Hit a buoy and split the hull apart

[wiljm]

I hit a buoy on my lake last summer and it split the hull apart between the sponsors. Long story short I was paying more attention to a pontoon boat full of spectators then where I was going. The boat is still fully functional, it's just got this nasty crack. I was thinking of just using the Dremel to chamfer out where it's split and fill it with epoxy. I was also thinking maybe trying to pour resin in there on the back side. There's no way I can reach the back side by hand. Any other suggestions on how to fill this crack in? I just do this for fun, so it doesn't need to be perfect in any way.

[Mad Racer]

Yeah you are on the right track.

I repaired my Apparition that was split in half that way. Alot of sanding and spray filler to smooth it all out but mine hit the rocks at full speed.

You can see the pic under my TFL boats here.

[Fella1340]

What kind of boat is it? Is it an epoxy glass hull, polyester or vinyl enter hull? This will determine what type of resin that can be used. West systems epoxy is good for all of the above for repairs but if it's poly or vinyl enter you can use a bondo repair kit with resin available Is most automotive stores as well as a glazing type putty for doing the final fill work. The bondo kit comes with a light fiberglass in the package as well.. Saves a pile of money to.
Could you post a few pictures of the damage and the resin type your hull is? Grinding it down and filling with resin will result in a very weak repair. This applies the same as adding resin on the inside, not good enough. Let's see the damage and figure out the best way to so it

[rickwess]

Just a thought. Fill the sponson with 2 part foam then use the foam as a backstop for your epoxy/glass repair. You can carve out a small portion of the foam so you can build up the epoxy to whatever thickness you want.

[wiljm]

The hull is a Genesis which is fiberglass. Using foam as a backer like that is something I hadn't thought of. That's an interesting idea. Would the epoxy burn through foam?

[ray schrauwen]

Looks like you can get away with pouring epoxy into it and clamping it lightly, that is if it all mates up properly. Use a good epoxy.

Epoxy will not burn through foam. Using expandable foam you have to be careful not to overfill tight areas like that. In the transition from hot to cold can make the foam expand and contract.

[Fella1340]

I am looking forward to see how it his turns out

[BHChieftain]

I use marine epoxy putty (I get mine from West Marine) which has the consistency of bondo, but is super strong and waterproof. I use the stuff to blueprint sponsons as well. Just lap it in the crack and build it up a bit on the outside, when cured, sand it down. Works great.

Here's a tutorial of blueprinting with it-- you can see how it sets up to give you a feel.

http://www.rcchiefhobbies.com/Tutorials.html

Chief

[Fella1340]

I have the same boat. It looks like there is enough room to use a rod to insert fiberglass to the front of the boat. You want to spend the time getting fiberglass in there as a backup. It can be done but will take time.
Then you can tackle the outside. If you choose to use foam it will make future repairs difficult to do to properly including the smack up you need to repair now

[Fella1340]

Have you found out what type of glass it is. It's not listed on hk website or the fightercat website. Which makes me think it's not epoxy glass as that is usually listed. You got a real good smack up there and I believe it needs to be fixed on the inside as best you can and then the outside. Take your time

[NativePaul]

Mine is vinylester.

[rickwess]

Another option is to mix milled/chopped FG or CF in with the epoxy. Fill the gap and use some weights to force the seam closed.

[wiljm]

Thanks for all the advice! I'll post pictures when I'm done.

[wiljm]

Hopefully it's fixed, I can't break it by hand, and I tried. I chamfered out the cracks and filled them in with 2 part epoxy, then I stuffed fiberglass in behind them. I'm not too worried about finishing it, I'm just using this one to learn a few things. I wanted to try doing a carbon fiber inlay and I figured this was a good opportunity to give it a shot on something I don't care much about. I followed the instructional on the KBB forums. It seems to be ok. I also picked up a 1600kv 4082 leo to run on 6s for this summer. I added an x447/3 and an x645 to mess with. We'll see what happens when the ice melts. I'm hoping to get in the 60's. Thanks again for all the advice.

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[Mad Racer]

Nice Job.

Very similar to what I did with my smashed Apparition . I just finished it off with some spray putty ,sanded and a lick of paint and it looks pretty good. Maybe thats why it performs better with close to 400g of epoxy, primer, spray putty & final paint

Carbon inner looks great.