First fiberglass repair: fun and easy substantial improvement...

jameswilson29 · #1 (**permalink**) 01-02-2012

Well, the crack in the skeg on my P28 was much more substantial than it appeared at first glance: SailNet Community - jameswilson29's Album: Winter repairs: crack in fiberglass skeg

After stripping the paint in the area, I could see a previous shoddy repair job: a screw had been used to join the two pieces of fiberglass and marine caulking had been used to fill the crack.

Surface preparation: I used a grinder to open up the crack and bevel the edges. I sanded around the area, removed the marine caulking, then wiped the area with an acetone soaked rag. I removed the screw and joined the loose piece of fiberglass to the metal plate at the bottom of the skeg with a C-clamp.

Backing: By leaving the rudder in the skeg, I could use it for the backing. I put a piece of wax paper on top of a piece of clear plastic with the surface waxed into the opening between the rudder and the skeg. I then wedged a piece of cardboard between the plastic backing and the rudder, and turned the rudder full to port and locked it in place. I taped all the backing in place to prevent the wind from blowing it into the repair area.

Fiberglass: I laid the fiberglass in 2 phases – six layers of cloth and resin with the C-clamp in place, then after it had set, I removed the clamp, turned the rudder to full starboard, cleaned out the gap, and laid another six layers of cloth and resin. After each phase, I used a box cutter and a hacksaw to cut off the excess glass and resin.

Next step: I need to grind and sand the area, apply fairing, and paint.

Conclusion: the repair was fun, easy and a substantial improvement over the previous repair. I would certainly try other fiberglass repairs in the future.

lajimo · #2 (**permalink**) 01-02-2012

Having never done a fiberglass repair myself, it's hard to visualize what you did. Can you post a pic or two?

jameswilson29 · #3 (**permalink**) 01-02-2012

Click on the hyperlink in the first paragraph - all photos are there!

TQA · #4 (**permalink**) 01-02-2012

A proper job!

sawingknots · #5 (**permalink**) 01-02-2012

repairing fiberglass is fairly easy,sounds like you did your homework,surface prep is essential

treilley · #6 (**permalink**) 01-02-2012

Nice work James. How is the bottom rudder bushing? These are known to wear and cause some slop in the rudder. It is fairly easy to remove and have a welder fill in and re-bore if needed.

jameswilson29 · #7 (**permalink**) 01-02-2012

The rudder bushing seems o.k. - the rudder did not seem to be loose at all. I assume this crack resulted from storm damage or from someone backing the boat into a piling or dock with the rudder hard over to port.

When I sailed the boat down from Annapolis during a small craft advisory, I did notice some vibration/oscillation as the boat approached hull speed in the chop on certain headings - I was not sure if it was the rudder, the keel, or the propeller. Might have been a normal vibration for the boat.

In any event, I also removed a 6 gallon water heater that one of the POs had installed in the port quarter. Not only was it leaking and taking up space and adding weight to the cockpit area, but it also was attached to a wooden shelf screwed between the cockpit floor and the hull of the boat, preventing the normal flexing between cockpit and hull in the port quarter: SailNet Community - jameswilson29's Album: Winter repairs 2011: remove leaking water heater (I have probably removed ~ 150 lbs. of unnecessary crap from the boat, including the water heater.)

I am interested to see if the vibration/oscillation occurs when the boat is back in the water, although it only occurs in certain conditions.

BubbleheadMd · #8 (**permalink**) 01-02-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by jameswilson29

The rudder bushing seems o.k. - the rudder did not seem to be loose at all. I assume this crack resulted from storm damage or from someone backing the boat into a piling or dock with the rudder hard over to port.

When I sailed the boat down from Annapolis during a small craft advisory, I did notice some vibration/oscillation as the boat approached hull speed in the chop on certain headings - I was not sure if it was the rudder, the keel, or the propeller. Might have been a normal vibration for the boat.

In any event, I also removed a 6 gallon water heater that one of the POs had installed in the port quarter. Not only was it leaking and taking up space and adding weight to the cockpit area, but it also was attached to a wooden shelf screwed between the cockpit floor and the hull of the boat, preventing the normal flexing between cockpit and hull in the port quarter: SailNet Community - jameswilson29's Album: Winter repairs 2011: remove leaking water heater (I have probably removed ~ 150 lbs. of unnecessary crap from the boat, including the water heater.)
I am interested to see if the vibration/oscillation occurs when the boat is back in the water, although it only occurs in certain conditions.

Oooooh, sounds like someone's thinking about racing!

jameswilson29 · #9 (**permalink**) 01-02-2012

No more racing in my future, but I do want the boat to sail well.

It makes me happy to see the boat float well above its designed waterline. I also like simplicity and knowing where everything is. I went through each and every locker and storage area on the boat and questioned the necessity of each item. Most were thrown away or stored at home.

Is it necessary to store paint and teak oil on the boat? A dozen expired flares (fire hazard)? How about extra transmission fluid? A spare propeller? A fish anode on a wire clip (10 lbs.)? Twenty pounds of spare anchor chain? Twenty soft drinks in the ice box (20 lbs.)? A full water tank (160 lbs.) if you only day sail?

The more junk I remove, the happier I am.