Probably the quickest way—plus you'd get the piece of trim (and deck) that you're missing. Agreed, that repairs using epoxy are stronger than the original fiberglass part.Actually I'd just try to find a good used hull because that's a lot of work, used hulls are cheap and we haven't even considered what other issues that hull might have.
I appreciate everyone's advice about just replacing the hull but we live in Missouri and there is not a lot of Sunfishes on Craigslist here. We traveled to Mississippi to just pick this one up. We understand the cost involved and have some of the supplies already. I've invested too much in the boat already just to send it to the dump. I am trying to make some form of a mold today and then cutting away the debris. Does anyone have advice on what to make the mold with? I don't have access to another Sunfish to model it from so I will be making one from scratch. This won't be my first rodeo with restoring something. I purchased a 1973 Apache pop up camper two years ago and totally rehabbed it. It had a lot of ABS work needed to it. I have just never worked with fiberglass before. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Not so bad, but keep in mind that fiberglass damage can extend several inches from the obvious damage.Wanted to post pics from the daytime. Damage is still not good but I don't think it looks as bad as the first pictures taken. Fortunately, we do have the piece of trim. It just was not on the boat when first pictures taken.
Making the mold would be the easy part.This problem comes up often enough that it would be nice if someone
could make a mold off their boat. The mold could be passed around to
forum members for the cost of shipping.
I'm in the process of throwing out a cheap and damaged PFD. 'Thinking the flotation panels inside are ethafoam.This is ethafoam--closed cell foam made from polyethylene. It often comes in 2" thicknesses. The foam should be free. You glue pieces of ethafoam together, and glue them into the hole in the bow.
Shouldn't that read epoxy?The polyester will have wax added so that the surface fully cures.
The $30 West System™ repair kit (pictured above) won't have enough resin to complete this job, but you can complete the first coats while learning the basics of fiberglass repair.We wanted to thank everyone for the great advice so far. We have removed the damaged area and tapered back with a grinder. We also added a access port so we can reach the inside of the bow. We also purchased some pink builder's foam as suggested to form our mold. Now to purchase the fiberglass repair items. Right now, the Sunfish is wrapped in a tarp to ride out any storms that come through.
Another "mold" idea: Ask Alan Glos if he has a Sunfish "donor hull". If he has one, have him cut "enough" nose off with a reciprocating saw, and ship it to you. Grind the rearmost 2" of rails off—every bit of the deck's gelcoat—grind through the length of the keel (or deck) and fold the replacement nose to fit inside the damaged area. The replacement nose (and your hull) were originally made with a thickness less than a ¼-inch, and would form the ultimate shape to approximate the missing piece."You probably want your new bow lamination to be about 1/4" thick (this is actually a little thicker than the deck of some Sunfish. This thickness would be strong and rigid, and thick enough to allow some fairing before final finishing)...To get a 1/4" thick lamination with 2 oz would require four layers of mat, not a bad job to do.
I've "rescued" Kevlar and used it to patch rust perforations in cars. Except for the difficulty in cutting it, Kevlar "works" like fiberglass cloth. Why not use it if you have it?Using 10 oz/yd2 fiberglass plain weave cloth would require about 14 layers (if well rolled & squeegeed, i.e. not too resin rich) to achieve a finished layup 1/4" thick. 5 oz/yd2 Kevlar (don't go there for this job!) or 6 oz/yd2 carbon fiber twill (forget I mentioned it!) would require about 20 layers to make a finished layup 1/4" thick. You could use mat + cloth for the experience of working with both. I think the best choice for this repair is thickness at minimal cost in time and materials.
Your first pictures had pieces of wrinkled duct tape which could be mistaken for the Sunfish's damaged aluminum trim. (Your damaged aluminum trim would be near-impossible to repair for most of us).Wanted to post pics from the daytime. Damage is still not good but I don't think it looks as bad as the first pictures taken. Fortunately, we do have the piece of trim. It just was not on the boat when first pictures taken.
Yikes...Kevlar is fine to use if you're laying it up in a female mold or if you can bury it in a lamination. The problem happens if you need to fair a Kevlar lamination by sanding into it. Kevlar fuzzes so badly when sanded that you often end up laminating more glass over it to smooth it out. It's hard to cut Kevlar fabric without special scissors, and it's hard to "cut" Kevlar fibers in a lamination with sandpaper.
I could have had lamentations over the laminations.