Fiberglass boat repair. Need help.

[cmf21]

Got a free 8 foot boat last night that came with a trolling motor and battery. Anyways, I noticed it has a few cracks and a some chips along the bottom outside edges. I want to fix it myself but I stopped a local boat shop anyways to get a price on what it might cost to repair but it was way too much. The shop said I could put new fiberglass stuff down or just leave it the way it is and use something called Gluvit which I guess is a water sealer or something.

I don't want to spend too much to fix the few cracks and chips but I want to do it right. I would also like to give it a new paint job if it doesn't cost too much. At one time I just thinking of using bed liner on the bottom but the boat shop said it wouldn't be a good idea. Don't know why.

Any suggestions on what products I should use or some tips so I don't screw it up too much.

 

[0roo0roo]

i'm sure you can google up fiberglass boat/jetski or whatever repair, pretty common to have to do such repairs.

 

[cmf21]

I've looked it up. Doesn't seem too hard. I just need help on selecting what product/s to use. So many to choose from.

 

[3chordcharlie]

You need http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxpcO03msJ4#t=0m58s

 

[vi edit]

You need http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxpcO03msJ4#t=0m58s

:awe:

First thing I thought of.

 

[cmf21]

Thought of using that but don't know how'll it hold up in the Arizona sun or the boat being dragged around.

 

[3chordcharlie]

Thought of using that but don't know how'll it hold up in the Arizona sun or the boat being dragged around.

I'm going to go with: It's won't.

But that commercial is almost vince-good.

 

[KK]

what about a linex/rhino type spray liner?

 

[cmf21]

I thought that would be the best bet as the boat is going to get banged up on the bottom but the guy at the boat shop fed my some line about water getting in between the fiberglass and liner and wouldn't work. I thought that the liner would keep the water out but maybe I'm wrong.

 

[randay]

free boats are rarely ever free.

 

[Markbnj]

free boats are rarely ever free.

/thread right there. OP inherited a hole in the water.

OP, the repair depends on the kind of problem and how large the area is. You can visit any yachting/marine supply store and they can talk you through the process and show you the products. Definitely don't try to use Flexseal, or 5200, or any of that crap.

For pitting and chips you will use resin, potentially some color (doesn't look like that matters much to you) and depending on the size of the chip some filler glass. You mention cracks. If you have any long, flexing cracks you're going to need to glass over them, meaning you'll need the cloth and the resin. Really it's not a difficult job, but it's messy, and a little hard to get a nice, neat result. The resin is a two-part epoxy, so you mix it up, and if you are filling a large chip you mix some glass fibers in with it. If you are glassing over a crack you soak some glass cloth in resin, lay it over the cleaned and prepped area, and then squeegee the excess out.

Good luck, and start an old boat savings account. You'll need it.

 

[BladeVenom]

Duct tape. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnILEXnRHP0

 

[the DRIZZLE]

I thought that would be the best bet as the boat is going to get banged up on the bottom but the guy at the boat shop fed my some line about water getting in between the fiberglass and liner and wouldn't work. I thought that the liner would keep the water out but maybe I'm wrong.

People do use spray on liners in boats but not to seal leaks. Post a pic of the cracks so we can see what we're talking about.

 

[lxskllr]

Cloth, and epoxy resin. It's easy and cheap to do a functional job. A pretty job is a good bit more difficult.

Don't drag the boat on the ground. That's a cardinal sin. Carry it, or drop it in the water via trailer.

 

[Squisher]

That flex-shield stuff is the baby brother of the Gaco products. The stuff is pretty amazing, but looking at their website I don't see anything recommended for marine use.

http://www.gacoretail.com/

 

[Modelworks]

You are kind of thinking about keeping water out in the wrong direction. The pressure is on the outside of the boat not the inside. With something like a bed liner you have the water below pushing against the weight of the boat and the bed liner, so it is going to make anything you use, spray on coating, thin areas of fiber glass, etc have a lot of PSI against them. Try to picture a sheet of paper pulled tight with something like a pencil pushing against it , that is the kind of PSI a boat faces when in water and loaded down with a motor and people.

 

[eLiu]

A trolling motor huh? Is that what powers certain people on this forum?

 

[lxskllr]

A trolling motor huh? Is that what powers certain people on this forum?

Depends. The ones for boats generally use an electric motor, while the people here use an external combustion engine.