<img src="http://willnicholson.com/media/IMG_7071.JPG" align=left width=50 height=50 alt="My Hull">This is what I'm trying to fix<br>

doesn't look so bad to me
most important thing is to do some kind of repair before sailing again

if i were you i'd dry it out thouroughly, maybe use a heat gun on low, or good sunshine
clean it up as much as possible with acetone, the solvent for uncured polyester resin
pick out as much debris from the crack as possible
cut of a small strip of glass fibers and then pull a few threads from the ends
mix up the smallest amount of polyester resin you can, for me that's 100mls as my catalyst dropper's minimum is 1ml
paint the mixed resin over the bare area and then using a toothpick stuff as manny glass threads as you can into the crack
take time to keep brushing on resin carefully so the threads all get soaked
when crack full and threads sticking out continue brushing thick coats of resin onto bare area while trying not to pull threads out of crack with brush
leave it alone overnight
next day it should be hard enough to cut the long fibers off and then grind down to just raised
if crack not fully filled, repeat until filled
finish off with another thick coat of polyester resin, but don't try to make it so thick that it runs down the hull, you just want it to puddle on top, (easy to do on a nacra base maybe harder on the hobie knife edge)
when you have a good thick cured layer of resin over all the fibers smooth it all out with a big file but don't file it all off
ago over it with 2 or 3 coats of white gelcoat and then you should be good
if you' got your temp/catalyst mix right
stuff as many of those threads that you could into the crack

Hum, I don't know how to insert an image, but if you would like to see the damage I am going to repair, here is a link: http://willnicholson.com/media/IMG_7071.JPG I have decided to use polyester resin for sure. I bought some 3” glass tape. I think I’m going to just lay down a few layers, fold the tape in half, and lay a few more down. Any thoughts?

I dont think I can stuff anything into the crack without grinding off a bit of glass, but that may weaken it b/c its on the bottom edge. I was wondering if you thought it might be a good idea to pour some resin into the hull after taping the outside to just fill the area, then just go over it with layers of glass tape.

the cloth fibers are cut ... some people would just "Muck it up" w/ Marine-tex or Bondo ... To do it correctly you need to restore the integraty of the outer skin.

Dry it out ... pour in some epoxy ... let cure ... sand and shape ... then replace the outer skin as I mentioned in above post. I would try to determine how many layers of cloth have been compromized and then layer on the same number to restore hull integrity min ... I actually would layer on an extra layer or two


But that is my opinion

HarryMurphey
TheMightyHobie18/P19MX

Ok, so ill keep everyone informed, and thanks for all the help. So far, I have mixed up half a quart of resin, taped the bottom where the leak is, and poured it in the hull. I then rocked it very slowly to let it coat the inside. Seemed to work well and I could tell it got down in the crack from the color the tape turned. Next step is to get it flipped over, give it a good sand, and strip off a quarter to half an inch of gelcoat with my sanding disc on an angle grinder. Then im going to lay down layers of glass tape, sand and even it out. I figured that since I'm going to all this trouble, while I'm at it, i'm going to sand out all the scratches and dings, bondo them, and then I'm going to attempt to gelcoat both pontoons by myself. I've got a wagner paint sprayer that I dont care about. Wish I could find my circular sander, I'm thinking it's going to be hard work. Any more advice?

Not sure if anyone mentioned this yet but USE A REALLY GOOD RESPIRATOR! If they did then this is just a reminder. Be safe, sail on!

Clayton

I turned the hulls over and did some sanding today. I didn't forget to use my respirator, but i'm wishing I had worn something other than shorts and a t-shirt. First I took my angle grinder with a 80 grit sanding disk and buzzed off about 1/3" of gelcoat on either side of the damage. This was kind of like using a chainsaw to do surgery, but i can't imagine how long it would have taken without it. Then I took my electric sander with 80 grit and rounded everything off. I'm concerned that everything is too smooth now tho, will fiberglass stick if it's not rough enough? I had purchased 3" glass tape, but even after taking off some gelcoat, I only have 2-2.5" of damage to repair. Which brings me to my next question, should I fold the tape in half, or cut it in half and lay it down one layer at a time? or should I buy 2" tape? I'm thinking that, after laying down 4 or 5 layers, I'm going to thicken some resin with those microbeads or something else and fill the areas needed to make it the original shape. Sand. Gelcoat. Sand. Sand. Polish.

Another question. I'm going to be gelcoating the whole thing, and there are scratches. Do I need to sand these out completely, or will the gelcoat fill them?