Need Help: Cracked hull at Faraulep in Carolinas

[atoll]

latest info
Big day tomorrow | Towards Sydney

after reading the blog and the arrival of fiberglass repair i would advise using the first couple of layers of glass to take a mould off the damaged area outside between the hull and skeg.
then peel it of,take it to the beach and laminate it up to about 20mm thickness.
trim it up,make sure it fits,pre drill it then fit it to the hull using bolts and silicon resin similar to the steel shoe idea.

as unfortunately it will be very difficlt to effect a repair by just laminating over the damaged section,as glass really does not stick,and will delaminate as soon as the skeg starts moving in a seaway.

glassing on the inside unless you can get it 100% dry is also not going to stick,but if thru bolted will help the patch stay in place and at least form a watertight patch.

i would still recommend using some flat bar to the lower pintle to further reinforce the skeg.

[minaret]

Atoll, if you are suggesting building a fiberglass "shoe" to go around the skeg where it attaches to the hull (which would make it more sock than shoe imho), then pulling a mold off the hull will yield a part that won't fit, it will be too small. To do this you would need to build a plug part out of wood in the desired shape, put it in place, and then pull a mold off of that. In this case to acheive the desired effect it would be much faster to use a cheap release on the hull like Saran wrap or packing tape and then laminate the shoe (or sock) in place, release after cure and clean up/shape with a grinder, and then you will have the desired part to be bolted in place. If I had power and a grinder with sufficient discs I would attempt a more pro repair myself, but I doubt he does.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by minaret

Atoll, if you are suggesting building a fiberglass "shoe" to go around the skeg where it attaches to the hull (which would make it more sock than shoe imho), then pulling a mold off the hull will yield a part that won't fit, it will be too small. To do this you would need to build a plug part out of wood in the desired shape, put it in place, and then pull a mold off of that. In this case to acheive the desired effect it would be much faster to use a cheap release on the hull like Saran wrap or packing tape and then laminate the shoe (or sock) in place, release after cure and clean up/shape with a grinder, and then you will have the desired part to be bolted in place. If I had power and a grinder with sufficient discs I would attempt a more pro repair myself, but I doubt he does.

yes that is what i meant!
ie use the hull as the mold,release it(,take the moulding on land where they will not have to worry about the tide coming up), progressively laminate it up to get the required thickness trim it and drill it,(they may have to split it on the leading edge so it fits) then bolt it in place,forming a very strong repair.

[atoll]

here is a skeg that i built last year using this technique,the whole thing is held in place with 4 bolts and 1 tube of sika flex.

[minaret]

Originally Posted by atoll

yes that is what i meant!
ie use the hull as the mold,release it(,take the moulding on land where they will not have to worry about the tide coming up), progressively laminate it up to get the required thickness trim it and drill it,(they may have to split it on the leading edge so it fits) then bolt it in place,forming a very strong repair.

Very good, but I would do the entire layup in place and let it cure for as long as possible ( I know he's trying to do this between tides, one reason I hope he's using poly) in place before pulling it , otherwise it will both shrink and warp as it cures, which will result in a poor fit. From reading his blog it sounds like he is not pursuing this route anyway, he is instead just glassing inside and out. I hope he has a grinder with a lot of discs. This sort of thing really makes me appreciate my turboshear, which let's me grind an almost unlimited amount with no discs at all. Hope to see pics of his repair soon, hoping for the best.

[atoll]

with only 50cm(less than 2'ft) of tidal rise,grinding with power tools in shoulder deep water is really not a good idea!!!
it is doubtful if the crack on the skeg will even be exposed at low water.

hence the idea to fabricate something that can be made on land or in a workshop then bolted on with sealer under water if nessacary.

[minaret]

Originally Posted by atoll

with only 50cm(less than 2'ft) of tidal rise,grinding with power tools in shoulder deep water is really not a good idea!!!
it is doubtful if the crack on the skeg will even be exposed at low water.

hence the idea to fabricate something that can be made on land or in a workshop then bolted on with sealer under water if nessacary.

That is a truly tiny tidal difference. Given that I would think this repair would be the only real option. I'd want to make that part really thick with mostly roving.

