That loud green paint's all going to have to come off...

[Greenheart]

Found quite a few ugly big holes in my GRP, not very well painted over...soft, thinly-supported fibres. Well, it's a big boat, I hadn't noticed till now!

I've no reason to believe there aren't many more holes, very possibly in areas which would spout water if launched, so I'm glad not to have tried sailing yet even though the weather was fine today.

There are unpleasant creaks and fibrous rustles and cracking sounds when I apply pressure to decks and bulkheads, so lord knows how she'd respond to the pressure of the rig tension in a breeze, and crew on the decks.

View attachment 30984

That hole's going to be no fun to reach. It's on the spray-rail beside the mast. I suppose it'll want a mesh of fibres pushed into place from under the foredeck, then glassing in place. The Stanley knife is only there for scale. It wasn't the implement responsible for the hole.

My first attempt at using Plastic Padding Gelcoat today, wasn't a success. No gloves are provided, just one tiny little mixer/applicator which soon gunges up.

The stuff seemed not to mix and was still too sloppy to apply, until I blinked and found it had suddenly hardened, too solid to use in the gashes on my hull and decks. I hope the hardener is sold separately - I've mislaid the little tube.

I'll have to be methodical and sensible about getting this very tired old Osprey back into anything like serious sailing condition. I know she can never have the stiffness that a new hull has, but for the most part I don't like challenging conditions myself either...still, sailed as she is I reckon she might just fold up, given rig tension and choppy seas to fight with.

 

[Searush]

So it leaks, what's the problem? Gaffer tape will deal with the hole in the spray rail. I sailed the Solo for years with a hole in it. I have a canoe covered in gaffer tape that no longer leaks (much )

If you really want to fix it, put a bit of gaffer tape on from underneath if you can reach it & then build up resin & CSM to just below the surface & the use filler to fair it off. You'll do that in a couple of hours.

If you spot a weak area, clean it off & bit slap resin & mat on from the inside t sstrengthen it. I got a gelcoat repair in a tube (don't remember the trade name) but it doesn't need hardner & was very easy to spread & hardened in the air & was sandable in a few hours.

Don't do too much or it will weigh a ton! Just focus on bits that actually move first.

I did a fist sized hole in my foredeck with several layers of resin & CSM with a 2-3 applications of the filler to level it off.

 

[Otter]

Blimey SR, gaffer tape underneath and on top of the hole? Don't listen to him Dan, some Sellotape and a bit of cotton waste is all you need.

 

[Lakesailor]

This stuff does the job. http://www.sandsmarineonline.co.uk/plastic-padding-glass-fibre-paste-750g-4977-p.asp

Quick and easy. Waterproof. Just get the bloody thing in the water. All these pointless worries will be brought into focus and your real priorities will emerge.

Getting a bit fed up now. I think you may have some other issues which are preventing you from getting your feet wet.

 

[VicS]

This stuff does the job. http://www.sandsmarineonline.co.uk/plastic-padding-glass-fibre-paste-750g-4977-p.asp

Quick and easy. Waterproof. Just get the bloody thing in the water. All these pointless worries will be brought into focus and your real priorities will emerge.

Getting a bit fed up now. I think you may have some other issues which are preventing you from getting your feet wet.

Or perhaps David's Isopon P40 which is resin mixed with glass fibres. Maybe add some extra glass for larger holes.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_167469_langId_-1_categoryId_165625

 

[Croak]

Just make sure any buoyancy tanks are buoyant. I nearly lost an old Merlin Rocket with that problem, and have seen others on the lakes with the same.

 

[Greenheart]

Thanks for all these thoughts, which mostly echo what I thought/concluded/plan to do...I'll try the glass fibre paste.

I'm pretty sure the flaky, soft old deck of a substantial racing dinghy whose rig still pulls, is a bad place to be in a breeze when it finally starts to come apart.

I'm not kidding, the decks bend & crack where they oughtn't. There are lots of poor repairs to the hull, and possibly mine won't raise the standard...

...but a previous owner's bright green cover-up job means I can't see problem areas till my knuckles literally sink through the deck. The transom flaps are flopping off, the thwart appears to have collapsed at some stage and has only been half-sorted, and there are numerous clean breaks through bulkheads and decking.

There is also the sound of several litres of water sloshing down the length of the bone-dry boat when one end is lifted...but the bungs reveal nothing.

Lakey, I am keen, but to go sailing, not swimming. If I liked DIY, I'd be better at it. I'd much rather be sailing, but in a boat that won't bring a quarter-tonne of water back to the dinghy-park. I do have "other issues", though...making a paltry freelance income! It's badly named, 'freelancing'...takes up sixty hours a week.

 

[Lakesailor]

Or perhaps David's Isopon P40 which is resin mixed with glass fibres. Maybe add some extra glass for larger holes.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_167469_langId_-1_categoryId_165625

The Plastic Padding is the same.

From Loctite site...

Plastic Padding Glass Fibre Paste

Plastic Padding Glass Fibre Paste - Contains high tensile glass-fibre strands for extra strength

They are just different colours.

I'll shut up on the matter now. I'll just mention that Searush sailed his Solo(which became mine) with this crack in the hull for years.

 

[VicS]

The Plastic Padding is the same.

Ta. Wasn't sure, just suggested as an alternative.

