1800 SR 'glass repair - Maxum Boat Owners Club

surfbeetle · 09-02-2019, 05:54 AM

This weekend I got under the boat while it's on the trailer and was checking the hull. I found a couple of issues. One is the bottom of the hull at the bow, it's been scratched up a bit and needs some glassing. Not a big deal. But the other one is more like a gash in the hull right at the front of the left bunk. While the boat is on the trailer, I can't get to this area to see it all or even work on it.

So my question is this. I have two large floor jacks and six larger jack stands as well as two smaller jack stands. I was thinking that I could use the small jack stands to support the rear of the trailer and then use a floor jack with a large piece of wood cut it with a V notched in the top to match the shape of the hull so that I could lift the boat off of the front of the bunks. I would then use some of the other jack stands and wood to support the front of the boat.

Or am I better off raising it from the side? I was thinking that I would simply use a large piece of wood (six feet long, four inches thick and 10 inches wide and use the floor jack to lift it and then secure with the jack stands.

Basically, I need to raise it up but don't want to damage any other part of the hull while doing so.

Here's the spot under the bow.

Here's the part blocked by the bunk.

Also, once I repair it with fiberglass, what's the best to use as a top coat paint is a gel coat paint available that I can brush on? Since's its on the bottom, I'm not too concerned about the color match but I want the repair to be good.
Thank you in advance
Craig

mmwjr · 09-02-2019, 12:08 PM

To give you good access to make the repair it would probably be better to jack the entire boat up. This boat weighs between 2000-3000 lbs and your floor jack is probably a 2 ton or 4000 lb rated so it can lift the boat with no problem. Lift front and back and not side to side. Do you beach this boat, looks like long scaring from beaching. If so install a keel guard which will protect the area in the first picture. It doesn’t look like either area needs glass work but gelcoat or marine Tex to build the skin back up.

jrsick · 09-03-2019, 11:49 AM

Try a gelcoat patch kit to repair those areas. That stuff sticks very well to gel coat and fiberglass, and dries exceptionally hard.

surfbeetle · 09-04-2019, 08:57 PM

Is there a specific gelcoat that I should look at? I've done fiberglassing of surfboards before and already bought the bondo branded fiberglass resin from Home Depot thinking that it was what I needed to do. It's unopened and I can return it if necessary and get a gelcoat from West Marine. Also, since the bunk is adjacent to the second photo, I should lift the boat before I return the fiberglass since the bunk could be covering more damage. I will also look for a keel guard, I've never had one on my previous boats. This boat is a 18 years old so the keel isn't too bad for the age.
Thank you again for your advice.

jrsick · 09-04-2019, 11:12 PM

The gel coat I used is made by Spectrum and I got it online at amazon or ebay. It's called "patch paste" and is two part: colored resin and MEKP hardener. You got about 5 minutes or so of working time after you mix it.
You didn't ask, but, I have never liked the Home Depot fiberglass resin. It's difficult to mix the hardener in thoroughly and I always got stickly spots. Plus it stinks. System 3 is much better with a 2 to 1 ratio of resin to hardener, and no strong odor.

mmwjr · 09-05-2019, 12:16 AM

What jrsick said.

shrew · 09-05-2019, 01:01 PM

I doubt that damage came from the carpeted bunk. The two combined looks more like someone had been beaching the boat.

surfbeetle · 09-05-2019, 05:31 PM

Thank you!

surfbeetle · 09-06-2019, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shrew

I doubt that damage came from the carpeted bunk. The two combined looks more like someone had been beaching the boat.

Got it, makes sense. My thought was that if the bunk was loose and angled wrong that maybe the hull was gouged by the corner of the bunk when loading it back on. Who knows? There's always the unknowns when buying something used.

jrsick · 09-06-2019, 05:27 PM

those two zinc-plated carriage bolts in the picture look unusual. I would expect to see them tightened up against a washer. You may want to check if they are poking through the bunk board.

surfbeetle · 09-08-2019, 05:05 AM

Today I lifted up the bow of the boat a little bit and was able to see more around the area that is damaged by the bunk. It appears that at some point the bank was loose and they brought the boat in on the bunk and rotated in its side. The shape of the damage on the hull matches up with the bracket below the bunk. Any ideas where to get those jack stands that Is it typically under boats with the threaded shaft?

mmwjr · 09-08-2019, 11:16 AM

Google boat stands or West Marine sells them, they are not cheap. I would use 6x6’s cut into blocks that you can stack since this is a short term lift.

surfbeetle · 09-08-2019, 09:35 PM

Thank you.

surfbeetle · 09-22-2019, 03:04 AM

My suspicion was correct. At some point the previous owners had a loose bunk. I raised the boat off the bunk and could clearly see the gouging on the hill matches the vertical bracket. I want to add some fiberglass in the repair. Will it be ok to use gel coat with the glass or should I use some resin and glass then top it with gel coat?

mmwjr · 09-22-2019, 11:39 AM

Resin with the glass followed by gel coat.

jrsick · 09-22-2019, 01:17 PM

You should definitely put some resin in the hole along with fiberglass cloth. Fast-hardening resin with probably be easiest to work with for small jobs since it gets tacky fast. Be sure to use a two-part epoxy resin because that is what was used to construct the boat and will give you the strongest repair.

surfbeetle · 09-23-2019, 06:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrsick

You should definitely put some resin in the hole along with fiberglass cloth. Fast-hardening resin with probably be easiest to work with for small jobs since it gets tacky fast. Be sure to use a two-part epoxy resin because that is what was used to construct the boat and will give you the strongest repair.

I ordered some epoxy resin from Amazon and also ordered a gel coat repair kit. I will glass all of the areas and then cover them with the gel coat. Yesterday I went to the local West Marine store, (40 minutes away) and found that they are much more expensive than ordering online. I did however find a marker light for my trailer that I couldn't find elsewhere, so the trip wasn't a waste.