crack in transom door frame

[tugboater]

Curious how to go about the "best practice" fix for this (see photos)? Assuming excavate & fill? If so, what materials? I'm new to fiberglass. Google offers up so many solutions...would love to hear what some of you forum folks have done & what methods/materials/fillers have achieved the best results. Surveyor says moisture content appears to be negligible...seems probable because the boat has been in a covered slip and rarely used the last few years. Would like to do this once the right way.
Also, is there a fiberglass repair "bible" out there that is widely used?

Thanks!

 

[Comodave]

A friend of mine had a Trojan 10.8 Meter that had almost same cracking. We ground out down to solid glass and then laid in several layers of 1708 glass using epoxy for strength. After the glass we filled and faired it out with thickened epoxy. After fairing and sanding we painted it with 2 part polyurethane paint. We used Quantum spray paint that comes in a spray can. Then on the deck we painted it with Kiwigrip non skid paint. I will ask the owner if he has any photos and will post them if he does.

 

[Olebird]

"Boat Works Today" -a You Tube channel has some really good tutorials - what materials and how to use it to fix something like that.

Nothing magic about fiberglass repair -
https://www.youtube.com/user/boatworkstoday

 

[Comodave]

Here are some photos of the repairs we did on his gate. They are not in any particular order of repair.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. t. As an alternative might one rout out the crack and fill it with a good caulking? Seems to be a seam there and it may crack again if any repair is not sufficiently strong to hold the two parts together. Caulking in a shallow groove will be able to flex, exclude any water ingress and may alleviate further cracking. Just a thought...

 

[Comodave]

That is why we ground out to solid glass and used 1708 which is a structural fiberglass and used epoxy.

 

[Russell Clifton]

That crack my be only in the gel coat. But I also recommend boatworks today.

 

[DNT99611]

Is the frame unsupported on the underside? It looks like it is flexing. Maybe from being stepped on?

 

[Olebird]

From the looks of that crack, it appears that there may be a loose piece of trim and the crack is in the surface coating - paint, gel coat or what ever the surface is. I would do some probing to make sure the wood is not rotten, then see what it will take to support it so it does not crack again.

Real potential problem is letting water into the wooden trim piece or door frame, causing it to rot.

 

[DDW]

You may want to peruse the westsystem.com site. Plenty of instruction and information, using readily available materials.

 

[Lepke]

I've used West Systems epoxy with #404 high density filler to fix cracks in many boats without reoccurence. Vee it out at least an 1/8". On the vertical part, cover with tape and fill from the top. The 404 has an effect of bonding better than epoxy alone. I usually mix it for pouring or use in a syringe, but it can be mixed to a putty like consistency.
I have an 83' wood boat built in 1942. I fiberglassed the decks and overlapped the seams. A house carpenter I employed for a time, did one side of the run along the deck house. I was gone and, in his experience with house decks, he decided the seams didn't need to be overlapped. They all cracked. I vee'ed them about 1/4" and used epoxy & 404 to fill, planning to glass in a overlapping patch later. That was about 5 years ago, I didn't get to the patch, and they haven't recracked. My hull probably flexes more than yours and I often travel in big waves.

 

[Comodave]

We used West System epoxy and used 404 to thicken where appropriate. Unfortunately now 404 isn’t available anywhere that I can find.

 

[SoWhat]

There are two questions:
1) Best repair method
2) what caused it

I had a similar crack. I ground it out with a dremel. Repaired with West Six10.

My transom is a plywood/fiberglass sandwich. In my case I am guessing there was a poor bond on the top of the sandwich and likely poor bonding of the sandwich itself. it is worth investigating. Otherwise the crack will reappear in several years.

Agree that boatworks youtube site is the place to start for learning glass techniques.

 

[DDW]

Where gelcoat has cracked, epoxy can be successful as it has several times the flexibility (more properly, elongation before fracture). If flex is suspected, try using West G-Flex, an epoxy with about twice the flexibility of their normal stuff. It can be used with 404 or any of the other West filler products.

 

[tugboater]

I will ask the owner if he has any photos and will post them if he does.