 

[prv]

Searush sailed his Solo(which became mine) with this crack in the hull for years.

Glad you specified it was the crack on the hull that you meant

Pete

 

[Lakesailor]

I have no information on leaks in the other one.

 

[Greenheart]

I'm off crack-inspection for the rest of April. Just spent this morning telling SWMBO how to Hammerite a rust-ridden trailer - as if I know how it should be done...

...but at least now that's rain-proof. Now I have a hideous end-of-month backlog of work to do, so any fixes to my shaky old boat will have to wait.

I appreciate the recommendation not to bother fixing things. A few conspicuous defects, fixed on bright dry days in early May, and I'll happily trust her not to flood.

Don't forget I could have bought a Laser if my idea of sailing fun necessitated constantly getting drenched...I got a bigger dinghy in part to escape inevitable drip-dry sailing. Granted I'll get soaked to my waist just launching, but I'd be glad not to have to watch the puddle in the bilges deepening on calm days at sea.

 

[Seajet]

Glad you specified it was the crack on the hull that you meant

Pete

Pete,

still might be a case for plastic padding though !

Dan,

don't be too flippant, I once shared a very doggy old International 14 with a chum, we had our suspicions so did a capsize / buoyancy test just by the club; when I saw lots of bubbles coming from the tanks I knew it wasn't going to be our day...

Also, I don't know how experienced your crew is but at least for the first few times - until you've tested the boat inc capsize drill - I'd go for the old plastic milk bottle on top of the main headboard trick.

 

[Greenheart]

I'd go for the old plastic milk bottle on top of the main headboard trick.

Cheers Andy, I wasn't going to risk capsize without something floaty tied at the masthead. I believe indestructable plastic Coke bottles are available in a 3-litre size.

Have you any idea where in my side-deck, water might be trapped? The bung doesn't let any out, regardless of how we tip the boat. I don't think she's been afloat for six months, and I can't see how rain would have accumulated uphill from the cockpit...

...might it have been let in through a seam, when she was capsized? I suppose it's only a few litres, but it can't be doing any good in there. I have a couple of sealed 'inspection hatches' high in each cockpit bulkhead, but I believe I'd have to destroy them to open them up, with a Stanley knife:

View attachment 30998

What's the point of a hatchway which doesn't allow ingress for inspection? They're about 12cm across.

 

[Seajet]

Dan,

my chum Vern ( of these forums ) has the same or very similar inspection jobs on his 1960's grp Osprey; on his boat they pull out with a bit of a fingertip struggle, I've recommended fitting RWO style screw in plastic jobs from Force 4 as I have my doubts about the integrity of these rubber things let alone their being hassle to use.

Hard to say re leaks, if yours has a spin chute I'd look there, otherwise all joins inc hull / deck and down the mast too ?

 

[cliff]

The Plastic Padding is the same.

From Loctite site...

They are just different colours.

I'll shut up on the matter now. I'll just mention that Searush sailed his Solo(which became mine) with this crack in the hull for years.

Glad you specified it was the crack on the hull that you meant

Pete

Fnarr Fnarr - builder's bum

 

[Greenheart]

I've recommended fitting RWO style screw in plastic jobs from Force 4 as I have my doubts about the integrity of these rubber things let alone their being hassle to use.

Cheers, I think I'll get the RWO 5" removable hatches at some point. Access to the inside of the hull would also make certain repairs easier.

If there's half a gallon of brine sloshing around inaccessibly in there, isn't it likely to do some harm? Maybe best removed ASAP, by gimlet if necessary?

 

[davidej]

Fnarr Fnarr - builder's bum

i was going to say that there was more than one crack visible

 

[Greenheart]

I've taken the paint off the area around those nasty splits in the GRP on the sidedeck. I bought Plastic Padding Glass Fibre Paste rather than chopped strand mat & resin.

Instructions on the GRP paste say the area should be "well abraded", presumably because a smooth finish defies adhesion. But what's the best way to abrade GRP which was deliberately smoothed during manufacture? Coarse sanding doesn't make a very rough finish...does it want scratching off with a chisel or something?

OR...would I be better off just using the Sikaflex 291i which I bought for another job? Could I bond a strip of something like aluminium sheet, over the split to prevent the sections of deck from separating under load?

Hope I'm not incurring Lakey's wrath, by still mending, when I could be floating and injuring myself on torn fibreglass edges...

 

[VicS]

I've taken the paint off the area around those nasty splits in the GRP on the sidedeck. I bought Plastic Padding Glass Fibre Paste rather than chopped strand mat & resin.

Instructions on the GRP paste say the area should be "well abraded", presumably because a smooth finish defies adhesion. But what's the best way to abrade GRP which was deliberately smoothed during manufacture? Coarse sanding doesn't make a very rough finish...does it want scratching off with a chisel or something?

OR...would I be better off just using the Sikaflex 291i which I bought for another job? Could I bond a strip of something like aluminium sheet, over the split to prevent the sections of deck from separating under load?

Hope I'm not incurring Lakey's wrath, by still mending, when I could be floating and injuring myself on torn fibreglass edges...

Coarse aluminium oxide paper should provide an adequately rough surface P80 should be more than coarse enough, P120 probably coarse enough.

Use the repair paste that contains glass fibre strands for bridging gaps. I think you have the right one. The Isopon one is P40.

Better though to repair on the inside with resin and glass mat.