Repair Help!

Garrett12

Member
I have been surfing the forums the past month in preparation for my upcoming repairs. Last summer my fish took on a little more water than it probably should have. So, this summer (now that i have the funds) I am going to repair the boat, re gel-coat, install a new bailer, and install the new rudder assembly (hopefully before my weeks vacation in August :confused: ).

So I have turned to here to gather more information. There are a few cosmetic cracks that need to be repaired, a few holes to be filled, and some more significant repairs. I'm sure some one on here has done this process before; is there anywhere I might be able to get a shopping list of materials and a detailed step by step instructions? From washing the boat after i get it on the sawhorses to dropping in the water in the end. Or maybe one of you would be willing to share your knowledge and wisdom with an amateur that wants to learn (and not spend $$$$$$$$$$ on having professionals do the repair).

I have attached photos of the repair areas. and i'm sure i will be back with more questions.

Thank you in advance for your help! it is GREATLY appreciated.
Garrett
 

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Most of your issues can be addressed with white MarineTex. Especially if you are looking for cheap, effective repair that will last. You can get it at West Marine or any of the on-line vendors who advertise on this site.

Carefully scrape any loose fractured gelcoat from the around he areas to be repairs. Mix up a batch with careful attention to the instructions. When the mixture starts to feel like it is getting warm (when the catalysts starts setting), fill the areas, sparingly. If you don't mix it so it sets properly, and you apply it like that, it may never dry and is a mess to correct.

To get a smooth, easy to sand finish, you might cover the filled area with a small smooth scap of waxed paper, and leave the wax paper sitting on it there until the MarineTex hardens. Once hardened the waxed paper will peel off easily and he result should look smooth.

If you must smooth some small spots with your fingerer, wet it first. Don't just fill the holes with dabs of the stuff thinking you will sand it smooth later, as the MarineTex is a bear to get smooth once it has hardened. An ounce of care initiallly is orth more than a pound of work later.

That should get you 90 percent there.
 
So you would recommend doing all of them with it over fiber glassing them?
yep, we've done a lot like that. you are just replacing top layer gelcoat, fiberglass underneath looks ok. Check inside the daggerboard well and mast step for chipped epoxy and cover those also.
 
Any recommendation on applying it to the daggerboard well? I know there are a few spots in there that will need it. Do you think the bow, the circle in the middle of the boat, and the hole in the back (old drain plug) will need fiberglass? I'm not expert but the fiberglass does look a bit damaged in those spots. Can you fill holes with the marine tex? or what is the best method of going about that.

Thanks for your help!
 
Any recommendation on applying it to the daggerboard well?
popsicle stick or paint stirstick broken lengthwise
I know there are a few spots in there that will need it. Do you think the bow, the circle in the middle of the boat,
No

and the hole in the back (old drain plug) will need fiberglass?
I'd add a drainplug back there

I'm not expert but the fiberglass does look a bit damaged in those spots.
It doesn't look crushed, and I'd avoid opening up those areas

Can you fill holes with the marine tex? or what is the best method of going about that.
yes, or fiberglass and epoxy

Thanks for your help!
you are welcome
 
The trim only protects the edge. It doesn't hold the boat together. The deck and the hull are epoxied together and the trim added afterwards to protect the edge of the boat.
 
What kind of wood is this? I am refinishing my daggerboard and need to know what kind of finish is generally used.

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Patch any gouges, etc. (Bondo works well - not pretty, but effective). Sand smooth all over and finish with 3+ coats of spar varnish.
 
So the daggerboard is almost refinished, just needs 1 more coat!

So the next question is, what is the best method to repair a daggerboard trunk? It looks like someone had done a sloppy repair job on it in the past. My plan is to sand all that out, but what is the best thing to fill the cracks with and the method of doing so?

Garrett
 
I am preparing all the spots for repair. I was working on the daggerboard trunk and saw this "U" shaped thing that runs the length of the trunk on 1 side. Is this suppose to be there or is it a "fix"
 

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Could it be a piece of carpet. Some people insert carpet to protect their daggerboard and make it fit more snugly.
 
Could it be a piece of carpet. Some people insert carpet to protect their daggerboard and make it fit more snugly.

No its actually a hard plastic. I'm going to remove it and see how my daggerboard fits, if it does need to be snugged up i may add a piece of carpet. Any suggestions on what kind of carpet and how to secure it?
 
I just use tabs at the edges, top and bottom. These can be maybe a couple of inches long by about one inch wide. You really want to cover the edges of the trunk where the daggerboard makes contact, and where it scrapes when you lift and lower it.

Once you take out that old plastic shim, put your finger in the trunk at the edges and see if you have a lip inside. Newer boats have a smooth transition from deck to trunk inside, while many older boats have a sharp lip. On those you can feel the sharp edge.

If you have a newer boat with smooth trunk seams, you can put a self stick strip of the fuzzy half of a Velcro tab, or something similar at the fore and aft edges.

If you have sharp edges inside, common on older boats, you may want to use something more robust. Opinions vary, but what I do is save the old factory hiking straps or similar straps and cut them crosswise in one inch strips, or a tad narrower. I use 3m marine or similar adhesive and coat one side of the strip and insert it on the inside trunk edge just below the sharp deck seam.

The idea it to build up that recessed trunk area so it is about flush with the deck lip. Then I insert and adhesive another tab over that, so it is just built up a bit, but the main thing is that the board doesn't scrap. On the bottom of the trunnk the transition from trunk to hull is usually smoother, so I just use one tab.

