Fiberglass work the horror and wonder

We are in the process of painting our boat now. Have done a lot of fiberglass work. Lots of spyder cracks from PO docking disability. Ground them out and used mat with polyester resin before filling. I use 1708 and epoxy if the repairs are structural. Really have not had a problem with the dust and the grinding, no itching. We are going to spray the hull and sundeck sideboards next week. Then install 10 more new portholes and reinstall the swim platform and a bunch of rails.

You haven’t lived till you use a chopper gun.

Sugardog said:

You haven’t lived till you use a chopper gun.

Click to expand...

I worked in a ski boat manufacturer for a few years as an Mfg Engineer. I always found an excuse to avoid the lamination shop, never even came near the evil chopper gun!

Okay, here's Algae: I pulled out the various patches such as silicone, LifeCalk, LifeSeal, RTV (hey, if it was an adhesive or had plug potential I added it, especially as the tubes were near the end and in danger of hardening. I'd rather use something than throw it away. There's epoxy (I think) there too on the inside. Goodness knows what all else has been patched on it over the years.

Here she is in her naked scruffiness:



That is the worst. There are other areas of wear:



And along the side:



As you can well imagine, this Good Idea (fix the dinghy) has turned into a Project. I've got Flex caulk (apparently it's advertised on TV) and that stuff is looking better and better.

Algae is a 1972 hard dink. She's had a rough life. I love her though frankly there are issues. She's flexing in the middle (seats hold her together and those need to be braced again) ... however I don't want to give up on her.

With the Flex stuff I can make her Good Enough.
That said, there is a fiberglass supply shop here in St. Pete and I've got an offer for a ride to it one day next week.

The Plan, written in beach sand on a rising tide, is to buy some sort of mat and/or roving and epoxy or polyester resin (whichever is least expensive) and patch her. I'm not sanding. I do not sand fiberglass. Ever.

So a smooth as silk finish is unlikely.
And, to complicate further, I have zero bottom paint left. I am planning on having Seaweed's bottom done in a few months so will have paint then for Algae. The diver (former/since replaced with new diver) was supposed to be keeping Algae scraped. You an see oysters that I have to beat off near her keel.

Anyway, that's my problem of the week. Algae.
One more picture of my girl. And really, I'm rather ashamed to admit I let her get this bad. Sigh.



To fix the major split at the bow, use what?
And is it okay to just add epoxy or polyester resin over the areas where the gelcoat has disappeared? Then add plain old paint until I can afford some real bottom paint? I'll have extra when I do Seaweed next so I am trying to hold off on that purchase.

For the record, the bottom paint that was on Algae has worn away over the past half dozen years. She has been dragged up on beaches and rocks lots of times. I've scraped Algae's bottom within a inch of her life numerous times.

And thanks for any insight you can provide.
The multi-step thing show above is for perfection. I don't have the energy for that. I am hoping for Good Enough. What say you?

"And is it okay to just add epoxy or polyester resin over the areas where the gelcoat has disappeared?"

Polly resin is for creating polly boats.....It is not a glue .

The repairs are done with epoxy . Paint covers the repair .

Janice....I hate sanding and gringing too....but unless you get to good clean fiberglass in the dingy hull....the chances of a patch lasting are pretty low in my exoerience. Sure, good epoxy may hang on for a yearvor two, but it starts perling back where it tried to stick to the dirty glass.

As far as the split in the front, you can use almost anything to build across the gap. Just build it to a reasonabke thickness as long as Algae is a slow speed dingy. A lot of matt isnt compatable fully with epoxy, yes it can be used, but it has binders in it that only disdolve in poly or vinylester resin making it hard to work with epoxy. Almont any cloth would work for this small repair.

Just overlap the layers a couple inches past the damaged part.

psneeld said:

Janice....I hate sanding and gringing too....but unless you get to good clean fiberglass in the dingy hull....the chances of a patch lasting are pretty low in my exoerience. Sure, good epoxy may hang on for a yearvor two, but it starts perling back where it tried to stick to the dirty glass.

As far as the split in the front, you can use almost anything to build across the gap. Just build it to a reasonabke thickness as long as Algae is a slow speed dingy. A lot of matt isnt compatable fully with epoxy, yes it can be used, but it has binders in it that only disdolve in poly or vinylester resin making it hard to work with epoxy. Almont any cloth would work for this small repair.

Just overlap the layers a couple inches past the damaged part.

Click to expand...

Thanks. Although I was hoping to avoid sanding (ugh!) if it must be done to get a good adhesion...

And thank you for the advice re mat... You're quite correct that Algae is a slow boat. I have literally been adding goop to that hole in the bow for three or four years. It is getting worse (who'd a thunk that?!?) so it's time to do a more permanent repair.

I remember laying glass when I was very young.
Now there is some sort of roller gizmo however I don't remember that. I thought I used a small jar or perhaps a pipe filled with lead. It was heavy and got out the bubbles. But that's been over fifty years...

I'll do a bit more research but appreciate the shopping list more than you'll know. It shouldn't take much product. And I do like Algae. She's a good dinghy so I want to take better care of her.

She's 46 years old now and it's time to spiffy her up a bit.

Thanks psneeld for the info. I appreciate it.

Just a tool choice for folks that need to cut a fiberglass item.


A jig saw with an abrasive blade creates the least dust and itch factor.

a one piece tyvek suit with attached hood and booties. Good dust mask. No itching, but you may overheat in direct sun!