Picture of Hole in my Hull

[NOLA_sailing]

During a recent bottom cleaning, the diver discovered a hole in my hull about the size of a quarter. The picture below is from video that he took and appears to be a old repair job that is failing (possibly bondo?).

The nearby yard charges by the hour for fiberglass repair work. Was wondering if anyone could give me an idea of A) roughly how long this kind of repair should take and B) what steps I need to make sure are taken by the yard in order for this not too happen again. Any input is appreciated. Thanks!

[senormechanico]

IMHO, the more important question is,

"Isn't my boat not sinking more important than what the yard's hourly charges are?"

[NOLA_sailing]

Originally Posted by senormechanico

IMHO, the more important question is,

"Isn't my boat not sinking more important than what the yard's hourly charges are?"

Boat is luckily not sinking or even appears to be leaking; which obviously was the first determination. (Although a few small blisters have formed on topside above where the damage is). I do know the yard's hourly rate and that fact isn't my concern as much as how to ensure the repair is done properly this go round.

[SkiprJohn]

Do you have the skills or opportunity to do it yourself? Some yards don't let you do your own work but some do.

Grinding back the edge of the hole to a taper and then patching with layers of mat, roving and cloth is the normal way of repairing it. Whatever the yard uses whether polyester or epoxy will be good. I use epoxy for such patches.

Get an estimate by the yard and hold them to it when they present the bill.

[gonesail]

can you check the repair job from the inside of the hull? maybe it looks worse on the outside.

[carlylelk]

This is a relatively simple and easy fix, assuming you use the right materials, which are common and easy to come by. If someone fixed it previously with "bondo" or something like that, it was not done by a professional yard.

Check out the WEST System videos, or

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9hfpOCnzEs

[roverhi]

Almost looks like a hole was drilled in the hull. Could it be a drain for winter storage with a plug of some sort in the interior??

Repair is best done with epoxy resin. If the hole is as small as it looks, fill with thickened epoxy after thoroughly cleaning out the puka bevel long the edge. Put a layer of cloth over it too insure the fix, grind flush and Bob's your uncle. Maybe 2-3 hours though will take time waiting for the epoxy to cure.

[Cheechako]

How do you know it's a "hole"? It looks like it cold be lots of things, blister, caulking left on the bottom, etc....?
where is it? As mentioned it could be an old Garboard Drain that has been filled.

[NOLA_sailing]

Originally Posted by roverhi

Almost looks like a hole was drilled in the hull. Could it be a drain for winter storage with a plug of some sort in the interior??

Originally Posted by Cheechako

How do you know it's a "hole"? It looks like it cold be lots of things, blister, caulking left on the bottom, etc....?
where is it? As mentioned it could be an old Garboard Drain that has been filled.

Don't think the boat has ever been winterized since, as far as I know, has spent its life on the gulf coast.

It's definitely a hole. Although hard to see in the picture, there is evidence of patchwork around it which leads me to believe it is a prior repair.

[NOLA_sailing]

Originally Posted by carlylelk

This is a relatively simple and easy fix, assuming you use the right materials, which are common and easy to come by. If someone fixed it previously with "bondo" or something like that, it was not done by a professional yard.

Check out the WEST System videos, or

Originally Posted by SkiprJohn

Do you have the skills or opportunity to do it yourself? Some yards don't let you do your own work but some do.

Grinding back the edge of the hole to a taper and then patching with layers of mat, roving and cloth is the normal way of repairing it. Whatever the yard uses whether polyester or epoxy will be good. I use epoxy for such patches.

Get an estimate by the yard and hold them to it when they present the bill.

Originally Posted by roverhi

Repair is best done with epoxy resin. If the hole is as small as it looks, fill with thickened epoxy after thoroughly cleaning out the puka bevel long the edge. Put a layer of cloth over it too insure the fix, grind flush and Bob's your uncle. Maybe 2-3 hours though will take time waiting for the epoxy to cure.

I did consider doing myself as it appears to be a good intro fiberglass repair. Unfortunately, I can't commit the time right now as I live over an hour from the boat and have a baby due next week! I'm hoping I can watch them do some of the repair without pissing off the workers.

Thanks, everyone for the feedback.

[SkiprJohn]

Originally Posted by NOLA_sailing

I did consider doing myself as it appears to be a good intro fiberglass repair. Unfortunately, I can't commit the time right now as I live over an hour from the boat and have a baby due next week! I'm hoping I can watch them do some of the repair without pissing off the workers.

Thanks, everyone for the feedback.

Congratulations on the incoming new crewmember! If you keep your distance and where the necessary safety gear I wouldn't think the yard manager would mind.

Good luck!

[DeepFrz]

What does it look like from the inside?

[NOLA_sailing]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

What does it look like from the inside?

I haven't been back since I got feedback from diver but nothing in that area has ever jumped out at me. The boat still seems to stay relatively dry so hopefully the issue is isolated to outside of the hull.

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by SkiprJohn

Do you have the skills or opportunity to do it yourself? Some yards don't let you do your own work but some do.

Grinding back the edge of the hole to a taper and then patching with layers of mat, roving and cloth is the normal way of repairing it. Whatever the yard uses whether polyester or epoxy will be good. I use epoxy for such patches.

Get an estimate by the yard and hold them to it when they present the bill.

This looks like a really small hole & obviously not through. I would feather out to make sure I had solid, dry material to bond to and fill it with grey Marine Tex. Apply a layer of polyethylene film to hold the epoxy in place while it cures. If you want this improved, sand down about 3-4 mm for an area about 4X the hole diameter and epoxy in a piece of glass mat to cover the boundary of the Marine Tex. Assuming you can get it dry & no problems it could be done in 4 to 6 hours.

[mfahrenthold]

Use West System or Smith epoxy. And easy fix. Don't need fiberglass resin, etc.
The recommendations above for using West System are right on.
thanks,