Hey L&VW, I read through most of the repairs from Whitecap and what great work. That was two years ago and I was hoping to see his completed boat. Any idea what happened with him? I wanted to see a rehabbed boat like River Time's! I hope my repairs won't be too extensive. There is a group of single handers that sail on Tomales Bay and I had been hoping to go out and meet up with them tomorrow but the meet was canceled due to strong winds and inclement weather. These guys focus on tides, wind and weather and if I can sail with them, I will get a lot better. Plus, Tomales Bay is natural and has places to land that are soft and sandy unlike the reservoir "lakes" here in California that are rocky, steep sided and no good for stopping. For now, I will focus on repair of the Sunfish. And thank you too Beldar and Breeze Bender...Actually, I think your Sunfish took a big hit—or re-damaged an earlier hit. "Resin" is a very good glue, but it's not going to help (very long) in this case. "Spider cracks" are one thing, as you can mostly ignore them. From these pictures, however, I'm not going to suggest that you stop sailing! I don't know when your season ends, but such repairs I'd leave for the off-season. My bow took a hit this season that left a ½-inch hole that's now covered with a duct tape "bandage". Our New England boating season ends soon, so I'll leave that repair until Spring—when the ice is gone, the water's still too cold for safe sailing—and the sun is out.
We use two+ techniques here: if you go to the "Ultimate" 10-page repair site at this forum, below, you'll find multiple repairs and videos addressing them. The first suggestion was that he abandon his "old" Sunfish and find a better boat!Determined to learn how to fix all his boat's ills, member Whitecap soldiered onward. The many suggestions and final repairs were collected by member Whitecap. (To whom I tip my hat).
All of member Whitecap's aggregated repairs are typical of necessary Sunfish repairs—my most major repair included. Mine involved a big hit to the keel, and I found myself grinding deeper and deeper—until a 2-inch hole collapsed underneath my sander!In your case, I'd use the "Shoreline" technique in a video there. (I've used both repairs). But other opinions are sure to follow mine . (My day just begins earlier than most sailors').
Hardware stores carry complete fiberglass kits, including gloves and thickening agents. One $35 kit should finish your repair. For bigger repairs, they're typically short on resinand generous with cloth. West Marine's $22 Rx Epoxy Repair Kit is not for structural repairs (which I think yours will turn out to be).
Link to repairs:
Starting at the BEGINNING
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He's got a "schedule" to keep, but I expect we should hear back in a week; or at least, "soon".Hey L&VW, I read through most of the repairs from Whitecap and what great work. That was two years ago and I was hoping to see his completed boat. Any idea what happened with him? I wanted to see a rehabbed boat like River Time's! I hope my repairs won't be too extensive. There is a group of single handers that sail on Tomales Bay and I had been hoping to go out and meet up with them tomorrow but the meet was canceled due to strong winds and inclement weather. These guys focus on tides, wind and weather and if I can sail with them, I will get a lot better. Plus, Tomales Bay is natural and has places to land that are soft and sandy unlike the reservoir "lakes" here in California that are rocky, steep sided and no good for stopping. For now, I will focus on repair of the Sunfish. And thank you too Beldar and Breeze Bender...
I didn't think a 2-inch-square damage (from striking wood) would require sanding away until getting to an "all-dark" fiberglass base—and have fiberglass breaking away and crumbling from underneath my sander.I also don’t think it’s possible that damage that’s about 1/2 inch long can be “structural”.
Oh yeah, I remember this.....even though, the boat looks in good shape!Here are some less than flattering pictures of her, located in a funny thread.
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