repairing hole in ply hull

[westbromalbion]

hello everyone.
i have a ym senior. 16 foot ply sailing boat. i have a hole in the fore part of the hull below the waterline. where the boat fell off the trailer. does anyone know the best way of repairing this hole. which is about 7 or 8 inches square.

thanks

 

[Achillesheel]

Square up the hole, and chamfer the edges on the inside of the hull. Prepare a patch, with a matching chamfer. Prepare a larger patch, an inch or so bigger than the hole all the way round.

Epoxy the edges of the hole, and the edges of the first patch, and fit it into place. Before this one sets, epoxy the larger patch over the first one inside the hull and screw it into place from outside the hull. Epoxy over the screw heads, and fill and fair the edges of the patch from the outside. Use lashings of epoxy everywhere.

This technique worked for me on a Miracle dinghy where after a particularly hard sail on the Bristol Channel, the mast started to come through the bottom of the boat. Bit of a design fault, as the mast rests on the part of the hull where water always sits, so rot always starts there.

 

[oldsaltoz]

G'day Ymsenior, and welcome to the YBW forums.

You will get a better answer if you can provide us with a little more info;

Is the area to be repaired curved?

Have you used epoxy resins before?

Are you looking for a lightweight repair or something more substantial / reliable?

Avagoodweekend......

 

[Channel Ribs]

You could do alot worse than get hold of these guy's manual:

http://www.selway-fisher.com/SFD%20Catalogues%20&%20Manuals.htm#PLYWOOD

When it comes to doing things with ply and epoxy they know a few tricks.

 

[Spuddy]

I did some repairs on a friends Senior. Hole in a panel and it's like achillesheel says. Problems are getting hold of small quantities of marine ply; could take some perseverance asking around to get a bit. Most pros hang on to offcuts.
If fall has damaged a chine stringer then it's a different kettle of fish.
I came across the Eventide owners association ( covers Seniors as well ) - their site wasn't very active but when I did contact someone they were a useful contact.

 

[westbromalbion]

thanks chaps. i have plenty of marine ply but was worried how to go about the job. got some better idea now. thanks

 

[Lakesailor]

Achilles heels' advice is good. But forget the screws. Have faith in the epoxy.
I have pictures of a similar repair on a wooden dinghy if you want to have a look.