, so between not sailing a laser during the jr sailing season next year and all the sailing money going into the 505 i have had the job of fixing my laser yet again to make it semi race worthy. Any tips tricks and suggestions and good old conversation about my repairs would be fantastic. The sail number is 148085 which puts its build around 1992. its been raced hard but taken care of. The hull is as smooth as a 3 year old boat despite the slight spider cracks. Last year i replaced the starboard section of the deck but i got hairline cracks on the leading edge of the patch where the old deck met the new deck. on the port side i tried using patches underneath.. hence the port holes. and that has failed. So its on to replacing the port side too. A lot of work but hopefully she will be sea worthy and stiff enough for the spring regattas. Here are some pictures. The picture of the weights is the lay up. Its the old gelcoat layer plus doubleweave-chopmat then a layer of foam then another layer of fibreglass. I also had to insert plywood into the laminate where the deck cleats are supposed to go. or capsize cleats as some people call them. The area of lay up is 791 sq inches and its 307 lbs so thats .38 psi. far less then what the autoclaves produce which is 15 psi. but its better then nothingView attachment 7857View attachment 7858View attachment 7859View attachment 7860
 
full boat pic.jpg
lay up.jpg
port pic.jpg
starboard hole.jpg
 
Let's start with your layup schedule. Exactly what are you using for foam and what and how many layers of glass on the bottom side - resin type ?

how are you bonding the pieces to the existing deck, ie a flange or ?


PS - please fill in your profile so we have a idea of where you are, so we don't talk about materials that you can get..
 
I would fine a donor hull with good sections of deck in the areas you have cut out, and then glass those sections in as replacements.
 
humm, that's not exactly the detailed info I was hoping you were going to come back with.

The foam used by the factory is Airex, I believe it's 1/2" in the deck, easy enough for you to confirm, if you substitute with 1/4" and a similar glass layup, you will have a piece much less stiff and probably not strong enough either for long term use - you can double up the 1/4" to make it the same thickness and/or increase the number of layers/thickness in the glass layup. Thicker core will help keep the weight down vs thicker glass layup..

What type(s) exactly is your "large amount of glass" ?

Where are you putting the flanges ?
 
Wow! What an undertaking! It looks like you are not afraid to dig into a project!

It would be helpful to know where you are located too, since as someone else suggested a donor hull may not be a bad option. However, I know there is a lot of fun and pride that go into a project like this. I applaud you for taking on such a bog project. User 49208 will steer you in the right direction and has great advice.
 
The foam on my boat is less then half inch and the lay up i did last time for the starboard side came out as the exact same thickness as the original. Also they use very soft foam. sorry for taking so long to respond but here is a picture of what the lay up looks like now that it is cured and the edges sanded. as far as flanges im still up in the air on exactly what material im going to use. any suggestions? Also in terms of what cloth i have i have double weave chop mat, also a lot of thin multidirectional fibreglass. the lay up weighs a little bit more but boy is it stiff, no flex at all.View attachment 7874
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I would go with flanges top and bottom, or at least flanges on the bottom and then overlap at least 2" around the top of the deck - this would mean sanding/grinding thru the gelcoat down to the glass or to the foam for at least 2" around the perimeter on the deck, such that can layup at least two layers of your double weave chop mat (can you put a link to it so we know exactly what weight it is ? ) The flanges underneath I would make at least 4" wide (you can make them on a flat surface and then bond them in once they have cured) so that you have 2" on the existing deck and 2" to support the new piece - hard to tell how much room you have at the cockpit and rail, but hopefully you can get enough surface area with pre-made flat peices, otherwise you will have to make those in place or think about making some half bulkheads/ribs that would support the deck.

This should give you some ideas on the flange - Your's doesn't need to be one piece, it can be 4 or more pieces and they don't need to go completely around the perimeter on the bottom.
http://www.vancouver-boat-repair.com/Laser_Maststep_Repair.html look at stage 3 and 4..
 
Yes, flanges under the deck, and sand away the gelcoat (and some of the glass) inside the red lines (approx 2")
full boat pic.jpg


Once the new piece is bonded to the inside flange, I would then glass around the perimeter, extending into the 2" border you sanded into the existing deck. This will need multiple layers of glass, depending on what you are using..
 
Ya, I thought about that with my original repair. I really think that will help with getting it water tight and really bond the old and the new. Im using epoxy with filler to fill in the small gap between the patch and the old deck, should i then sand and put the fibreglass over that, or should i do it all in one step?
 
It's your choice, it won't make much of a difference structurally if you do it all at once (fill and then glass over) or fill/harden/sand/glass over the top
 
here are some pictures of the build. putting in only two flanges at a time due to shortage in clamps. its cold here in baltimore so i have the lamps covered in tin foil to try and keep the heat up also attached is a picture of the fibre glass i am using
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