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  1. #1
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    Fiberglass repair advice needed (South GA North FL)

    Any good fiberglass shops in my area? I need some advice and possible some assistance in a fairly major repair job on a 2009 famous craft 2300 bay boat. The boat apparently hit something at speed and there is a large section of gelcoat/fiberglass missing due to delamination. The damage is mostly in a large flat area with really no complex areas having damage such as the chines. I want to do the repairs right and if that means paying someone to help advice me on how to go about it or even assisting me in the repairs that is what I will do..I am located in Leesburg, GA which is just north of Albany. Let me know of some good fiberglass shops that may be within a reasonable distance.

    Thanks
    Mike
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    1998 BackCountry 201 Proguide, 250xs

  2. #2
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    Can you get it off the trailer for better pics? I see some is under the bunk. The repair will have to extend past the damage by at least 4 inches. Thats if the damage stops where you see. It could have (dead) glass extending past the border of the damage. Won't know till you start grinding.

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  4. #3
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    Yes the damage is under the bunk. I went ahead and drilled a hole in the damaged areas to see if there was any kind of core. After the layer of CSM I did not seem to drill into any kind of core material. I think it may be under the stringer which is foam filled but no foam came out when i drilled into it. The CSM is kind of thin and the glass that came off does not look like it would have been more than 1/8" thick at the most. I am going to pull the boat back on the trailer and see if I can expose more of the damage to get a better idea. The hull is not sagging so the structure is still solid where it sits on the bunks. The top cap looks to have some distorted areas in the gunnels but maybe it was just built that way. I am not sure if it would be a good idea to just remove the top cap and go through this hull completely or not. I know that alone would be a huge job but may be worth it on such a boat. I have seen that the boat seems to be all composite with coosa board visible in many areas.
    1998 BackCountry 201 Proguide, 250xs

  5. #4
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    Do you know it hit something? I believe that you have a bonding issue between the glass layers. It flexed so many times then just let go when it developed a crack thru the outer layer and hydraulic pressure separated it. Might be a total loss. jm2cts and I may be totally wrong w/o a hands on inspection. If it wasn't for the thru hull it would have ripped off much more.
    Last edited by XstreamVking; 06-19-2019 at 11:23 AM.

    83 V-King, 96 Mariner, 200 hp ff block 2.5 w/a 28p choppa
    We gotta clean this liberal mess up, VOTE TRUMP TO MAGA!
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  6. #5
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    it looks like a nice boat. Im not sure about pulling the cap off, its usually not that easy. As far as the repair, id start by grinding off all the dead glass and see how far the delamination goes. I can see that the repair will touch on the transom and strake a little. If the repair doesn't extend too far it shouldn't be too complicated.

  7. #6
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    I personally can not say if it was due to impact or not but that is what the owner stated. The hull seems rock solid all around the damage and I agree I am not sure what kind of impact would cause this kind of damage but I guess it is possible. I did find other similar damage from impacts on boat hulls when searching google. Whatever the case I am going to need to fix it even if it means totally rebuilding the bottom of the hull. I will try to pull if off the back of the trailer some to get a better look at it this afternoon. As far as checking for further delamination, what method should I used? Would the tap test work or is there some other way to more accurately tell the integrity of the glass?

    Is there any way to tell what kind of resin was used in the build? I was considering epoxy for the repair work and then just painting the whole bottom of the boat white.
    1998 BackCountry 201 Proguide, 250xs

  8. #7
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    This is a very nice boat, well cared for and very well equipped. If it was not for the damage it is ready for power and fishing. even the batteries are charged up ready to go. haha I looked up in the anchor locker and I could see that the top cap is bonded to the hull so yes it would be a royal pain to remove it. I would like to avoid that if possible but at the same time it may be needed to correctly address the damage. Maybe not. I will find out soon enough once I get a little deeper into the inspection.
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    1998 BackCountry 201 Proguide, 250xs

  9. #8
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    I pulled it back off the trailer some and there was for sure an impact at the leading edge of the damage. There is a deep gouge right at the front of where the damage starts. The CSM that you see in the pictures is not attached to anything but there seems to be some kind of core above it. The CSM is flexible and when you push up on it you can feel something solid. Is it possible that the impact caused a failure in the core/glass bond? I guess if the impact happened high speed like they said it may have caused such damage right? There is another point of impact just forward of the damage but it just shows in the gelcoat. It may be wise to grind back all the way up to that point when doing the repairs. I am thinking that if there is some kind of bond issue to the core or the core failed some how maybe I should cut out the damaged areas completely and go back over with fresh glass? No doubt this is going to be one major repair job in what ever direction it needs to be done.
    1998 BackCountry 201 Proguide, 250xs

