Thanks Kent. So, from your experience, you don't see a need to split the deck from the hull? The preferred method would be thru the hole, correct? If I keep at it, and my arms can reach it, I'll be able to get it all, or most of it, out?Get as much as you can through the port, that will depend on the size of your arm/forearm as to whether you can get in past the elbow! The bulk of the yellow foam you are wanting to get out will be right there in the stern, maybe a 2-3 foot diameter blob. A
As you are doing, leave the white foam block in place.
The hull vent should be high on the forward cockpit wall, about 1/8th inch diameter. Just above the AMF Alcort sticker if you still have it. (Someone else's photo below, not ours, but a good one)
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Here's a suggestion for replacing fiberglass battens with something better. Over a plastic sheet, stretch and tape the tip-ends of three inch (by ~18") sections of fiberglass tape (or cloth) alongside your cuts.
Pre-cut the four cloth sections. Apply resin to the cloth, add another layer of cloth and resin. Remove bubbles.
Let it cure and cut off the non-impregnated tips. With your grinder, roughen the upper side (the upside), coat with resin, and clamp where the batten was to go. It will approximate the curve of the repair, be stronger than any batten, and gain a beginner some experience using resin, cloth/tape, and a brush/roller.
Regular "Great Stuff" is white. Black "Pond and Stone" is designed to construct outdoor garden ponds. For days, I've pressed leftover "Pond and Stone" foam under water, with absolutely no increase in moisture content or weight. Cup-shaped scraps will "bead" water.
@LVW You linked me to a nice fiberglass repair kit at Wholesalemarine - with tax and shipping it comes to over $30 bucks.
I can buy this combo (pic below) at my local Home Depot for just over $40 and get like, 900 times more product. In your opinion, is this the way I should go? The resin comes with hardener, I checked -- I have crappy brushes and stirrers etc - what else might I need that's missing if I go the HD route?
@signal charlie > I've heard you mention "thickened resin" several times. Is that something that is purchased or created from normal resin and if so, how is it done? Also, is resin and epoxy the same thing? I hear them mentioned seemingly in the same context, but don't know what the difference is.
TIA ALL!
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Is that float close to your "new" digs? I any case, it's an interesting transition zone depending on your choice of craft. Rowing, sailing, paddling... launch and go left. Motorized, go right. (Couldn't help but notice the, "End No Wake" sign).That's an ADA seat for folks to slide over from wheelchair to kayak
Just be happy it is not quite so rough as this one. She’s a real beauty!
Thanks for that, Kent. Although I have no experience doing fiberglass repairs, I feel confident that I can do this competently. I've done this blind patch process with dry-wall and spackle many times so I'm familiar with the dynamic, at minimum.Yes, the crack needs to go away and the milky white crushed fiberglass around the edge of the crack, 1/4 - 3/8 inch or so. All of that is damaged and won't take resin. The rest of the fiberglass in the photo looks to be in good structural shape.
We use the Blind Hole patch method that was put out by the manufacturer years ago, it works great. When Hurricane Sally smashed WAVE's bow in 2020, we found the patch we had done still intact, it held because it was double they layer of fiberglass plus resin soaked cardboard, while the rest of the starboard bow was pulverized!
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If the hole is odd shaped the patch can be folded like a taco to slip inside, then manipulate it with a stick or finger to get it flat against the inside of the hull.
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Thanks Kent! I used the Bondo brand Fiberglass Repair Kit available from Home Depot - I left a pic and description above (post #89). It worked really well and is thicker than I expected. Is thickness of resin even a "thing" or is it all pretty much the same?That all looks great!
The only things that matter for a backer patch is that it can fit through the hole and then be stiff enough to pull snug against the inside face of the hull.
On some chine repairs we mold a backer patch using the opposite side or similar shaped boat part as a template.
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We did a variety of repairs on the 1968 ALCORT Sunfish named MERCI, more info on our blog or by searching this Forum for MERCI.
What type resin did you go with?
My guess is stacking something on top of the boat with spars/mast on deck?I just wonder what caused this kind of damage to the coaming.
Perhaps if happened off the water?
You can repair the coaming, essentially the same method but grind out a little depression, then fiberglass, fair, sand and paint. It will be easier if you take it off, plus you can see what is going on with the hodgepodge of incorrect fasteners.
Your coaming would have had either stainless machine screws into anchor nuts riveted to the deck (rivnuts) or 3/16th inch diameter closed end aluminum rivets. You'll need to post more pics of all the rivets or do some exploring. It looks like someone used a plastic anchor which works, but creates a leak prone area.