gel planing

[boddubbay]

Two questions
1.0 are there any contractors who will peel gelcoat for osmosis treatment

2.0 once gelcoat has been removed as a relatively skilled person is this a job I could do myself? I would keep the boat longer than the warranty offered by a gelshield approved centre.


thanks in advance

 

[aquapower]

Two questions
1.0 are there any contractors who will peel gelcoat for osmosis treatment

2.0 once gelcoat has been removed as a relatively skilled person is this a job I could do myself? I would keep the boat longer than the warranty offered by a gelshield approved centre.


thanks in advance

There's also the drying out process, can be done by hot vac to speed things up, not really a diy job.

 

[rogerball0]

I did my Centaur, (26ft sailboat) well i had it peeled by a so called 'professional' (not very impressed for the 450 quid it cost) then did everything else myself; spent the next year / 18 months getting the hull drier, note not dry, built my own hot-vac system, that cost 500 quid oh yeah then spent somewhere in the region of 2500 pounds on epoxy, cloth, filler additives, tools etc then another 6 - 9 months of evenings and weekends sheathing, filling and fairing.

Technically its a diy job but only if you're insane, unless your boats hull is structurally delaminating or deforming from osmosis then don't bother.

Trust me i have the t-shirts, badges and torture boards, just writing this brings on pain in my shoulders from all the rubbing down not to mention neck ache, and months of it too!

The most sage advice i could give you is to go and buy Hugo De Plessis' book on fibreglass boats because having read it after doing all this i wish i could go back in time and never have started, the guy talks so much sense, i listened to too many people at the time - who had good intentions - on forums like this and so talked myself into it as it was the 'proper' way to do things rather than just repair local areas on the hull. The only problem i had on my boat were the keel stubs had delaminated and blistered, in hindsight i should've just ground the gelcoat back and patch repaired

Plus it depends on what problems your boat has and what your plans are for it, but seriously go and buy the book first and read cover to cover then get on with your life, from start to finish the whole process for me took nearly three years (part time) here's the link for the book:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fibreglass-...-Maintenance/dp/140812274X/ref=dp_ob_image_bk

Roger

If you click my signature below and click on project photo album and scroll down you'll find a plethora of albums showing you how to make your own hot-vac system as well as the work rebuilding the boats structure.

 

[Elessar]

Two questions
1.0 are there any contractors who will peel gelcoat for osmosis treatment

2.0 once gelcoat has been removed as a relatively skilled person is this a job I could do myself? I would keep the boat longer than the warranty offered by a gelshield approved centre.


thanks in advance

Where's the boat? There are a couple of peeling contractors on the south coast.
After peeling you grit blast it. This is to take the shine off that the peeler blades leave and remove any realy soft laminate.
Also a blasted surface is a good key for the epoxy and has a greater surface area facilitating drying.
Then jet wash every day until dry. Yes you read that right. Water dries quickly, you are not removing water when you dry a hull. Hotvac is not neccessary and can give false readings. It can speed things up in reLly skilled hands. For DIY all you need as a jetwash. A hot jetwash is even better.
Once dry, build back up with solvent free epoxy.

 

[rogerball0]

Wow Elassar you make it sound like its an afternoons work, you should've come and done my boat for me.

The bit about 'then jet wash every day until dry' is the key to the success of the process, how dry is dry? From my experience my boat didn't dry quickly at all hot washing alone, that can take months sometimes years. I woke up after a year of stubborn readings to the idea of (vaporising solutes in the laminate by applying heat in a vacuum) HOT VAC. i got my boat drier in one month doing the latter than in the previous 14 months doing the former, i understand talking to numerous surveyors afterwards the best solution is a combination of both which in my case produced dramatic results.

In my experience hot vac or a hot vac-like system is totally necessary unless you want to stare at a stripped hull for a long time..........

Having said all the above i'd still advise buying Hugo's book and not bothering at all if i'm being honest.