Como-thanks for the info & posting all those photos. I'll do the same when I get to fixin'!

 

[tugboater]

Greetings,
Caulking in a shallow groove will be able to flex, exclude any water ingress and may alleviate further cracking. Just a thought...

I'll definitely use caulking in the near term to keep the crack and whatever lies beneath from absorbing more water/moisture. thx Firefly

 

[tugboater]

"Boat Works Today" -a You Tube channel has some really good tutorials - what materials and how to use it to fix something like that.

Nothing magic about fiberglass repair -
https://www.youtube.com/user/boatworkstoday

Thanks for the link Olbird! Got lots of time for YouTube these days. I'll be a "glassman" in no time.

 

[AlanT]

If you do decide to repair yourself, don't forget to drill out the bottom of the door in several places and allow it to thoroughly dry out inside before starting your repair. I had the identical issue on a Bayling 4788. I was having some other work done by a local fiberglass expert and he did mine for me. I was surprised how cheap his repair work was, so you might cast around for quotes if you don't trust yourself to do the work. The nice thing about a door is you can take it to the shop, and leave it there, significantly cutting down on the expert's travel time. (the job will require 3 or 4 separate stages of repair so having it at the shop is a big savings). ~Alan

 

[tugboater]

I've used West Systems epoxy with #404 high density filler to fix cracks in many boats without reoccurence. Vee it out at least an 1/8". On the vertical part, cover with tape and fill from the top. The 404 has an effect of bonding better than epoxy alone. I usually mix it for pouring or use in a syringe, but it can be mixed to a putty like consistency.
I have an 83' wood boat built in 1942. I fiberglassed the decks and overlapped the seams. A house carpenter I employed for a time, did one side of the run along the deck house. I was gone and, in his experience with house decks, he decided the seams didn't need to be overlapped. They all cracked. I vee'ed them about 1/4" and used epoxy & 404 to fill, planning to glass in a overlapping patch later. That was about 5 years ago, I didn't get to the patch, and they haven't recracked. My hull probably flexes more than yours and I often travel in big waves.

This method, with the patch seems like a solid approach. I'm going to poke around & try to find out what lies beneath the surface in that frame. Can't wait to see what your boat looks like...searching for a photo now. May see you around the PNW, I bet you're easy to identify! thx!

 

[tugboater]

quick storytime...

All this fiberglass chat got me thinking about someone I used to know as the "glassman". I've spent quite a bit of my working life in Bristol Bay, hauling fish out of the canneries by tug & barge. Due to their remote location; off the road system by nearly 1000 miles, they have to be self sufficient to make money. They've managed to figure out how to do that quite well, as some of them have been in operation for more than 100 years. Anyway, sandwiched between the decades of the wood & aluminum gillnetter, was the age of fiberglass. I don't know the exact timeframe, but for many years fiberglass was the way in Bristol Bay. For every machine shop, stockroom, & slimeline in these canneries, there was a fiberglass shop. They weren't hard to find either, all you had to do is follow your nose. That fishery is well known for it's "high contact" nature, so during the season the glass shop was a busy place. I'm sure that all the smart fisherman made close friends with the "glassman". There is only about 4-6 weeks to catch your fish, so any lost time due to inoperable damage could cost thousands. These guys were no doubt masters of their craft. I haven't been out there in a few years, but I bet as more and more of the boats turned aluminum, the "glassman" probably had to learn how to weld to keep his job. These fiberglass repair experts always had "glassy" eyes & a permanent grin from the hours of inhaling those fumes. Back then I never saw one wearing a respirator...yikes!

 

[bayview]

the fact that the crack is almost the same distance from the edge everywhere leads me to suspect that there is a wood frame under the glass that is swelling. I would use small drill and drill down into the substrate in the crack to see if there is any wood and if it is wet.

Regardless when repairing a crack it is important to drill a small hole at the ends to stop further cracking.

 

[Comodave]

I use a right angle drill with a Roloc sanding disk in the drill to grind out the area. It is pretty easy to control and still is pretty aggressive to get the job done. The right angle drill gives you so much more control than a regular drill which is very hard to control. Good luck and keep us informed.