Repairs to a Dabbler Dinghy

[mickywillis]

During the winds we had a couple of weeks ago, my little Dabbler dinghy was blown over (leant against the side of the house) and landed onto a metal section of a dinghy trailer.
The metal strut went into the main body of the dinghy, near the bow and penetrated the outer layer, through to the foam core underneath. There is also a smaller hole near the small plastic bow cleat on the same section of the dinghy.
Couple of questions really, 1, what is the material the dinghy is made from? Doesn't appear to be GRP, definately not polypropylene, but seems to be a form of rigid plastic?
2nd, how can I repair it? Can I repack the cavity with offcuts of say Celotex foam (building insulation with the foil removed) to give support and bouyancy back to the structure and then use a polyester resin/matting to build up and finish with filler and then gelcoat over the top? Or do I need a specialist type of filler to rebond this plastic material?
3rd, what colour would you call the orange part? Although faded, I was thinking of a pastel orange or tangerine? Its not as bright as say a RNLI RIB hull, but not as orange as an orange?
Any info gratefully received!

 

[mickywillis]

So I take it no one knows how to repair this damage then?

 

[Even Chance]

I dont know what its made from, but personally I'd use thin cyano (superglue- really , try it!!) to re-assemble the shards (you dont have to fill the hole then), and use epoxy and woven roving glass mat on both sides of the puncture, overlapping by a reasonable amount to the good hull. The epoxy is clear, and the woven roving totally dissapears when wetted out well. Make sure the hull is keyed well for the patches to stick to. Done well enough, you shouldnt see the repairs too easily.

Hope this helps. Its a quick/easy and cheap fix.

EDIT:-
Im seeing its got a cavity on one side. Just re-assemble it well and put the patch on the outside. It will be just fine.

 

[oldsaltoz]

Collect all the broken bits, seal the broken foam and fill the area with a resin and filler.

You can gleu the plastic back together with a soldering iron, but it will 'horrible. So check out your local car panel repair outlet, they repair plastic bumpers every day.

Good luck and fair winds.

 

[mickywillis]

gents, thanks for the idea about gluing the bits back in, I hadn't thought of that! Trouble is, I'm not sure if I have all the bits as Mrs W may have gone round with the broom after the dinghy fell over. If not, I'll refill with foam, GRP over the top, fill with polyester filler and finish with an aerosol in as close a match as possible.

 

[davidwf]

Loads of guys repair car bumpers, have a google in your area for plastic welders. You are lucky its not polypropylene its terrible to repair as it wax's when melted.