[tropicalescape]

I hope they find a way to raise the boat up on the beach and then take all the time needed to make "good" repairs...DVC

[atoll]

Originally Posted by minaret

That is a truly tiny tidal difference. Given that I would think this repair would be the only real option. I'd want to make that part really thick with mostly roving.

my guess would be a minimum of 1/2-3/4" lay up
,extending at least 12" from the crack,top,bottom and fwd of the skeg,
bolted every 8" to the hull,and 3-4 bolts through the skeg.

also with braces between the pintle and hull

[minaret]

Originally Posted by atoll

my guess would be a minimum of 1/2-3/4" lay up
,extending at least 12" from the crack,top,bottom and fwd of the skeg,
bolted every 8" to the hull,and 3-4 bolts through the skeg.

also with braces between the pintle and hull

That would do it. I wonder if his two emergency repair kits have enough glass and resin in them for such a substantial layup, it would take at least a few gallons to make 3/4" on a part that size.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by minaret

That would do it. I wonder if his two emergency repair kits have enough glass and resin in them for such a substantial layup, it would take at least a few gallons to make 3/4" on a part that size.

bracing it with steel flat bar may be his only option,so it doesnt move,
and using what glass and resin he has to fabricate a thin patch that can be bolted over the crack his only option.

there may be some bits of scrap metal leftover from ww11 that they could use and wrecked fishing boats
Faraulep - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[David_Old_Jersey]

Fresh from the Dept of blue sky thinking ........

What about cutting off the skeg! The idea being that with no skeg attached it won't lever off, with a large chunk of hull attached .....plus any "fix" from the interior side does not need to be so structural.

Obviously that leaves an unsuported rudder - how about either removing it entirely! (and going for the new Rudder / Sweep option - maybe using a spinnaker pole (or boom?!) with the rudder attached).......or.....cutting down the rudder (half size) so the pressure on the shaft is far less (possibly with the rudder / sweep option already set up, just in case the half size rudder does not work well enough or snaps off). With a half size rudder would not need to cut the stainless steel(?) shaft just the fibreglass blade as a couple of feet of stainless steel tube protruding from the bottom won't have any great affect.

Obviously performance / handling would be greatly affected, but should be possible to use the sails to balance the boat (and reduce sail to avoid overpressing the rudder?) and together with the rudder(s) at least maintain some steering - even if a very slow passage from course not being ideal as heavily influenced by wind direction......would be a lot of trial and error to juggle the boat handling.

Just an idea!

Or stick her on e-bay - buyer collects

[minaret]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

Fresh from the Dept of blue sky thinking ........

What about cutting off the skeg! The idea being that with no skeg attached it won't lever off, with a large chunk of hull attached .....plus any "fix" from the interior side does not need to be so structural.

Obviously that leaves an unsuported rudder - how about either removing it entirely! (and going for the new Rudder / Sweep option - maybe using a spinnaker pole (or boom?!) with the rudder attached).......or.....cutting down the rudder (half size) so the pressure on the shaft is far less (possibly with the rudder / sweep option already set up, just in case the half size rudder does not work well enough or snaps off). With a half size rudder would not need to cut the stainless steel(?) shaft just the fibreglass blade as a couple of feet of stainless steel tube protruding from the bottom won't have any great affect.

Obviously performance / handling would be greatly affected, but should be possible to use the sails to balance the boat (and reduce sail to avoid overpressing the rudder?) and together with the rudder(s) at least maintain some steering - even if a very slow passage from course not being ideal as heavily influenced by wind direction......would be a lot of trial and error to juggle the boat handling.

Just an idea!

Or stick her on e-bay - buyer collects

I would guess the intention is to take the boat somewhere to be properly repaired, so bringing the skeg along might help. I like the buyer collects sale, that's a smart one. Just need to find some good brokereese to describe the location and condition- "project boat for sale, already located in tropical paradise", you know....

[atoll]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

Fresh from the Dept of blue sky thinking ........

What about cutting off the skeg! The idea being that with no skeg attached it won't lever off, with a large chunk of hull attached .....plus any "fix" from the interior side does not need to be so structural.

Obviously that leaves an unsuported rudder - how about either removing it entirely! (and going for the new Rudder / Sweep option - maybe using a spinnaker pole (or boom?!) with the rudder attached).......or.....cutting down the rudder (half size) so the pressure on the shaft is far less (possibly with the rudder / sweep option already set up, just in case the half size rudder does not work well enough or snaps off). With a half size rudder would not need to cut the stainless steel(?) shaft just the fibreglass blade as a couple of feet of stainless steel tube protruding from the bottom won't have any great affect.

Obviously performance / handling would be greatly affected, but should be possible to use the sails to balance the boat (and reduce sail to avoid overpressing the rudder?) and together with the rudder(s) at least maintain some steering - even if a very slow passage from course not being ideal as heavily influenced by wind direction......would be a lot of trial and error to juggle the boat handling.

Just an idea!

Or stick her on e-bay - buyer collects

actually not a bad idea,

if the skeg repair is not done to a satisfactory standard the boat will probably sink very fast once it starts to feel the waves and pressure comes on the rudder.

[minaret]

Could be wise to unship the rudder and put it on deck, using a steering oar instead. Then there would be no rudder pressure on the skeg and its repair. Rudder would be easy to reinstall later.