I recently acquired a couple of CLC boats. A Mill Creek 16.5 and Chesapeake 17. Both in need of some TLC. The boats are about 10yrs old according to the previous owner/builder.
The first repair that I want to tackle is this puncture on the deck of the Mill Creek (see photos below, I highlighted the crack in BLUE in the close-up.) The puncture goes all the way through as I can feel and see the broken fiberglass on the inside as well.
What is the proper way to repair both structurally and aesthetically?
I assume it will be sand down to the fiberglass on top around the crack, epoxy, and re-varnish. And for the inside, to again sand down to the fiberglass and add a patch/epoxy.
Specific questions:
1. What weight fiberglass should I use for the patch?
2. Which epoxy would be most compatible w/ the epoxies from ~10yrs ago?
3. What varnish would best match the 10yro varnish.
Any advice how to do this repair the right way will be appreciated. Thank you.
With respect to your project, the repairs you are working on can be done relatively easily to address the structural and water-proofing issues. On the aesthetics, it may not result in a repair that ‘disappears’. However, with a little finesse, it won’t be particularly noticeable.
On your questions:
What weight fiberglass should I use for the patch? Use 4 oz e-glass for your repair. This is the default weight and type of glass that is the most common for stitch and glue. At the end of the day, it will wet out transparent.
Which epoxy would be most compatible w/ the epoxies from ~10yrs ago? You can use MAS epoxy – this has been the default provided by CLC for over 10 years. Epoxy has not changed a lot in that time period, Even if the boat was not built with MAS epoxy, the repair brand does not need to be the same that was used in the original build.
What varnish would best match the 10yro varnish? This looks like Interlux Schooner varnish – it's glossy. Your varnish looks in good shape and for a repair, you can use this and not revarnish the entire boat. If the rest of the varnish looks like it needs a refresh, of course, you can sand the old varnish and apply a new coat over the entire varnished surface of the boat.
On techniques for repairing a crack like this, to get the best visual effect, your goal is to push things back into place as much as possible so the repair is least noticeable.
I handle repairs like this in two steps. First, sort out some way to push and hold the crack as closed as possible. A stick in the cockpit pushing the cracked deck back out to its mate is pretty standard. Make sure to wrap your stick/support in saran wrap so you don’t accidently bond it to repair. When you have that worked out, remove the support/stick and put some packing tape underneath the deck where the crack is. The packing tape will prevent epoxy from spilling into the boat when you start the repair. Then, with un-thickened epoxy, press it into the crack getting the area all wet….and then as aggressively as possible, push the crack closed using the stick or prop you worked out. You can then paint the repair area with some more of your epoxy to fill in the crack. You can also put packing tape over the epoxy (or saran wrap) to hold the wet epoxy in place over the crack. Second, after the epoxy has set, remove the packing tape and the stick propping up the repair. Carefully sand over the top of the repair to remove any broken glass being careful not to sand into the underlying wood. You can touch the wood with your sanding….but you don’t want to sand into the wood. Then do your fiberglass patch and epoxy and feather it in. For underneath the deck, basically the same thing except underneath the deck you don’t have to be as careful as nobody is going to see the repair.
+1 on everything Howard said. The only thing to add is that if the damage is inaccessible for pushing out with a stick, sometimes it can be pulled out with a string. I saw a repair done that way by Joey Schott at a demo at a CLC December Open House once.