  10. #9
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    Had a moment so I went out and cut a hole in the damaged areas with a hole saw. As I thought the glass delaminated from the foam core. I assume the best way to go about fixing this will be the totally cut out the damageded areas and go over the whole thing with fresh glass right? That is if the core itself is in good shape. Even if the core is damaged couldn't I remove it and put new core in from the bottom side? I am honestly not sure if the foam I see is a core of just poured foam but when I have time I will inspect further. I sure would think that area of the hull would have more thickness to it or at least some core and not just poured foam. Sure would like to have a glass guy take a look at it before I jump in head first.
    1998 BackCountry 201 Proguide, 250xs

  11. #10
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    If this happened at speed, the water pressure will cause a lot more damage than you would think. 2nd opinions are always a good idea.

    83 V-King, 96 Mariner, 200 hp ff block 2.5 w/a 28p choppa
    We gotta clean this liberal mess up, VOTE TRUMP TO MAGA!
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    http://www.screamandfly.com/showthre...cs.&highlight=
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  12. #11
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    There is a lot of separation around the impact area and there is even still some wood and debris wedged in the glass so I assume they hit a stump. As was said above the damaged area seen is not where it stops. I am going to have to removed a good bit of material to get back to good solid glass again. I think the stringer system may be one of those molded unit that is bonded into the hull. I need to figure out how to flip this hull up on its side and get busy cutting and grinding I guess.
    1998 BackCountry 201 Proguide, 250xs

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    Before anything gets started, does the owner have insurance? If so, I would call them 1st.

    83 V-King, 96 Mariner, 200 hp ff block 2.5 w/a 28p choppa
    We gotta clean this liberal mess up, VOTE TRUMP TO MAGA!
    Rebuild thread:
    http://www.screamandfly.com/showthre...-it&highlight=
    http://www.screamandfly.com/showthre...cs.&highlight=
    Videos

  14. #13
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    That's why it's so hard to give an estimate on repairs. You never know how far the damage goes. Keep us posted on what you find. Most stuff is repairable, but how to do it is the question.

  15. #14
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    I am unsure if there was insurance on the boat. The boat was damaged a few months ago according to the guy I purchased it from and they themselves purchased it from your "friend" for the motor and power pole which were removed before I purchased it. I mean they did not strip a single thing off this boat besides the motor and power pole which is one reason I went ahead and bought it. I just need to Fix the hull and be ready for power and fishing...

    I see no reason at all for this damage to not be repairable and yes I just want to go about it the right way. The boat is built with all composites with coosa, and nidacore being seen all over the place so I just need to get inside the damaged areas and evaluate how to best go about completing the repairs. First thing I need to do is get the boat flipped over or on its side so I can work on it. No way I am going to do this on my back laying on the ground. hahaha
    1998 BackCountry 201 Proguide, 250xs

  16. #15
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    I dug a little deeper into the damaged area using a sharp rod to poke around and it is pretty clear that there is a heavy duty stringer system that is filled with foam. Stringer is about 12" wide and about 10" deep so there is a lot of foam in there. The foam is a little wet but not too bad and I assume that is because there is still water inside the hull as it comes out when I drill a hole.

    This is my idea.. I am going to cut out all the loose (delaminated glass) I am then going to grind back to good solid glass. I will then remove all damaged or wet foam and then fill everything with new foam. After getting the foam contoured to the correct shape I can then start laying fresh glass over the foam and fiberglass stringer system. I would assume the the most important part would being absolutely sure that the new glass is bonding to that stringer system but that shouldn't be too much of an issue if everything is prepped correctly. For such a repair would one suggest epoxy or? I think poly or vinyl ester would sure speed up the process and allow for gelcoat to be used even though I doubt I could ever match this gelcoat very well. I am actually far more confident in this boat being repaired than before now that I see the major structure is all in great shape and rock solid. I just need to be sure that laying over poured foam and the stringers system will be the best way of going about fixing this boat. Of course a glass layup schedule would be nice. I have a roll of 1700 biaxial but I am sure I will need some CSM as well so I will get some of that on the way. Again, any tips, advice, or criticism are greatly welcomed.
    1998 BackCountry 201 Proguide, 250xs

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