New to me Sunfish! Fibreglass repair advice...

N

Naiscoot

New Member
I finally pulled the trigger and bought a sunfish which was a few kilometres away and in my price range.

https://imgur.com/a/VvqlEMx

In the link above are the trouble areas of the boat, the guy I bought it off of had 4 lasers, two sunfish and an albacore. He suggested sanding down the bad repairs and re gel coating.

The boats heavy (I helped fix up a sunfish another older sunfish and it’s a similar weight), I popped the drain plug and drained it. The previous owner gave me an observation port to install and dry out the Hull.

I suppose Im worried about the two cracks on the bottom of the hull, so any pointers of how to deal with those would be great. Otherwise, should I just sand down the ugly patches and repaint/gel coat, or sand down and re glass.

Im a very handy guy, but new to fibreglass. What would I need to do, and what products/materials are suggested... any tips would be much appreciated!

Thanks
 
You need to weight the hull, usually on its side on a bathroom scale. That way you know if you have wet foam and need to dry it out.

Then you should do an air leak test to see where leaks are and determine if any of those patches need to be redone. The air needs to be low pressure/low volume so that the hull does not overpressurize and pop seams.


If the patches don't leak, then decide if you want to do the work to redo them just for cosmetics. We do on the boats we are selling. Look through our blog to see some details on fiberglass repairs and materials.

Cheers
Kent
 
Thanks Kent,

I didnt weigh the boat, but its in the 200#'s for sure. I installed two inspection ports last night and have put a tarp and fan to it. Now that I have some positive pressure in the hull, I'll leak test it and see how the patches are.

Just wanted to say that your website and youtube videos are invaluable, Ive poured over them over the last weeks and I appreciate you documenting your work.
 
Naiscoot said:
I finally pulled the trigger and bought a sunfish which was a few kilometres away and in my price range.

I suppose I'm worried about the two cracks on the bottom of the hull, so any pointers of how to deal with those would be great. Otherwise, should I just sand down the ugly patches and repaint/gel coat, or sand down and re glass.

Im a very handy guy, but new to fibreglass. What would I need to do, and what products/materials are suggested... any tips would be much appreciated! Thanks
Click to expand...
I'd like to view the two cracks on the bottom of the hull, but don't know how to navigate the image(s). :confused:
 
Could be just gel coat cracks. You'll know when you sand
away the gelcoat. Any fiberglass cracks will show up as
hair line cracks in the fiberglass. I'm beginning to think
the Sunfish is the King of the Band-Aid repair method.
 
My fiberglass guru says to use epoxy, as polyester repairs don't stick well to old polyester.

I'd remove both patches,sand down to the fiberglass mat, and lay out one large patch of several layers. Finish as usual.
.
 
L&VW said:
My fiberglass guru says to use epoxy, as polyester repairs don't stick well to old polyester.


.
Click to expand...
Boo.... fire your guru. It's a physical bond, so sand it properly. I can guarantee the majority of fiberglass boat repairs don't use epoxy...actually more so for their resistance to gelcoat. But again... wash the epoxy blush and sand/prep the surface well.

The above repair seems to give the feeling the person was new to fiberglass repairs and more interested in sailing than bottom side aesthetics.
 
A good sander and some resin would solve the problem in short order... maybe a little glass matt or cloth if the existing repairs are weak and the OP has to sand them down considerably. I'd use filler for those other gouges in the hull. Those patches look ugly, but at least they're easily accessible and can be fixed pronto. I'd go on to lightly sand, prime & paint the hull since it already looks cr@ppy... LP primer & paint, always a good and fairly inexpensive choice for small craft. Gel coating is NOT recommended for an OP inexperienced in glasswork. Might get away with simply cleaning and polishing the deck, hard to tell from the one pic but it looks like it can be salvaged. :rolleyes:
 
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Oh no, don't start on your boat yet! You need some practice sanding and prepping first, swing by our place and we'll get you set up for a 5 day OJT. Free sandpaper but you must buy your own sander :)

k
Zip sanding copy.jpg


Audrey sanding.jpg
 
Least you could do is offer to buy the OP lunch, LOL... hey, OP, if you fall for this one, I have some beachfront property in Arizona for sale, I'll cut ya a deal but it'll require a large deposit, wiring money via Western Union will work!!! And no, I'm not related in any way to the Nigerian oil well prince, LOL. :eek:
 
Starting to look shipshape.

You could use a new carriage bolt on the rudder assembly, PM me if interested in buying one.

Great work,
Kent
 
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