questions about addressing cracks/gouges in boat's hull

[tipsyraven]

Hello all.

Long time 'cruiser' of the forums, first time poster.

I have my Pearson p26 out of the water and on the cradle at my shop. I've removed all the very nasty interior of it and have been teaching myself sewing in between making new wood panels and the like but i'm coming up quickly on starting on fixing up the hull. There's a number of scratches and cracks and the rest on the hull and i'm incredibly frustrated by the absolutely lack of cohesive opinions on how to address them.

I want to paint the boat anyway, so i don't care about gelcoat matching.

I know i need fairing compound over fiberglass to fix any notable cracks and such, no fear there, i'm not a stranger to the material.

Its the gouges. The cracks. I know i want to grind them down to glass and then bevel in the edges, but do i just use a fairing compound to back fill them, sand that, and paint? am i missing a step there? Recommended compounds? So many options and i am trying to reconcile what the heck to order.

... I appreciate theres bunches of posts already but trying to unify all the thoughts spread accross all of them is just an absolute migraine.

Hell. Suggest a specific book and i'll read it cover to cover twice and once backwards before reposting again. just need some guidance.

~~Dan

[Cheechako]

You need to determine what the "cracks " are. They could likely just be surface gel coat cracks. You dont need to grind and laminate that. If they are impact cracks from collision etc and crack thru the hull, then yes you should likely go that far.

[tipsyraven]

i'm not opposed to grinding every crack i can find and taking a look at the fiberglass under it - but still the base question remains and a new one:

if i find a cosmetic crack in the gel coat, and plan to paint anyway - what is the recommended process and materials?

If i find a gouge or impact crack what are the recommended materials.

But yes - saving myself some work for cosmetic things sounds just fine to me. Its just a 2 thousand dollar pearson so i'm not looking to reinvent the wheel. just don't want to waste a fortune experimenting with compounds till i find something that works.

~~Dan

[atmartin]

Here's a start: Fiberglass Repair by Don Casey - BoatTECH - BoatUS

Casey's book "Sailboat Hull & Deck Repair" is an OK start.

I personally prefer to use epoxy for all repair work, but you can save money with poly/vinylester. You're going to cover it with paint anyway.

[tipsyraven]

awesome. ordered the book. reviewing the link now

~~Dan

[Terra Nova]

Grind out the cracks and apply mat with epoxy resin. Grind that flush and fair with epoxy/microballon mix before prepping for epoxy primer.

[Scout 30]

Here's a local company that I use. They sell pretty much any product you could want & are quite knowledgeable. They can color match gelcoat that you just brush on if you provide a sample color. I've used their thickened Superbond epoxy both above & below the waterline with great results. I think it would work for your application & is really easy to work with.
https://www.fgci.com/products
https://www.fgci.com/products?pSearch=superbond