So what's next with this bottom job

[laika]

Agree with the cleaning. I used dawn dish soap and washed and rinsed twice a week for a few weeks in between letting mine sit for a summer. Get the hull as dry as you can and then take your pick on what to do from there. Should be golden.

I reinforced the leading edge with kevlar and then used epoxy/fairing compound before long boarded the thing.

I love my boat, but i think the moral of the story is don't be a dumbass

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by gmakhs

Gelcoat protects the fiberglass from.uv radiation and seals it .
But even without the gelcoat the best option is vinylester , there is no reason to use epoxy for 2 simple.reasons.
1 price is redicusly high
2 difference on the material flexibility will cause the bond to brake

Why gelcoat below the waterline (where UV is not an issue) when it’s going to be barrier coated anyway? And gelcoat is terribly porous. It does not seal anything.

The bond will not break. It’s epoxy on a Westsail. It’s stiffer than a brick. We’re not talking about huge amounts of epoxy anyway, we’re talking about filling s few holes.

[gmakhs]

The epoxy might be hard but fiberglass is flexible... It's always better to repair one material with the same material, as the guide above states vinylester is the cheapest and best option .

I am.not saying that epoxy is no good , I am saying that there is no reason for it .

[Scout 30]

Originally Posted by gmakhs

The epoxy might be hard but fiberglass is flexible... It's always better to repair one material with the same material, as the guide above states vinylester is the cheapest and best option .

I am.not saying that epoxy is no good , I am saying that there is no reason for it .

I can think of 2 reasons off the top of my head, nothing sticks better & it keeps the water out of the fiberglass. It always amazes me when these threads pop up & someone invariably says don't bother with epoxy. If you're going to do a blister job, where the lion's share of the cost is labor, going cheap on the materials is just cutting your nose off to spite your face. Or is it penny wise & a pound foolish?

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by gmakhs

The epoxy might be hard but fiberglass is flexible... It's always better to repair one material with the same material, as the guide above states vinylester is the cheapest and best option .



I am.not saying that epoxy is no good , I am saying that there is no reason for it .

As the guide above stated, vinyesler is about 20 times more water permeable than epoxy, and should be barrier coated with epoxy. It’s very clear on the subject.

Your advice goes against standard and widespread best practice. Your claim about gelcoat “sealing” is completely erroneous, and the issue with respect to material difference, while relevant if you were doing a huge repair, is not applicable in the OP’s project.

And using the wrong, inferior product to save $100 in a project that is going to require 40+ hours of labor and $1,000 in materials is just plain stupid.

[cburger]

Originally Posted by Wind River

Pressure wash with hot water if possible, repeat each day for the next 9 days or more.

My hull has set peeled for 6 months with small moister meter reductions. After just two pressure washes, my meter reading fell almost the same amount they did after sitting for six months. I have decided to rig up a hot water heater to my pressure washer before continuing with the treatment.

I don't want anyone to have to deal with this again on my boat, especially myself. I am taking the time and money to do it right. It is not for everyone though and I realize that, but pressure washing is within the ability of almost anyone. It make a big difference.

Another reason for pressure washing in your case is to remove the blasting media left on the the hull. You don't want any of the bead left in the layup to create more problems down the road.

This is a great article that will explain what is going on with your hull.
Read it and you will be more enlightened as I was.

http://www.passionforpaint.co.uk/dow...osmosis3v6.pdf

Thank you

[cburger]

Originally Posted by Wind River

Pressure wash with hot water if possible, repeat each day for the next 9 days or more.

My hull has set peeled for 6 months with small moister meter reductions. After just two pressure washes, my meter reading fell almost the same amount they did after sitting for six months. I have decided to rig up a hot water heater to my pressure washer before continuing with the treatment.

I don't want anyone to have to deal with this again on my boat, especially myself. I am taking the time and money to do it right. It is not for everyone though and I realize that, but pressure washing is within the ability of almost anyone. It make a big difference.

Another reason for pressure washing in your case is to remove the blasting media left on the the hull. You don't want any of the bead left in the layup to create more problems down the road.

This is a great article that will explain what is going on with your hull.
Read it and you will be more enlightened as I was.

http://www.passionforpaint.co.uk/dow...osmosis3v6.pdf

Thank you

[cburger]

https://www.lbifiberglass.com

This is a company whose products I've always had great results with. Think I will open up the crazy screw holes and make my own putty mixture of polyester resin and chop strand and fill sand flush. The glass blast did a beautiful job of removing blisters and leaving a very roughed up surface for product to bond to, deepest void maybe width of nickle. Apply their Fair So Lite with a nice flexible plastic applicator and long board for final sand, barrier coat and bottom paint for finish.

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by cburger

Paid a contractor to glass blast boats bottom to bare glass, all gel coat removed. The glass opened up all the blisters some to the size of a pickle. Bottom has a nice roughed up profile that will allow excellent bond to what product gets applied. So upon close inspection there are these lines of small holes that had filler in them. When I discussed this with another Westsail he seems to feel that screws were protruding through the mold when boat was built. You can see that there is evidence of moisture in a lot of theses holes where the filler shrunk.

I am trying to figure out the best way to proceed with getting the hull back in shape, do I have to fill every opened blister, do I have to apply fairing compound over all the exposed glass, or is it sufficient to roll a thickened epoxy, then follow with barrier coat?

I would grind them out to a nice 15 degree or so. Fill and fair. I use US Composite 635 THIN Epoxy and appropriate filler or reinforcement. Finish with Interptotect 2000E, several coats.

[hellosailor]

" the size of a pickle."
Wait, do you mean cornichons? Or deli sours? (WEG)

I'd go with thickened epoxy simply because epoxy sticks best. Unless the Awl folks say their filler is going to perform just as well just as long. WTF, you only want to do this job once, another hundred bucks on the materials is still money, but in the big picture, not material.

Maybe call the nice folks at West Systems and ask them about it. They're usually objective, despite being a player in the game.

[Suijin]

Awlfair and 3M premium marine filler are fairing compounds, and as a result you want as little of them on your boat as possible given how soft they are (which is what makes them easy to sand). They are not products you fill holes with; they are for skim coating and fairing. So anything that needs to be built up deeper than the thickness of a quarter should get epoxy, then final fairing with fairing compound if necessary.