mullet
Well-Known Member
Went to remove my anode and (despite liberal application of penetrating oil) found the nuts to be too rusted on to the studs. With very little effort I succeeded in spinning one of the studs. So I undid the nuts on the inside of the hull and pulled the anode off, complete with studs attached.
I’ll cut the studs, reuse the (nearly new) anode and will fit new studs. When I pulled them off I discovered some old damage to the GRP around the holes - this was obviously not the first time this has happened! It looks as if the anode stud spun previously and gouged/crushed some of the outer surface of the hull, down to a depth of around 2mm. It’s possible this has been (poorly) repaired previously. And it’s possible that a lot of the damage mostly only to an ageing epoxy barrier coat (which is starting to break down elsewhere on the hull and is need of blasting off and replacing). There’s a solid 10mm of undamaged material behind the damaged area. Question I’d love advice on is how to deal with this?! Options I’m considering:
1. Grind out around the area and fill with thickened epoxy. Logic: the area is already weekend by the hole, it would be sensible to reverse any further weakening.
2. Patch with epoxy or gel coat filler. Logic: reduce water penetration into the bare GRP
3. Ignore it and go sailing. Logic: there’s plenty of sound material still there. And the boat is out of the water for 6 months of the year so it can dry out.
And views on which would be best? Or anything else I should be considering? Intending to launch in a week (and I won’t have time for anything enormously involved before then). Thanks.
I’ll cut the studs, reuse the (nearly new) anode and will fit new studs. When I pulled them off I discovered some old damage to the GRP around the holes - this was obviously not the first time this has happened! It looks as if the anode stud spun previously and gouged/crushed some of the outer surface of the hull, down to a depth of around 2mm. It’s possible this has been (poorly) repaired previously. And it’s possible that a lot of the damage mostly only to an ageing epoxy barrier coat (which is starting to break down elsewhere on the hull and is need of blasting off and replacing). There’s a solid 10mm of undamaged material behind the damaged area. Question I’d love advice on is how to deal with this?! Options I’m considering:
1. Grind out around the area and fill with thickened epoxy. Logic: the area is already weekend by the hole, it would be sensible to reverse any further weakening.
2. Patch with epoxy or gel coat filler. Logic: reduce water penetration into the bare GRP
3. Ignore it and go sailing. Logic: there’s plenty of sound material still there. And the boat is out of the water for 6 months of the year so it can dry out.
And views on which would be best? Or anything else I should be considering? Intending to launch in a week (and I won’t have time for anything enormously involved before then). Thanks.
