JohnAbercrombie
Paddler
Dave:When possible, I piggyback the second tape layer ......
Why do you use 2 layers of glass tape?
And, are they the same width, or a wider tape over a narrow one?
Dave:When possible, I piggyback the second tape layer ......
Roy-It looks like good work.
But, I would check it for water leaks with an air compressor as follows:
Use compress air to locally compress the suspected inside surfaces while applying water to the outside.
This is probably a 2 people job. Any leaks will show up as air bubbles.
I worked in a car factory and we used this method to locate hard to find water leaks on car bodies.
All the tape and resin to bond the hull and deck on both sides probably doesn't add up to that much weight (a few pounds), so I don't get very concerned about it, when I build or repair. but I've never managed to build a 25 pound boat, either!Back to your boat:
I would not use fiberglass tape to fix the seam. Woven tape doubles the amount of glass, because only 1/2 of the glass threads are spanning the crack. 9 oz. glass tape will soak up a lot of resin and adds a lot of weight.
I would make strips of cut at 45 degrees ( cut no the bias ). To keep the glass from fraying use masking tape on the edges of the cuts. I would use 2 layers of 4 oz. glass cut on the bias. (should be stronger then 1 layer of 9 oz. tape and probably 1/3 the weight add.)
First, in response to Roy's suggestion of using bias tape: the weight difference is small. Bias tape is a PITA to cut yourself, especially in the lengths needed for a full length seam. Yes, bias is stronger, no question, but not worth the trouble.Dave:
Why do you use 2 layers of glass tape? And, are they the same width, or a wider tape over a narrow one?
If all goes well I want to do keel strips on this boat and my Anas Acuta next.
I'm heading out to the garage right now to put water in the compartment and see if I can find the leak.
Doug
Sounds good to me. Old gel coat only area was less than an inch? An inch is good, especially since, as you say, the internal glass on the seam carried the load well. Good on ya, Doug!Once I strip all the old gel coat from the seam I plan on filling the groove with epoxy first and fairing it out so I do have a smooth surface before taping. I bought 6 oz,, 1" wide E-glass seam tape for the job. I'm hoping after filling the seam groove with epoxy, one layer of this tape will be strong enough.
That should be good. Nasty place to work. I would also add some milled glass fibres to the thickened epoxy, glass fibres first, then the thickener. If that fillet is resin-rich, you can usually put the pre-cut glass directly onto the fillet immediately while the resin is fresh. This will draw excess resin into the glass, stabilizing the fillet cross section, and preventing sag. Underdecks, no UV exposure, hence no need for gel coat followup.So, initially I'm thinking of opening up the pinhole area slightly and get some thickened epoxy into the space. Hopefully that will keep the hatch dry and then I will scrape away the loose gel coat inside and fiberglass the box itself after the pool sessions are done.
Looks like the water is coming in from a pinhole at the front corner of the skeg box.
So, initially I'm thinking of opening up the pinhole area slightly and get some thickened epoxy into the space. Hopefully that will keep the hatch dry and then I will scrape away the loose gel coat inside and fiberglass the box itself after the pool sessions are done.
Doug
Ha ha ha... Dave when I pulled hard on the strap the other night and Doug heard the long loud crraaackkk he smiled with glee at the prospect of getting into his shop to do some new work!! That's enough apropos rewards for him!! Don't want to spoil the guy!! LOLHope your spouse provides some apropos rewards!
For laying in that fillet, load your epoxy mix into a ziploc (sandwich) bag and snip the corner to use like a cake decorating bag. It really helps when working in an awkward space.If that fillet ......
It is just gel coat around the skeg box and a lot of it is coming loose.
I agree that colour matching is 'not fun' - I'm not very good at it.Myself, I would not gel coat the seam between the upper and lower decks. It is a lot of work and you will still need to color match the gel coat ( hard to match a faded color ) and/or paint or cover the work with color stripe.
I forget where I first saw that idea, but it is an excellent technique. There are videos at youtube and more info online:John, thanks for the tip about the ziploc, that will come in handy.
Doug