Repair poly on glass hull?

[rost495]

Hi

My new to me boat has what I think is 1/4 inch poly. Over all its in good shape, except 2 areas in the back by the transom. I have a small leak there, and someone put what seems to be a 2 part expoxy to cover up a missing piece about the size of a 3 inch circle. There is another piece about that size missing also. I'm not sure how to go about patching, IE some kind of 2 part epoxy like patching gel coat, or if its not even possible.

Thanks for any input. I can live with it as is, but would like to patch over to last a bit before I have to drop the cash on a repoly job. Which looks easy, but like a LONG weekend. I am sure there is no one in TX that does poly most likely.

Thanks, Jeff

 

[fishingbish]

see what i said, there fighting over c/m vs. a/c from what i seen in past post that bad poly be it a crack,hole, or loose from screws not being ther or loose can cause to flip in turns and going straight..........it is very dangerous .... years ago poly did'nt come in 8x16 [what every size wide and long OK] so they pieced it together and worked fine.but to patch it with working with 3 different material glass poly and apoxy might not be the way to go. water pressure and the elements your running over etc you can't see what its doing down there................................look at past post gone swimming i think good stories on it. take your time fix it right and be safe...

 

[rost495]

FWIW it this was in a bad place I'd know not to try, but its the very end of the boat, a piece just came out, so if it comes out again, no poly sheets ripping off etc.... is why I'd thought that an epoxy could take, and I can grind it down later when its time to repair all the poly as in replace.

I can be wrong(dont' tell the wife that...)

Jeff

 

[Whitebear]

If poly has become so brittle that it breaks out in any place, likely the whole sheet is brittle and will break out somewhere else. This is dangerous as mentioned above. I would recommend replacing all the poly not patching it. Remember these airboats can kill and do when mistreated or maintenance is ignored. Spend the money and stay alive I say. Or park it until you can afford a proper job. I sure don't wanna hear about it or read it in the papers.

Scotty :wink:

 

[rost495]

Thanks for the info. Was not aware that poly could become brittle.

Next -- was pointed to McMaster Carr for small stuff.....

I need to know whats best, what is the best thickness, IE I think I have 1/4 but 3/8 or 1/2 would be better but heavier and I couldn't use the old bolts etc... would the weight negate the thickness RE running dry....

I see there is reference to black/white/red etc.....

I have NO clue at all, other than installation doesn't look that tough, take the motor/seats off and roll the boat over, remove bolts, replace poly....

Cutting the angles up front seems like it could be fun....but I'd have the old one to pattern off of..

Also any "adhesive" ??? I doubt it but unfortunately I'm stupid on this one....

ALL help appreciated.

Thanks, Jeff

 

[Whitebear]

In general it seems lighter 4 cylinder boats do fine with 1/4" poly. 6 Cylider aircraft and 8 cylinder car motors do well with 3/8" poly. Keep in mind your intended use and abuse you may want the 3/8 on a 4 cylider even. Super heavy tour/ride boats and work boats go with the 1/2" sometimes.

It seems folks are doing well with the black or the grey poly these days but there are specific formulations fo each which need attention when chosing. Check the old threads here.

Scotty