Hull Repair

[LouDoo]

While waxing my doo this evening I noticed a really deep gouge on the hull. It's a couple of feet from the bow near the keel. It looks like it's through the first layer of fiberglas.

I'm not concerned how the repair looks, because it really can't be seen when the ski is in the water. I was thinking epoxy, maybe even JB Weld, sand it out and touch up with paint.

What do y'all think???

Lou

 

[06330i]

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...toreNum=10104&subdeptNum=10296&classNum=10300

I just bought that stuff for my speedster to fix a few gouges like that, I had a few deep ones too where you can see the fiberglass. It worked great and sands really easily. I paid 16 bux for a big container of it.

 

[LouDoo]

I checked out the product, it looks great. One question, the spec. sheet states, not waterproof, not for use below waterline. What do you use for a topcoat?

Lou

 

[Dr Honda]

That looks like a regular body filler. I would mix up some epoxy, and coat the opening to seal the raw glass.

 

[LouDoo]

Tony,

I've got some Devcon 5 minute Epoxy, I bought at Lowe's last year. Do you think this would be O.K., or what would you recommend? What about JB Weld?

Thanks,

Lou

 

[Dr Honda]

Yes and no. I would go with at least 30 min... an hour cure time would be better.

The faster the cure time, the less resistant it is to chemicals. Yes... water shouldn't cause 5 min epoxy problems... but the oil, and fuel floating in your local marina can.

 

[RFoster130]

I think a gel cote repair kit would easily fix that. Hardens good as original and is very easy to use. You can buy a universal kit for like 20 bucks.

 

[LouDoo]

I found this at Slow's (aka Lowe's), I'll let you know how it works. I have a couple of places on the keel where sand has worn off the gel cote, so I'll repair those, and I may also apply it over the epoxy repair.

Lou

 

[cli55er]

academy sells epoxy putty made just for marine use......take a piece off, kneed together, and put it on....hardens up and can be sanded and is for us under the water line.

 

[crisso]

The gelcoat is what is damaged.It is Polyester type resin.You can get many different products to fix it.Ideally.You fill it back with gelcoat and that will marry in to the original color and you would have to be a genius to find the fix.Looking at the mark on the Int. it looks like a push stress crack.Seadoo hulls are as tough as.Paint some unwaxed gelcoat in it and then sand it smooth.That will fill the holes.Then paint some waxed gelcoat on it.Sand it down and your mark will be gone.The shine will come back.Do not let the raw glass fibres get wet.They soak up moisture.Any repairs will bubble

 

[LouDoo]

I used the Locktite Marine Epoxy. So far it looks great, I'll sand it out a little tonight. I also filled a couple of places on the deck. Even the color of the material matches the fiberglas on the ski.

I'm not going to sand much on the hull since you can't see the reapair.

Lou

 

[LouDoo]

Loctite Epoxy Marine: This stuff works great, I used less than a half tube, since the repair is way below the water line I didn't sand or smooth much. Structurally the repair looks very strong. After summer I will probably put another cote on and sand it out.

Costs $5.18 at Lowes, and is a pretty close match to the hull color, its kinda translucent so the repair will show through, I'm not really concerned considering the location of the repair.

Lou