Boat Cracks on sides, how to repair?

[AleCiotti]

Hi guys during the years my boat has had some accidents and combined with the effect of time it now has a lot of cracks on it's sides, some of them are very deep.

How do I go about repairing the cracks, especially the deep ones?
Thanks!

see attachements.

[deltaten]

Attachment link no workee....

Depends on how deep the damage goes. Lotsa DIY tutorials on frp and gel coat repairs available, so I won't go into that. You have to decide on how much time/money yer willing to spend on repairs.
Yer call.
Get a pro to survey and quote $$ or dig into yer piggy bank and Ben-Gay stocks. Nothing is really unfixable. Just a matter of cost versus.....

[AleCiotti]

got it thanks, i'm not sure if it is gelcoat or paint though, any way to figure it out?

btw do you still not see the images attached to the post?

[coopec43]

I was trying to work out how the hull could be cracking and wondered if it WAS fiberglass. I did a google and came up with.

Stella Polare Starkel Star 60 - Monohulls 56' and above

Seahorse Magazine
https://www.seahorsemagazine.com › raceboats-search
19 Jan 2023 — Supremely elegant wood epoxy and carbon performance cruising yacht, custom built to the highest standards and extensively updated and refitted ...

Is your yacht fiberglass or wood/epoxy?

[AleCiotti]

Originally Posted by coopec43

I was trying to work out how the hull could be cracking and wondered if it WAS fiberglass. I did a google and came up with.

Stella Polare Starkel Star 60 - Monohulls 56' and above

Seahorse Magazine
https://www.seahorsemagazine.com › raceboats-search
19 Jan 2023 — Supremely elegant wood epoxy and carbon performance cruising yacht, custom built to the highest standards and extensively updated and refitted ...

Is your yacht fiberglass or wood/epoxy?

I really appreciate your effort, yes the boat is indeed made completely of wood, but i don't know if the top coating is made of paint or gel coat? and based on that, how should I proceed on repairing such deep cracks.

Thanks again!!

[boatman61]

I suspect its not gel coat but coats of epoxy and possibly a layer of fine glass cloth between that and the wood.
Personally I would sand back the cracks to explore the depth and composite then seal with epoxy before finishing with an epoxy filler.
However there are some experts on here that do this for a living so maybe wait and see what they say.

[jamhass]

From the photos it looks like a couple of the cracks are in the rub rails. Are any in the actual hull -- maybe 1 from the photos. Hull ones need to be addressed properly (grind out, inspect the substrate, decide on the course of action) rub rails not so demanding.

Hard to make a proper suggestion without more (and detailed) information.

Check with the manufacturer for their recommendation.

[AleCiotti]

Originally Posted by boatman61

I suspect its not gel coat but coats of epoxy and possibly a layer of fine glass cloth between that and the wood.
Personally I would sand back the cracks to explore the depth and composite then seal with epoxy before finishing with an epoxy filler.
However there are some experts on here that do this for a living so maybe wait and see what they say.

ok, thanks for your input!

[AleCiotti]

Originally Posted by jamhass

From the photos it looks like a couple of the cracks are in the rub rails. Are any in the actual hull -- maybe 1 from the photos. Hull ones need to be addressed properly (grind out, inspect the substrate, decide on the course of action) rub rails not so demanding.

Hard to make a proper suggestion without more (and detailed) information.

Check with the manufacturer for their recommendation.

got it, so what happens if I grind out the surface and the damage it's deep (say 1-3cm) inside the wood, how do I repair the wood?
If it's not deep and the wood is not very damaged can I just put filled epoxy, sand and then gelcoat/paint?
Thanks

[donradcliffe]

Nothing looks tooo structural, so you can grind back and fill with epoxy filler. The original filler is the white stuff you see in some of the cracks.

The tricky part is the painting over the repairs. If the original paint is a linear polyurethane 2 part paint, it is very difficult to feather in the new paint and you will have to re-spray the entire side of the boat.

[AleCiotti]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

Nothing looks tooo structural, so you can grind back and fill with epoxy filler. The original filler is the white stuff you see in some of the cracks.

The tricky part is the painting over the repairs. If the original paint is a linear polyurethane 2 part paint, it is very difficult to feather in the new paint and you will have to re-spray the entire side of the boat.

Ok got it, and what if the coating is gelcoat? is it easier to blend it in with the previous one?

Thanks in advance!

[donradcliffe]

Gelcoat is easier to repair and blend, but it does not flow like paint and it does not adhere well to epoxy surfaces. It would be very unusual in a boat like yours.

[AleCiotti]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

Gelcoat is easier to repair and blend, but it does not flow like paint and it does not adhere well to epoxy surfaces. It would be very unusual in a boat like yours.

Ok Ok, I will contact the shipyard and ask what was used to be sure.
If it helps to identify what the coating is, I will link a photo right after the damage was made (a shipyard wrongly lifted up the boat with the travel lift and smashed it on it's side).
Thanks

[nofacey]

“ If it helps to identify what the coating is, I will link a photo right after the damage was made (a shipyard wrongly lifted up the boat with the travel lift and smashed it on it's side).” Per OP

So what we’re looking at is an area that was previously damaged and repaired? Bit of an important detail, if true.

I’d say previous repair likely done with wrong material (bondo?) In which case I would grind it down to clean wood, and seal the wood using a penetrating epoxy, then build up using epoxy and layers of cloth before finishing with filled epoxy.
Top coat with paint, as pointed out, best if you can identify what the original was.

The one photo of ground back original damage (and the detail that the boat was dropped) is deep enough that I would treat all similar areas as structural ie epoxy & cloth not just filler.

[JPA Cate]

Man, you need to take it to someone who knows about fixing modern composite construction. Imo, what needs to happen is that a big part of the rub rail needs to be scarfed out well beyond the area of original damage, and a new piece of timber, properly scarfed in, and epoxy sealed. Such scarfs for us, who had a 4 inch damage, ran to 10-12" on each side. Someone hit us twice at anchor. Next, were a layer of fiberglass roving, and more epoxy, then epoxy filler, just a tad, sanded fine, then a painter. We supplied matching paint.

I can't tell how yours was done, but paint seems more likely than gelcoat. However, there will still be some coats of high build primer, more sanding, and finally the topcoat.

Don Radcliiffe is right, about it being hard to feather and match 2 pack LPU. However, if automotive LPU were used, rather than a marine one, we had good luck with ours. You cannot see the repairs. If you can find out which paint was used, it will be your best bet.

Ann