This can't be normal, is it? Fibreglass w/pics

[Freerider]

I'm no fibreglass expert, but this job on my chainplates and knees/tabs just looks awful. The chainplates were under fibreglass and I actually just pulled this huge chunk off from around the plates by hand (1st pic).

Notice how the layers aren't even epoxied together anymore. Also, you can see how the glass from the hull to knee/tabs don't look to be attached to well either (2nd pic).

This can't be normal is it? The Previous owners told me they had them professionally repaired

[JonathanSail]

Looks like a really shoddy repair to me. I'm not sure what they were trying to fix, but a proper repair would probably involve removing the chainplates and then doing the glass work and bolting the chainplates back on, through the new layup. If you want fiberglass layup to adhere you also need to remove paint/etc. and get the surface very clean/free of contaminants. There are so many things wrong with what I can see that I'm sure there are more. This repair needs to be removed and re-done by someone that knows what they are doing.

The fact that someone just layed up a few layers of glass around the chainplates without removing paint, etc. is so wrong that I've been chuckling since seeing that first picture. Thanks for sharing, and good luck getting this sorted out.

Jonathan

[Freerider]

The only good thing I found was that the wooden knees are in actual great shape, the repair is 5 year old and there's no sign of water damage.

Although I'm considering just tearing it all off and starting with a clean hull. I will make sure the wood is sealed with epoxy and glass. Is there a better alternative than wood to mount the chainplates on?

[Wand]

Shoddy patchups and paintovers are par for the course when buying boats (or cars, trains, spaceships etc). Doesn't matter much if you're buying cheap but, if serious money is involved, a detailed survey is always wise.

Knew a bloke once who bought a beautiful steel Roberts Spray in perfect order (to the eye) to sail around Oz. Trouble was, the beautiful shiny hull had been bogged wherever it had rusted - and the rust was everywhere. Required almost a full replate and more.

Caveat emptor always applies - I, for one, have to always remind myself not to be fooled by the comraderie of fellow boaties.

[Freerider]

Originally Posted by At sea

Doesn't matter much if you're buying cheap but, if serious money is involved, a detailed survey is always wise.

I did get a great deal on the boat. My surveyor picked this up right away, he estimated the cost to repair by professional x3, then we took it off the price.

I've decided to tackle the job myself, I want the experience.

[JonathanSail]

Take my advice with a grain of salt since I haven't seen the boat, and don't know what problem you are fixing particularly but grinding/stripping your way down to solid materials is a good next step in my opinion. After that you need to build/rebuild and join together the structural members in a way that is strong enough to support the chainplates even when they are supporting the weight of the boat or more in heavy weather sailing etc.

Typical construction for a boat that size seems to be a marine-ply bulkhead that is tabbed/glassed to the hull with a good bit of glass layup. Some builders run a strip of wood/ply or extra glass layers in between the bulkhead and the hull to distribute the forces some and to avoid high stress spots at the bulkhead/hull intersection. a large fillet/smooth radius for the tabbing will also spread the forces out over a larger area and make things stronger. If you lay up a lot of glass you want to stagger/taper the size of each layer so that you don't create hard spots but have a nice tapered layup when you are finished. etc. etc. So yeah, using wood and fiberglass is probably your best option unless there is something different about the boat that may make it easier to do something a bit more unusual like tie the chainplates into other structural members etc.

Again, it's hard to say without seeing the problem/boat but hopefully after looking at it, and having an expert look at it you can get an idea of what will be needed to make it strong again. This is a fairly common repair and there is lots of relevant and helpful information on this type of repair online, and on this forum.

Good luck with it.

Jonathan

[Wand]

Originally Posted by Freerider

I did get a great deal on the boat. My surveyor picked this up right away, he estimated the cost to repair by professional x3, then we took it off the price.

I've decided to tackle the job myself, I want the experience.

Well done with the surveyor and it's good you're doing it yourself. My Spray mate wished he'd been half as clever.

Re earlier queries, wood is fine to mount chainplates imo. And any glass you can rip off by hand is keeping moisture in rather than out, so get rid of it. But where it's sticking and doing its job, leave it. And doubtless you'd be well aware by what you've seen of the need not to skimp on the resin - wetout the glass thoroughly and all will be well. Allabest.

[Lancerbye]

I think your on the right track by grinding down and rebuilding with epoxy and glass. It is heavier than the standard polyester but will adhere to almost anything with proper wetting out. It will also be way stronger than if done with polyester resin. Good luck.

[Adelie]

Wood is the best material for the bulkhead. There are few materials that provide the same qualities of strength, light weight and shear resistance.

Consider polyester rather than epoxy for the repair.
While the epoxy will provide a better bond for the repair, use of epoxy makes future repairs at this location harder. Prepping polyester for adhesion to new polyester or epoxy layers is fairly straightforward. Prepping an epoxy surface for a new polyester repair is demanding and will likely produce a mediocre bond. Later epoxy on epoxy repairs are still possible provided the epoxies are compatible, which most are I believe.