I use those strap tabs so i get some protection against scaping and impact shocks, without encroaching on the space too much. Keep in mind that if you have an older board now but may upgrade in the future, you don't want to overly restrict the space. Since I use a shock cord to keep the board up, I often just use two tabs, the top (deck end) of the trunk one forward, and the bottom (hull) end aft.

Some folks use indoor/outdoor carpet tabs and such. The material just has to be durable against the board edges scraping.
 
PAINT! I am going going to buy paint tomorrow. I am getting some Rustoleum topside and Rustoleum primer. What color is generally used on the hull? I know to avoid a gloss white so I wont go blind; Is it the oyster white? Also, what are the stripe patterns on the deck. I have the Mackinaw sail and was thinking about doing those colors as the stripes; anyone know what colors those are or what would look good with them? I was thinking a navy blue for the larger stripe and battleship gray for the 2 smaller? Also, is there a difference between the 3 stripes and the 2 stripes?

For anyone what has refinished a hull with rustoleum's: does the primer fill most of the scratches?

Garrett
 

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So I was starting to fit my new gudgeon backing plate in the hull... It doesn't fit up against the wall of the transom. Has anyone else had this issue?
 
So I was starting to fit my new gudgeon backing plate in the hull... It doesn't fit up against the wall of the transom. Has anyone else had this issue?

You probably got the flat backer plate that does not have the "hump" in the middle. What you can do now is get some rot resistant wood (cedar, mahogany, cypress) and make a shim to fill that gap on either side between plate and transom, install with longer bolts. Then hunt down the correct backer plate later. You probably need the pre 1972 style backer plate even if your boat is >1972. The boats were built for years with the carriage bolt cutout still there, but at one point I believe they flattened out the transom.
 

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PAINT! I am going going to buy paint tomorrow. I am getting some Rustoleum topside and Rustoleum primer. What color is generally used on the hull? I know to avoid a gloss white so I wont go blind; Is it the oyster white? Also, what are the stripe patterns on the deck. I have the Mackinaw sail and was thinking about doing those colors as the stripes; anyone know what colors those are or what would look good with them? I was thinking a navy blue for the larger stripe and battleship gray for the 2 smaller? Also, is there a difference between the 3 stripes and the 2 stripes?

For anyone what has refinished a hull with rustoleum's: does the primer fill most of the scratches?

1. I've used semigloss white, looks great.

2. the difference in stripes is how old the boat was. Original Sunfish had no stripes. 2 stripes was late 60s. 3 stripes came out in the 70s. For the first 6-8 years there was only a bow stripe. For the mackinaw sail matching stripes, you could go old school and put 2 inch stripes, 2 inches apart, one deep green and one navy blue. Or if you want the 3 stripe set up, do blue-green-blue or green blue green.

3. When we used rustoleum we just prepped scratches with marine tex epoxy putty, sanded and did 2 coats, light sanding between coats. That covered fine. Closer than 3 feet and you could start to pick out some repaired areas. So ask yourself are you going sailing or entering a boat show? I am not a primer kind of guy but others here have great results. The question they could answer is what brand they prefer and whether to thin primer a bit with brushing liquid before application.

Picture is of keel repair in progress, hull with brushed rustoleum
 

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You probably got the flat backer plate that does not have the "hump" in the middle. What you can do now is get some rot resistant wood (cedar, mahogany, cypress) and make a shim to fill that gap on either side between plate and transom, install with longer bolts. Then hunt down the correct backer plate later. You probably need the pre 1972 style backer plate even if your boat is >1972. The boats were built for years with the carriage bolt cutout still there, but at one point I believe they flattened out the transom.


I have the bracket with the hump in the middle. The issue is that its not fitting over the hump on the boat. So I am going to find something to make a shim to secure it.

As for paint I got some rustoleum painter's touch primer (Marine safe and works almost like topside just not as durable). I plan on doing 2 coats of primer with some sanding in between. Then finishing it off with 2 coats of rustoleum topside semi gloss white. All of which is going to be sprayed on.

Stripes: I got some gloss deep blue and some gloss gray. Thinking about doing gray blue gray. Then painting the coaming deep blue. I think this will look pretty slick. Anyone else think so?

Garrett
 
In that case I wouldn't worry about shims, the 4 bolts will keep it snug and gudgeon will stay tight against transom.

The boat is your canvas, paint what you like! In my case the Skipper picks the colors

KB
 

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In that case I wouldn't worry about shims, the 4 bolts will keep it snug and gudgeon will stay tight against transom.

The boat is your canvas, paint what you like! In my case the Skipper picks the colors

KB

No shims even if the gap between the ends of the bracket (where the bolts will go) and the transom is a 1/4" ?
 
So do not use Rustoleum's Painter's Touch Primer under topisde paint. Painter's touch is a water based primer and topside is oil-based. I guess the salesman was, well, a salesman and not a wealth of accurate information. Luckily I found out before I painted :rolleyes:


What have other's used as a primer under Rustoleum's Topside paint.

Thanks,
Garrett
 
Rustoleum has a marine primer that's supposed to be used under the topside paint. I just purchased it so I'll let you know how it goes although it could be a while.
 
So I talked to an "expert" and he said it would be fine to use the rustoleum painters touch primer under the topside. Im going to trust his advice and hope all goes well.

After MANY hours of sanding, fiberglassing, sanding, marine texing, sanding, and sanding its finally ready for primer and paint!!

Paint 1.jpg
 

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