Help with problem

[Topcat47]

I have a Nic 26. The lower rudder bearing housing has a crack in the GRP and the location for the bush is cracked. As a result of this a lot of water has found its way into the void. This is being dried as I write, however, I'm at a loss regarding the best way to repair the damage and ensure that water won't find its way inside again. If she were a wooden boat, the bearing would be part of the keel, and a new oak beam could be scarfed in. As I'm dealing with GRP, however, I'm not sure what would be best. She's 40 years old now and I want her to survive another 40 years.

 

[paulrossall]

I am not familiar with the rudder fittings on your boat but I had a similar situation with my Macwester 30.
I would remove the local GRP and maybe free the bearing. You should then refix the bearing useing EPOXY resin and woven fibre glass mat. Do not use the cheaper polyester resin as it is not as strong and does not do as good a job. Sufficiant epoxy resin, I would use either SP or West, should cost about £20 and the woven mat a couple of pounds. You do not have a major problem and the job can be done easily. It is vital that you wear suitable gloves to save getting epoxy on you. I bought a pack of 10 gloves from B&Q for little money but make sure you buy the stronger ones, not the laytex ones. I bought some dessert spoons from a second hand shop and some old stainless steel bowls to mix the epoxy in. I think there may be some tips on how to use the epoxy on the West web site. Good luck. Paul

 

[BrendanS]

Not sure oldsaltoz frequents this forum, so I've sent him a message to take a look. He is the forums expert on anything fibreglass (he does it for a living, and provides wonderful advice on how to go about things)

 

[Peterduck]

Can you find out from Nicholson's how that part of the boat was constructed? It may have a timber beam inside the fibreglass. This will materially affect the way that you go about the repair. Also, is the crack longitudinal or transverse? The fact that there is a crack there at all suggests that the present arrangement may not be strong enough for the strains that are imposed upon it. Some sort of reinforcement may be required. I am not familiar with Nic 26's and I am likewise pretty much a stranger to fibreglass repairs, so I can't be more specific than that.
Peter.

 

[oldsaltoz]

G'day Topcat 47, and welcome to the YBW forums with your 2nd post.

BrenanS sent me a message asking if I would have a look at your post; I only visit the reader to reader forum due to limited time these days.

Not sure I have worked on a Nicholson 26 so if I make any wrong assumptions please correct me as it may make a change in what is required to effect the repair.

This crack you have, you don't say if it's vertical or horizontal, this information will give a clue as to what may have caused the failure and what we need to do to prevent it returning.

First step is to dry it out, just leaving out of the water is not enough, you should grind out all signs or the crack, and that means looking for stains in the glass and following them till all is clean, at this point drying will take no time at all as most or the 'wet' glass will have been removed. Take care not to grind away too much around the lower bearing at this stage, we don't want it to move and have to redefine it's correct alignment, so avoid the crack around the bush for the moment.

Are you sure there is a hollow void that water has got into? if you are and it has, drill a small 6 mm hole to form a temporary drain to assist drying.

Repairing this is not difficult, but will require some thought to ensure water can not get back into the void. We can fill the void with closed cell Micro Spheres, they will take up water like some foams do.

Have you worked with epoxy resins? Standard wax-poly resins will not provide a good enough bond in this situation as they rely on the mechanical keyed surface only, an epoxy resin will give us a mechanical and chemical bonding, up to 40 % stronger, and we need this in the steering department.

Don't worry about grinding out too much, it's better to remove too much than too little and leave contaminated or wet glass behind, because when we finish it will be sealed inside and that's not good; rebuilding to the original profile is not difficult or complicated and you don't need a degree to do a great job.

Next step:
Grind away the contaminated material and let it dry, let us know what you find and what direction the crack, re cracks run in.

Start collecting some type 5 plastic containers, I use the square Ice Cream containers, you will also need:

1 inch brushes, (5) short thin bristle, cheap, with unpainted handles are best.
A box of Latex gloves, get a hundred pairs, always useful when painting.
A small 50 mm threaded roller on a wire handle (about $16.00 Aust)
2 litres of Acetone. ($6.00 Au)
Some white rags.
A bottle of white vintager.
A pair of sharp scissors.
One kg (2 pounds) of closed cell filler, look for 'Q' cells, they are the cheapest.
Epoxy resin, 1 or 2 litres at most, with hardener, the mix is normally 5 to 1.
Fibreglass, not chopped strand mat, only cloth designed for use with epoxy.
Some 200 grit sandpaper.
A plastic kitchen scourer, the green one with a foam backing is good.
Personal protective equipment, ear, eye and lung protection.

Andavagoodweekend......