First sailboat- epoxy/gel coat help please!

[islandrose808]

Aloha all!

My fiancé and I just bought out first sailboat, she's a 1984 Hunter 25.5 in pretty good condition. She is structurally sound and sails perfectly, however has a short list of things to be fixed/replaced, mostly aesthetic. One of my concerns is the sliding cabin pop top. It slides open easily (we haven't attempted to pop to the top yet as we just recently discovered it can do that ), but the wood/fiberglass slider portion is damaged on the ends. What is the best way to fix this?



All opinions and comments welcome! We can sail, but are sailboat owner novices so help from all you seasoned sailors is greatly appreciated!

[tkeithlu]

Hmmm. It looks like it has been repaired, rather badly, with epoxy such as Marine Tex. Right at the end I think I'm looking at a surface that has been filled and then sanded, but there wasn't enough epoxy put down, so it didn't sand smooth. Then I'm seeing a crack between the paint/epoxy and the wood farther up the track. It doesn't appear that the wood is rotted.

Consider removing the lid, sanding off everything that is loose, leaving a rough surface or even a surface with small ridges or holes to give the epoxy a chance to grip, particularly where it will be thin. Refill and build up everything, and then sand/shape carefully.

Fine work. Doesn't look like major surgery will be needed. It'll bring out the artist in you.