Fiberglass Repair Advice Neede

The boat has six partial bulkheads (where the chainplates are attached) that are fiberglassed to the hull and the shelves. One or two of mine had detached or develped a crack in the fiberglass at the attachment point. I'm in the process of re-attaching them (re-tabbing them I think its called)

First I sanded down the layers of old paint to get to the fiberglass. Even this was not easy. I went from 80 grit, to 60, to 36 then used a wire wheel. I ground off any suspect fiberglass.

The plan is to apply overlapping layers of fiberglass tape over the original fiberglass with epoxy.

Two questions:

Even after this rough treatment, the original fiberglass still feels smooth to the touch. Will the new fiberglass form a good attachment to it or do I need to do something more?

Is it worth it to buy e-glass or s-glass for this project or will regular 9 oz tape do the job nicely?

Let me tell you, this is no fun project. Even with a tyvex suit and respirator, I'm still itching like a mental patient.

Here is the scene part way through the destruction process. I'll get some better photos this weekend.

Pete,

Wipe the area with white vinegar several times and go for it . The mild acid of the vinegar etches the surface and removes any wax or other residue that may interfere with the bond . Do allow the vinegar to fully evaporate before applying the epoxy .
You could also put a bead of 3M-5200 down the edges and in the gap , wait 48 hrs , then epoxy over that , belt and suspenders you know .

Mike G.

Commanderpete,I believe your doing everything right.,I wipe everything down with acetone but I guess vingar works too,I use it to clean alot of things.You have a very interesting layout below.I look forward to seeing some pictures when your done.Are you going to replace the p-lam? I allways alternate matt and cloth when I do anything structurally.

I'm replacing the laminate too. I unscrewed that whole sink/galley unit and took it home.

I've got all the laminate removed from the boat. I really hated that wood grained Micarta.

That Micarta was glued on real good. I used a heat gun and paint scrapers to peel it back. Then I moved the heat gun behind the pried up Micarta to soften the glue and work it off.

The glue was so strong it wanted to take off the veneer of the plywood its attached to.

I only had two small fires during this process :eek:

I then learned that you can shoot the heat gun right at the face of the Micarta and the glue will soften behind it.

Stay tuned for further developments or disasters.

Commanderpete (checking his insurance is paid)

Yep,thats how I got all mine off,use your old pieces as patterns,while you are doing it ,do it all.I made the mistake of doing it in 3 different phases.My old wood grain p-lam was in really bad shape,real milky looking and it always looked dirty below.The white made the cabin look twice as big.

In addition to retabbing the bulkheads, I'm also reinforcing the hull/deck joint from the inside. I've always been surprised at how thin the fiberglass is there. While I'm at it, the whole interior is going to get a paint job.

Here is the scene with the interior partially sanded. I've got the laminate off. The galley has been removed along with the cover and front of the head.

I did most of that with a palm sander. The sander was not aggressive enough, so I brought out the heavy artillery. I bought a Porter Cable random orbital sander. A nice piece of equiptment. I call her "Shirley."

This is one of the partial bulkheads. Actually, I think its called a "knee" or "gusset." Its plywood covered with fiberglass. I have it sanded and ground down a bit. The plywood is not designed to actually butt up against the deck above or shelf below. I'll be reattaching this with fiberglass once I have it all cleaned up.

This is the larger middle bulkhead on the port side. It is plywood and not covered with fiberglass. You have to be careful that your chainplate doesn't leak, or the water can get right to the wood. Mine was in good shape, but I'm going to coat it with clear penetrating epoxy sealer (CPES) and maybe glass over the area where the chainplate is attached.

I'm not quite sure why the bulkhead seperated from the deck above. The surveyor saw this problem when I bought the boat. I've heard that polyester resin doesnt adhere to wood as well as epoxy and this problem is not uncommon with older boats.

In any event, this boat is going to be glued together real good by the time I'm done. I've thought about the fact that adding weight to the top of the boat is not desirable. But, I figure I've removed about 10 lbs of old paint already. Probably doesnt make any difference on these old tanks anyway.

Pete,the deck to hull joint isnt the greatest,I had to retape the joint in the lazzeret

Viewing all the interior paint scraping/sanding brings back fond memories. At least Pearson was good enough to use a liner in the Ariel's main cabin. Only the forecabin needs the strip it all treatment:)

Yeah, the interior is just painted fiberglass on the Commander. Not the luxurious interior like you find on the Ariel ;)

The interior surface is not especially fair. There are plenty of high spots. I thought about making it smooth with fairing compound or adding a liner, but came to my senses rather quickly.

I'm going for bulletproof right now, although much of what I'm doing is probably unnecessary overkill. This all started because of that little creaking sound I heard when the boat was bashing into waves. I sure hope this works.

How about we nominate Steve's boat for "Queen of the Fleet"?

I was all ready voted best looking boat and boat owner at White Hall,wait that was my dog Lance.

It looks like Lance wants to go sailing.

The resolution on my photos is very poor. Let's see if this one is any better