i need some help

[coastieryan]

i need to repair the port side of my 85 vector after the trailor broke and hit a tree (not good) but i dont have much experience. the top hull just completely broke about 6 inches in all the way down the side of the boat the worse the two halves separated. i need to know what to do here i am at a lost. all help is greately appreciated.

[175checkmate]

Take some detailed pictures and post them. Then we'll see what can be done.
Sorry to hear about the trailer and boat.

[coastieryan]

the camera is not the best but it shows something. I just dont know where to begin if it was the engine id be all over it anything electrical all over it but fiberglass is my weakness just cant do it
ryan

[Jacob]

I just did one of these type repairs last week. First, uses a cut-off wheel to cut off all the glass that was cracked and folded over. If you try to repair it without doing this, that area will be weak. After getting it cleaned up, find a thin piece of cardboard/plastic that will fit between the crack where the hull and cap overlap. the cardboard/plastic has to flex enough to keep the lines of your boat. I used a latex glove box, it was thin and didn't crease when I bent it. after getting your cardboard/plastic backing in place tape it so it won't move. then cut your pieces of cloth/matt to size. I used matt/cloth/matt. Now your ready to glass it in. After glassing it in, sand it down . As far as the gelcoat goes, good luck. It looks like your rubrail may cover up you repair. Well that was my method of repair. Any one know of any other way to do it, I would also be interested. Good Luck

[Techno]

What Jacob said except the edges have to be beveled back so the new glass bonds onto the old stuff. I think the rule is 3 times the thickness but is OK to go even more than this. - 1/8" thick bevel back 3/8" I'm not sure of the bevel rule though.
If you can't match the gel coat then paint, or gel, the other side so it looks like it supposed to be there. Instead of a repaired crack you would have a simple graphic.

A few points
Don't sand any fiberglass without suiting up. Wear a tyvek suit with a hood- or something like it. You can get by with a shirt but isn't as perfect (I hosed off after sanding but before removing it. Hang to dry). Cover your head/hair, goggles and wear gloves. A respirator is better but a 2 strap dust mask is fine. This is to avoid the Itchies . After sanding wash up- better to take a shower. Cold water closes the pores. I use a scotch brite pad on my arms if I'm in doubt about it being there, definately if it is. Do whatever you can to avoid them - or you'll wish you had later. Treat it like novelty itching powder. It's worse.

If you haven't played with the resin and glass before Mix up some resin in differing amounts and try adding the catylist. Do a little lamination with this. No great amounts need to be sacrificed, a few ounces and a few sq ft total. Set one small container of mixed resin aside and notice how quick it kicks off. It's easy to do this and the learning curve is flat at the beginning then climbs sharply.
When you do laminate mix only small amounts and keep the catylist a bit on the low side. This will give you more time and less waste.

[Jay R.]

BABY POWDER... cover your self in it it will clog your pours so the little fibers can't get in there. cuts the itching down over half!!!!!

[175checkmate]

Baby powder, Now ya tell me. After I got done cutting/grinding all the wood and left over glass out of the c'mate.
:)

[coastieryan]

ok so i cut all of the broken glass off simple enough but now im going to cut about 6 inches wide and 9 feet long of glass off my boat how do i lay the glass to match the other side should i use some kind of balsa wood or something else. I am really confused on how to buid up the glass to match the other side. :confused:

[coastieryan]

ok so i cut all of the broken glass off simple enough but now im going to cut about 6 inches wide and 9 feet long of glass off my boat how do i lay the glass to match the other side should i use some kind of balsa wood or something else. I am really confused on how to buid up the glass to match the other side.