Sunfish Clone: 1972 Starfish Long Crack Repair Help

[brkowal]

Hello,
I'm a new member. It took me three years to find a small sailboat for sale here in Anchorage, Alaska. I finally found a 1972 14-foot Starfish. We are building a cabin on a lake and I have always wanted a small sailboat. I found it on Facebook marketplace and it looks to be in good condition but has a long crack on the hull near the decking. It runs parallel with the deck lip. I've spent many hours on his forum reading about repairs. I wanted to gather information about repairing these sailboats before I start my own repair project. I found one post that had the same type of crack in the same location but I'd like to get more opinions. I've attached photos of the crack. I'm not sure if I need backing on the inside. If it does need backing, what shape would it be considering how close it is to where the hull meets the deck?

Thank you for any assistance,
Blake in Alaska

 

[LVW]

Hello,
I'm a new member. It took me three years to find a small sailboat for sale here in Anchorage, Alaska. I finally found a 1972 14-foot Starfish. We are building a cabin on a lake and I have always wanted a small sailboat. I found it on Facebook marketplace and it looks to be in good condition but has a long crack on the hull near the decking. It runs parallel with the deck lip. I've spent many hours on his forum reading about repairs. I wanted to gather information about repairing these sailboats before I start my own repair project. I found one post that had the same type of crack in the same location but I'd like to get more opinions. I've attached photos of the crack. I'm not sure if I need backing on the inside. If it does need backing, what shape would it be considering how close it is to where the hull meets the deck?

Thank you for any assistance,
Blake in Alaska

What is the condition of the deck in that immediate area?

Can you press firmly on the lower crack surface and see or feel movement?

If no movement, and given your short sailing season, I'd be tempted to:

1) position the repair so that It is uppermost and level.

2) make a shallow dam on both sides of the crack. (Using caulking, silicone, or Shoe-Goo). Close the dam on both ends.

3) fill or brush resin within the confines of the dam. Before the resin sets up fully, add more resin to fill the low spots. (Prepared resin can be refrigerated to retard curing).

4) once cured, remove dams and prepare for smoothing and painting.

 

[brkowal]

Thank you for the response and repair suggestion. The entire deck is in excellent condition. There is a 16-inch area where it separated from the hull near the crack. I'll need to seal that portion back together. The hull below the long crack can be pushed in. That's how I was able to fit the end of the screwdriver into the crack (see picture). I think the crack will become about 3/8 to 1/4 inch wide after removing all the frayed fiberglass.

 

[danpal]

It looks like this damage is close to the bow and there's more damage concealed by the aluminum rub rail. I'd be tempted to split the bow to make this repair but I think you should get a second opinion from our resident surgeon Dr. Signal Charley. Hopefully the internal construction of a Starfish is similar to a Sunfish. Dr. Signal Charley are you available for a consult?

 

[brkowal]

It looks like this damage is close to the bow and there's more damage concealed by the aluminum rub rail. I'd be tempted to split the bow to make this repair but I think you should get a second opinion from our resident surgeon Dr. Signal Charley. Hopefully the internal construction of a Starfish is similar to a Sunfish. Dr. Signal Charley are you available for a consult?

Thank you for the response. The crack on the hull is about in the center of the side of the sailboat. I've attached a photo with tape and a sign to show the location. I'm definitely looking forward to any response from the resident surgeon you mentioned.

 

[Nicholson58]

Wast Marine and YouTube have nice videos on glass repair.

you will not get a proper fix by filling with resin alone. Cures, unreinforced resin id brittle. You will need to grind to the base of the cut and feather outwards. Use epoxy and glass cloth to build back to the surface and fair with a sander. It would improve the repair if you there is a way to back up the repair from inside.

 

[LVW]

Y'know what you could give a try for one season?

It's cheap, fast and dirty, but you could Dremel the damage a bit wider (not deeper), pry it open a bit, and "mini-trowel" Thixo (filled-epoxy) into the breach. Clamp it, or put a weight on the deck to close. (Not too tightly). There'll be plenty of the $23 Thixo remaining in the tube for other repairs.

I'm suggesting this, because your "repair season" and your Alaska "sailing season" are shorter than the rest of ours. If it's satisfactory after your season, you can fare and finish it.

As to strengthening from the back, I'd recommend a couple of layers of 4-inch tape at the site of the crack, and a couple around the periphery of the cockpit. I'm seeing more Sunfish with the gelcoat cracked (and weakened) all around the edge of the cockpit.

As you can see, you'll get different answers for each repair!

 

[shorefun]

Lets talk basics.

The glass is not connected and it needs to be connected well. Frankly it is an odd place for a crack all the way through and I dont see damage to the rub rail and corresponding damge to the deck. I wonder if there is a structual issue in manufacture. But these are just my wonderings with no good facts.

Any repair in glass will need sand back or feathering with an approprite grit paper (80 works for me). On these thin glass hulls I like going an inch or two back. I would NEVER just use resin or even Marine Tex to fix this crack. Certainly not without feathering.

Since this one is through the glass technically you want to sand and lay up glass behind, but you have time issues to consider.

I would take the trim off aound the edge and test the epoxy holding the deck to the hull. If it is loose then seriously consider separating more of the deck to gain access for glassing behind. You will need a tube of Thixo to put it back together... Thixo makes life easy, but you can also get thickened epoxy and work it in with a putty knife.

If you are doing a quick repair, feather the face back so you have a sharp edge at the crack and start layering in glass alternating between cloth and mat glass. You may need to use a dremel tool to get a good feather on the upper area. Of course a question is how pretty do you want it after you are done?
Normally I would lay in the glass level what i put in (well make it below level for gel coat) then gel coat. If you are only doing a surface repair and no inside repair I would leave it high with some extra glass and gel coat it after making look better with some sanding. That way you are insured of structure holding it. By higher I am only talking like one or two layers higher then level.

Anyway, my take after doing a bunch of repairs on Sunfish. Knowing what worked and what did not work.. I need to say what did not work was other repairs I have seen.

There are many ways to repair this. All of them MUST have the feathering the edges and adding glass for this repair to work.