was wondering if anyone could tell me if this looks too complex for a novice to do...have never done fiberglass work, my dad has but been years, i am pretty good DIY and am willing to learn... it's a boston whaler btw so i will be fixing it the way they say to for boston whalers...I want it done right because this is the biggest hole/repair and if i can do this one, then I can do the other small ones and then ultimatly paint the whole bottom...thanks guys

After you're done, you won't be a novice anymore - if you don't like the looks, you'll do better the 2nd time.

Browse this forum, see what other novices have done:
http://forums.iboats.com/forumdisplay.php?f=22

It'll be a challenge for sure, but it can be done.

that's kinda what im thinking....and since i think i seen you post in my engine thread....i am putting enough money into the engine to get her running i wanna save some money and DIY...now im hearing i should worry about wet foam, and then I am going to have to remove the wet foam :\ ... i just try and keep a positive attitude, atleast till i figure out after this carb rebuild if that was the problem

Not to take anything away from the pros, but I think that if you take your time you can get it and it will look good. If not you can alway take it to the pros.

I myself have not done it but I think that if you cut out the bad spot and take a piece of cardboard cut it bigger the the hole spred the fiberglass and hardner on the cardboard then stick it through the hole, pull it flush to the inside of the hull and let it set up then fill in until level, sand smooth and paint.???

well ill let ya know...im gonna attempt it soon...im hopin for the best...

Just take your time and get the patch the way you want it.

well imma picky mofo so it oughta look good i am in now hurry guys, the engine doesn't start yet...i am just following the boston whalers instructions and i am confident I can do this...

Naw Man, you can do it!! Just do like others have said, cut out the bad place & get a piece of cardboard bigger than the hole, take some glass mat & use a pair of scissors to cut up enough mat to mix in with some resin & hardener, mix it up real good, put the cardboard on the inside of the boat & fill in the hole with the chopped up mat, let it set up & dry & mix up some more mat & resinwith the catalyst in it & do the outside of the boat then. After it sets up & dries good, sand it smooth & either paint it or get some gel coat paint & mix hardener in it too & brush it on smooth. Be sure to sand a large area around the hole so the new glass will bond to it! I wish you were close to me, I'd help ya fix it right!

thanks for the info hank you pretty much said what i was planing on doing after getting soo many opinions thanks everyone...her is what she looks like after bout an hour of scraping and little bit of grinding...is she ready for the fiberglass?? im assuming, she looks good to me...hole is actually smaller than i thought...i am kinda confused as to what you guys are saying about the cardboard???? i was just going to cut up the mat, mix with resin and stick up in there...thats what the whaler site suggested? wuzup with the cardboard...im confused?? OOOH also one other question why i got yalls attention...should i use marine-tex i think i hear to patch some of the small chips, some are down to the fiberglass but they are small chips...thanks guys!!!!

You can do it!!!!

I recommend filling the hole with marine-tex - it's real good stuff - then a couple layers of glass over that. leave it a little below the surrounding surface so you can finish off with marine-tex -- make it a little higher and sand it down smooth. The white will match your finish, you won't even know it's there.

http://www.marinetex.com/PRODUCT%20PAGE_files/All%20MarineTex%20Putty/marinetex%20prod%20info.htm

West Marine has it, maybe BPS or Cabelas.

almost forgot: if you lay up more than one fiberglass layer (which you should), do the next layer while the last one is still tacky - then there's no need to sand, and less likely to delaminate. be sure *not* to leave any air *or* excess resin between layers.

that sounds good...i like the idea of putting marine-tex inside the hull and waitin for it to harden, then glassing over that...think imma do that...honestly im not at all worried about the color of it when done...i wanted to do this hole since it appears to be the biggest damage, see how it turns out, then eventually do to whole bottom, then paint when im done

a razor blade smooths out marine tex real nice and a bit of wet sanding will make it look like new

Your going to find that hole to be nearly twice the size it is now before you start filling it with glass...

Rather than using cardboard I'd recomment 1/8th" plywood, and plan to leave it in the boat. Make it about 3" around the hole, and once you get the hole repaired come back to the inside and put a couple layers of glass out to 6" past the plywood for good measure.

Make sure you use GOOD MARINE epoxy, nothing polyurethane. I'd recommend West Systems...

I did a hole on a sailboat that was nearly 4' long and almost 2' wide by the time I got all the bad glass cut away. When I got done the only way you could tell the hole was ever there was to look inside the hull and see the plywood backing plate I used to make sure everything stayed in place.

The correct way is to sand both inside and out. Open it up and sand out away and repair both sides. It's more trouble but it will last.

give us some perspective - just how big is that hole? Use the International Hail Measurement System: marble, golf ball, tennis ball, softball? Basketball?

smaller than a tennis ball, but bigger than a golfball....and..the hole is already filled up with marine tex...i was too lost on how to get "inside" a hull full of foam? thanks for your help guys, ill let yall know how she turns out imma let the marine tex dry tonight, then ill prolly fiberglass tommorow depending if i take it to get the carb rebuilt or not...once again thanks for the help guys!!!!!!!!!!

ok guys...tell me how bad of a job i did so far...it's basically done i guess, not really too sure what to do know? the black around the circle is from the sharpie i used to cut the fiberglass to shapei was thinking of doing what someone suggested and prolly adding one more layer of resin, then sanding and adding a thin layer of marine tex over that so it's white and will look much better...what yall think?

well if it doesnt leak, then I would say you did a good job,


I know diddly about fiberglass, except when it gets on you, it makes you itch...

where you can see the pattern of the cloth - hard to tell from the photo - if there's any air in there, any at all - it'll delaminate eventually, and sooner rather than later.

If that's the case, I'd sand it down, just the part with air pockets and fill in with marine-tex. Might not be any, could just be the glare. Looks like a good repair.

honestly jtexas it doesn't ook like air pockets to me, i was thinking about your post when u said NO air pockets while i was doing it, paying attention to it...those white spots around the big white spot are other low spots that are filled wit marine tex...i don't think there's any air...well i hope... thanks for all your help