Commander #65 "Lucky Dawg"

[Lucky Dawg]

Hey Rico,
Thanks for mentioning that. I had been looking at C227's tackling of the cracks. Looks like he did it before sanding. Still figuring out to what depth I need to sand. I need to take off the non-skid, but do I need to sand to the point of all gelcoat being removed or just to a solid, crack free surface? I will be pulling out my Don Casey bibles and doing some searching here, but if you care to weigh in on the subject before I get there, I'm open to any feedback!

p.s. I sent you a PM about your aluminum mast base, but it is sometimes hard to see that indicator of a waiting message - so you may not have noticed. I did get one manufactured for about $350.

[carl291]

Kyle, my understanding is you want to open up the cracks with say an old can opener dragged through the crack to clean out the crud and make the edges abraded to hold the filler. If you try to sand down the crack you'll have a deck as wavy as the lake. I think I got this from Mike Goodwin's repair tips on this site. Check with the site masters though. Carl

[Commander227]

Kyle,
No sailing for you for awhile. I'm in the same boat as you though. The Princess is currently in many pieces.
Sorry for the slow reply, I have not been on the site for awhile.
I think a gallon of each is about right. I think I did have to dip into a second gallon of the white Awlgrip (I think less than a quart) to finish the non-skid.
(I just burned up some more of the second gallon with my mast rebuild project. I'll try to get some of that up soon)
The crazing you just need to buzz down and fill, its the stress cracks you need to route out. A Dremel would work fine to route out the cracks, I used a 1/8" pointed carbide bit in a 90 degree air grinder. You need to get all the way trough the gel coat. I can't remember right now but I think I filled with Duraglass.
I'll get you the info on the Vynalester paste Bob used on C299. He put it on thick and worked it into the crazed deck with a thick nap roller, rolling from all directions. It worked really well and seems to be holding up nicely. I don't see anything telegraphing through.
Mike
C227