Repair Bow

[gary l. britton]

Hi to all the knowledgable repairmen/repairwomen out there in DaySailer land:

I am hoping to do some hopefully minor repair work on my DS I over the winter months, and looking over the hull, I have noticed the bow is very worn, down to the fiberglass. It is where the bow hits the rollers on the trailer upon retrieving, and also from beaching. My question is, how best to repair this area and make it look nice. Is there something I can place over the point of the bow and epoxy to the bow? Or, will I need to re-fiberglass the area. I am afraid re-fiberglassing will not look very good since due to the age of the boat and trying to match the color (very light blue) that has faded over the last 40 years. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for all your expertise.

Gary
1966, DS I
"Dancing Girls II", #3235

[Roger]

I'm afraid there are not shortcuts on this one. If you have ground yourself down to the cloth, you need to built it back up then repaint. Marine tex is likely the best and easiest to apply, smooth and feather, but unless you are looking at applying a contrasting color of paint down the centerline, you are looking at either trying to get a close match, or repainting the whole hull. Having said that, it is only one quart of paint per coat, less so if you have an antifouling bottom paint that is different from the topsides. Careening is the easiest way of applying the paint. At least then you can stand up to do the job. see pic...

http://groups.msn.com/RogerConrad/shoeb ... PhotoID=96

[gary l. britton]

Thanks for the information Roger:

One question......If I use Marine Tex, do I apply in bulk, to sort of a point then sand down to the proper shape? I have been thinking of painting the hull, but I think that I would rather buff and wax this year to see how that works. I do realize that matching the 40 year old, faded blue hull will be a near impossible task, but I an going to give it a try. Then I'll see if I will need to paint the hull.

Thanks again for your input.

Gary
1966, DSI
"Dancing Girls II", #3235

[Roger]

Although I have never personally used marine tex, my understanding from reading several other posts, and other repair literature, is that it can (and has been) applied liberally in areas on the hull for protection, such as the forward part of the keel on a Halman 20 (up to 4 inches thick) to protect from frequent dings and bangs for a sailor who frequented shallow waters, and their rocks. I recall him saying that it was easier to repair the marine tex than the figerglass.