Is this gash fixable?

[jcstein]

I just acquired a '72 MacGregor Venture 2-22. It needs alot of work, but what concerns me most is this gash below the waterline.

Picasa Web Albums - James - Project Boat

Picasa Web Albums - James - Project Boat

If its repairable, I'm prepared to learn all I can and fix this boat up. But if not, there isn't any point in doing anything to it.

Any thoughts?

[Stillraining]

JC...We would have gotten around to all your questions on your other thread...I can tell your excited and want answers NOW...

1) It's fiberglass!...anything ( almost ) is fixable..

2) What is the rusting streaks coming from the damaged area?


Edit....First impressions....dont try to turn this into a show boat....a little money a lot of sailing ( inshore ) and move on...with that in mind you can have a capable boat to learn on...very cheap

[jcstein]

Hah.. sorry. Yes I am eager. However not being entirely new to forums I figure that 80% of the people who look in the maint/help threads don't read things like Hello.

As for the streaks, the cabin hatch was left open and water was getting into the cabin, as well as there is some sort of vent at the bow that has no cover.

I can only assume that water got into the compartment on the inside and leaked out through the crack.

I got the boat from my father-in-law and he got it pretty much in the condition its in new about 5 years ago.

I haven't dug around the area where the gash is and I'm just worried how much I'll have to but out to fix it.

Would there be a size limit that wouldn't be 'safe' to have a patch under the waterline?

[SYMandalay]

Yes. What you need to do is cut it out until you reach the point where the gash is all gone and you have solid parent material. Don't try fixing it without knowing where the gash really ends. Then evaluate how to rebuild the hole with new fiberglass. I suspect that boat is solid fiberglass but very thin. If I am wrong and it has a wood core, you gotta get any wet or damaged wood out of there.

Have fun......

C

[Stillraining]

OK..

The reason I asked is possible rusting of internal shroud anchors...but it looks too low for that anyway...

1) Have you any fiber glassing experience at all?

2) Are you willing to learn and read a book about it?

3) It ain't rocket science

4) Follow advice of SYM and do some exploring of the surrounding area with a hammer tapping lightly on the hull to find solid glass...you are looking to isolate the mushy sounding thud of damaged glass to the solid higher pitched knock of good glass..This will be a good indication of your damaged area...of course you will be feathering back farther into good glass, but this will tell you within a couple minutes if the whole side of the boat is fractured or if its limited to what we see in the photos..

[jcstein]

Originally Posted by Stillraining

OK..
The reason I asked is possible rusting of internal shroud anchors...but it looks too low for that anyway...

No core, and the gash is actually on the bottom more than the side. The interior picture is inside one of the bench compartments in the cabin.

Originally Posted by Stillraining

1) Have you any fiber glassing experience at all?

A little, meaning I've put down glass and mixed resin once.

Originally Posted by Stillraining

2) Are you willing to learn and read a book about it?

I've never been afraid to try something new, and hey, since I got the hull for free whats the worse I could do, make it not seaworthy?

Originally Posted by Stillraining

4) Follow advice of SYM and do some exploring of the surrounding area with a hammer tapping lightly on the hull to find solid glass...you are looking to isolate the mushy sounding thud of damaged glass to the solid higher pitched knock of good glass..This will be a good indication of your damaged area...of course you will be feathering back farther into good glass, but this will tell you within a couple minutes if the whole side of the boat is fractured or if its limited to what we see in the photos..

Thanks for the adivce. Both of you.

[sailaway21]

I'd recommend picking up Don Casey's Complete Illustrated Sailboat Maintenance Manual. It's fairly comprehensive and will have most of the knowledge you need contained within for such a project boat. You'll also want to get a hold of the westsystem pamphlets of fiberglass repair using epoxy. West Marine usually stocks them and there's good solid advice and techniques that, coupled with Casey's advise, should see you through. Looks eminently repairable to me and using the above two resources will prevent you from making many time consuming mistakes in your efforts.

[captainjay]

Yes it can be repaired. I would use biaxial cloth and west system epoxy. If you can get to the inside I would repair it from both sides. Start by taking a grinder and grinding out the damaged area back to good fiberglass mat in the hull. Hopefully it is solid glass and no core. Also grind the inside to put some teeth into it. Once the wound is cleaned out take duct tape and cover the outside as a mold you can use plastic over the area that is open to the new glass and use the tape for strength. Then lay several layers of cloth and resin over the inside. Assuming this is under a berth or seat layup three or four layers inside and make the patch larger than the damaged area. Let this cure up for a day or two. Then take the tape off of the outside. The repair outside will be to fair the hull back out as the inside patch will put the strength back in. Depending on how deep and thick the hull is you will likely be able to put a layer of cloth outside as well. Keep in mind you are trying to maintain hull shape so don't build it up to much. Then use the west system epoxy with the proper filler to fair it out. You will need to build it slightly high then go back after wards and sand it to shape. Don't over apply it as it is very hard to sand. It appears the boat was bottom painted at some point in its life. After the repair is done it was be better to bottom paint it again as apposed to trying to polish out the old gel coat. Google West System Epoxy and you should find plenty of info on it. I would give the hull a good wash down with bleach and water and find any other areas that need attention while you are fixing it. I agree that this repair should be first as without a solid hull anything else is a waste.
Jay

[blueranger]

Yes:


Boat Repair pictures from sailing photos on webshots

(hopefully link works)

That was my first ever experience with fiberglassing and the repairs have withstood several groundings and some heavy pounding with no leaks. I used West System and can recommend it highly.

Suggest you pick up the Don Casey book as the pictures helped out a lot.

Mike

[Jeff_H]

About the time that this boat was built, I worked for a company that sold Ventures. My job was commissioning and working on warrantee claims for these boats. These boats were very lightly built using chopped glass construction. Even as comparatively new boats we experienced some problems with the layup. It is a littlebit difficult to tell precisely where that crack occurred, but I have seen issues with these boats where the hull cracked adjacent to and parallel to the centerboard trunk and also near the face of the seat riser. These boats experienced a lot of flexure in this area and over time fatigue and poor contruction techniques take a toll, weaking the laminate in this area. While it can be fixed, properly assessing the extent of the problem and making a proper repair will be difficult.

One minor point, as much as I agree that WEST System offers a great product, I would suggest using MAS epoxy due to its reduced allergenics and reduced amine blush properties.

Jeff