Fibreglass repair

[PetrusP]

Hi guys, repair work for clever girl is well underway with the antifoul finally removed (i never want to go through that again...).

As I was sanding the old repairs that looked a bit dodgy (not sure when they happened) I found a hairline mark that looked suspicious, as i kept digging it started leaking water (boat has been out of water for almost 8 months . I've cleaned up as much as I could but the surrounding area seems soft under a hard layer of fiberglass... does anybody have advice on how to fix this properly? now that I've created a drain... will the inside dry out? should I wait a few weeks for that to happen before glassing over? I have very little experience here so any advise (as comprehensive as possible) would be much appreciated.

Photos follow.

Regards

[Ozzie]

Petrus, while obviously not something you wanted to find, everything is repairable. I suggest reading this thread on the "other place"

http://www.trailersailerplace.com.au/ph ... f=2&t=6431

Geoff is very skilled at fg repair. You could possibly get Ian B to pm him for you and contact him directly for advice. I am a total novice in fg repair but I think this is something you really need to get right given the water ingress.

From personal experience I would not suggest posting a request for advice on that site . There are some very nice people there but unfortunately some who will make unnecessary, uninformed and unwanted negative comments and really need to just go sailing instead. I tried pointing out that such comments might effect future resale of fellow members boats but got further comments in the same vein. You don't want to sign up for that, just get advice.

Ian, I'm more than happy if you delete that last paragraph. But as I've said knowledge should be shared around like chips at a party not used like a cricket bat to beat people around the ears with.

[PetrusP]

Petrus, while obviously not something you wanted to find, everything is repairable. I suggest reading this thread on the "other place"

http://www.trailersailerplace.com.au/ph ... f=2&t=6431

Geoff is very skilled at fg repair. You could possibly get Ian B to pm him for you and contact him directly for advice. I am a total novice in fg repair but I think this is something you really need to get right given the water ingress.

From personal experience I would not suggest posting a request for advice on that site . There are some very nice people there but unfortunately some who will make unnecessary, uninformed and unwanted negative comments and really need to just go sailing instead. I tried pointing out that such comments might effect future resale of fellow members boats but got further comments in the same vein. You don't want to sign up for that, just get advice.

Ian, I'm more than happy if you delete that last paragraph. But as I've said knowledge should be shared around like chips at a party not used like a cricket bat to beat people around the ears with.

Cheers Ozzie, still learning the ropes, I've watched a tonne worth of YouTube, and think I'll be pretty right now. Appreciate the input and advice, will let I you know how it pans out

[Ozzie]

All the best with the repair mate. Just remembering there have been a few forum members with water in the keel case and it's always been repairable. Do a forum search in the top right corner.

You may have read here already myself and others found that around the cockpits drain pipes (inside the cockpit) is a source of water ingress into the interior and possibly the keel case if you have small cracks. A small possibility that its contributing to your problem but as you've had the boat out of the water for a while it's worth eliminating. Good luck.