I have been working on this repair project a few nights after work and it is almost complete. Here is an update of what I have done.
Supplies:
West System 105 Epoxy
West System 406 Slow Hardner
West System 404 High Density Filler
West System Fiberglass Cloth
Paint Brush
Mixing Sticks/tubs
Sand Paper
Orbital Sander
Plastic Spreader
Window Screening
Silicone Spray
Acetone - Throughout Cleaning was performed between each step.
Blue Painters Tape
1) Damage
After being smashed up against a large rock by a few waves, the uper side of the hull and the top of the deck near the front pylon had impact damage.
Top View
Side View
2) Preparing the Surface
In order to determine the actual extent of damage, and to start the repair, the area needed to be ground down. Using a 4" angle grinder the damaged area was ground down past the gel coat, and until only good fiberglass was left. The area was then feathered in to the rest of the hull providing a good amount of un damaged fiberglass to bond to. As you can see, there was 1 main crack along the top, and 1 point damage spot that extended to the core (no core damage). Along with some cracking along the side.
Top View
Side View
3) Fiberglass Cloth
Sections of fiberglass cloth were cut out to match the damaged area. A few small sections were used to fill in the deeper damaged areas, then larger sections were used to cover up the cracks fully with 1 inch on each side of the crack, three strips were used to add support under the deck/hull lip, and finally a large section, the size of the entire ground down area, was used to cover the top, go over the edge, tucked up inside the deck/hull lip, and down the side.
4) Fiberglass Application
Epoxy and Hardner were mixed together and high density filler was added until the mixture became a ketchup like consistancy. Using a small paint brush, the mixture was applied to the boat, and the fiberglass cloth was applied/saturated/excess removed in layers until the final large piece was applied.
5) Sanding
The surface left from the fiberglass application was not the smoothest, so a orbital sander and regular sand paper were used to smooth out the surface.
6) Top Coat
Epoxy and Hardner were mixed together and high density filler was added until the mixture became a penut butter like consistancy. Using a plastic spreader, this was applied liberally over the repair and feathered into the boat. Care was taken to match the final shape closely with the hull.
7) Sanding
Again, the surface was not the smoothest and did not match the boat perfectly, so an orbital sander and regular sand paper were used to sand down the top coat until it matched the boats profile perfectly.
Non Skid Pattern
Since the non skid pattern was eliminated from the area where the repair was done, it needed to be fixed to match the boat. A rectangular section of the nonskid pattern around the repair was taped off and sanded away. Epoxy and Hardner were mixed together and high density filler was added until the mixture became a ketchup like consistancy and it was brushed on over the area. After approximatly 40 minutes the area was curing and the expoxy mixture was solid, but still soft. A section of window screening was coated with silicone spray (for a release agent) and the screening was pressed into the area, then removed. This left a very similar non skid pattern as the original boat.
9) Not Done Yet - The area lacking the non skid pattern needs to have filler putty applied to fill in any porus areas left by the epoxy. This is necessary in order to get a good paint job.
10) Not Done Yet - The area needs to be primed before it is put in sunlight or used on the water.
11) Not Done Yet - At the end of the season I will be repainting the entire hull side/top with left over 2 part polyurathane paint from when I painted it years ago.
Only time will tell how good this repair is, however I am currently happy with it. The repair seems to be very strong, possibly even stronger than the orignal boat. The repair also looks very good, it will not be too noticable once painted.