About resealing tunnel hull

[gadjit69]

Hi,bought a hull from someone, noticed the hull halfs was cracking apart.what can I use to seal both halfs back together?,thanks again

 

[Grimracer]

Is it a "fiberglass" boat.. if so.. do you know if its epoxy/glass or poly/glass? The fixing method would be the same but the materials you use to put it back together different.

Grim

 

[gadjit69]

I have to check tonight, didn't pay attention.

 

[gadjit69]

The hull is a vision craft

 

[Grimracer]

Poly/Glass.. I would tape the seam closed.. The entire seam very tightly.. and mix up some polyester resin and poor in. Rotate boat around the seam to coat.

If its around the motor box then you might have to tackle that from the outside.

Grim

 

[gadjit69]

Thanks Mike.

 

[FloridaScaleBoater]

Thanks Mike.

Polyester resin by its self has no strength by itself.
You will need to figure out how to get some cloth or fiberglass tape in there to join the 2 halves.

 

[Kris Flynn]

Dig it out and use a good sikaflex...someone will jump in witht he correct number I am sure ;-)

 

[Daniel's Racing]

Epoxy will give you a much stronger bond for doing a repair. Polyester never bonds to polyester like epoxy does. I would use epoxy and if any real gaps then epoxy with shredded fiberglass or matt for the repair. Polyester will just separate and crack again. Repairs done with epoxy are permanent or at least many times more likely to last.

3M 5200 permanent is good too like the Sikaflex that was recommended just easier to find and get the right stuff in 3M brand.

The standard dry takes 7 days to cure and it is actually the one you want to use. The fast is not as good.

 

[Grimracer]

I cannot remember for sure but.. lets see.. one can Polyester of Epoxy but one can not epoxy over polyester.. (it will not make a permanent bond).. I think thats right.. (anybody remember?)

Fillers are best with the polyester in this case.

You got this Little Al!

Grim

 

[John Beardslee]

Nope, you can Epoxy over Polyester not Polyester over epoxy.

 

[Mike Hughes]

Nope, you can Epoxy over Polyester not Polyester over epoxy.

Correct

 

[Daniel's Racing]

Gelcoat is poly or vinyl ester. You layup epoxy boats right over it unless you go bare bones and skip the gel coat for even lighter weight.

I work with epoxy all the time in polyester boats. Polyester is mostly worthless for doing anything in a polyester boat after the boat has fully cured. Polyester has very weak bond to cured polyester and It will crack and separate almost certainly especially with gas., oil and vibration. It just doesn't bond like epoxy does.

I have no problem working epoxy with bare hands as I do it almost every day. No reactions of any sort. The stuff is very low odor compared to polyester so much better for working with indoors. Epoxy gives you a long working time to get the job worked like you want and finished before any gelling occurs. There is so many reasons to use epoxy over polyester except cost. Epoxy is much more expensive and rightfully so as it is much better product in almost every way.

This was of course a different application but this is what you want mixed with little thickener.

 

[gadjit69]

Thanks for info everyone.