Fiberglass Drift Boat Repair

[Jepatock]

Looking for help to try and locate someone to repair my Hyde drift boat bottom in the Sac area. Punched a hole in the bottom and need to get it repaired. I got a quote from a fiberglass boat repair company in town, but it seemed pretty steep. Wanted to see if the quote is a realistic cost for the repair work.

[Darian]

First, what was the amount of the estimate you received :question:

Second, there's probably no way for anyone on this BB to be able to accurately assess the damage to your boat and what would be required to properly repair it. :-|

The best way to determine which is the most reasonable estimate is to get more than one unless there's only one repair facility within your area. In that case, the bid you received is the best. :neutral:

Are you able to do the repair yourself :question:

[SHigSpeed]

Does it leak? That looks pretty simple really. If aesthetics aren't a huge concern it'd be a relatively easy DIY repair. Google it, I'm sure you can find a ton of info out there.

_SHig

[Hairstacker]

Yeah, it does look pretty simple. I too am curious what the estimate is. I'm with ShigSpeed, it looks like a pretty easy DIY and there is in fact plenty of info online how to do it. You'll be able to get all your supplies for the repair at your local Tap's Plastics.

[Jepatock]

The quote I received was for $680. I was hoping for a more resonable cost. Again, i am not sure if this is inline or not. My gut feeling is that the quote is high. If this is the norm, I will most likely tackle this myself as I am not concerned about the looks since it is on the bottom. The quote is for bottom to be left in a stock white gel coat finish with no sanding or polishing.

[briansII]

The quote I received was for $680. I was hoping for a more resonable cost. Again, i am not sure if this is inline or not. My gut feeling is that the quote is high. If this is the norm, I will most likely tackle this myself as I am not concerned about the looks since it is on the bottom.

If the quote includes refinishing/painting the repair, in my guesstimation, that's fair. If it's just for repairing, with no finish work, I think it's a bit high. I would get another quote or two.

briansII

[BS]

The quote I received was for $680. I was hoping for a more resonable cost. Again, i am not sure if this is inline or not. My gut feeling is that the quote is high. If this is the norm, I will most likely tackle this myself as I am not concerned about the looks since it is on the bottom.

If the damage isn't structural, you could just grind out a little around the repair area and give this a try. http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/producte/10001/-1/10001/6221/377%20710/0/marine%20tex/Primary%20Search/mode%20matchallpartial/0/0?N=377 710&Ne=0&Ntt=marine tex&Ntk=Primary Search&Ntx=mode matchallpartial&Nao=0&Ns=0&keyword=marine tex&isLTokenURL=true&storeNum=95&subdeptNum=96&classNum=96

I use to repair all of my beach catamarans with it.

Good stuff !!!

Good luck !!

Bob

[Darrin.Deel]

go to a bathtub guy and see what he can do. what river did it happen on?

[matt johnson]

That looks like a fairly simple repair job that you could perform in about 2-3 hrs (this includes drying times).

You can find all the materials you need at Home Depot. If you are close to a Tap Plastics I would go there just to get the extra pro advice.

Ok, go buy some Bondo (body filling putty), some fiberglass resin, fiberglass mat, Acetone (for cleaning up), some cheap, disposable "chip" brushes, and a couple plastic mixing containers. Oh, you need sandpaper too. 80-200grit.

1. tape off a small square or circle around the repair area to protect the surrounding fininsh.
2. Sand all around the inside of the repair area and ding to clean it up and get the first layers of the original finish off.
3. Fill in the depression of the ding with the Bondo putty and let that cure.
4. Sand down the Bondo flush.
5. Lay down a thin layer of catalyzed resin over the repair area.
6. shred some of the fiberglass mat, lay that over the first layer of applied resin, and then "daub" more resin into the mat fibers.
7. Let the fiberglass mat "patch" cure, sand and repeat step 6 if you want added durability.
8. Sand the completed patch with successively finer sand paper to get a smooth, glossy finish. You can skip this step if you want, since its the bottom of the boat and is simply cosmetic....

Thats it! Fiberglass is super strong fairly easy to work with, and to me, smells really good.. Its just a little itchy. Send me a pm if you have any questions. Matt

[lynnwhite44]

Get a different boat.

Fear no Rock in a Clackacraft!

I couldn't resist. We have beat the crap out of our 5 year old Clacka and no leaks yet.

I'm curious too, how did you get the hole.

[Jepatock]

Looks like I am going to make the repairs myself. Thanks for all the input.

As for how I put the crack in the bottom of the boat, I am not exactly sure, but I think it may have been on the Madison River in MT coming down a narrow passage. We were floating from the Slide Inn to Lyon's Bridge. The upper part of that float has a lot of fast water with semi-exposed rocks. I know I hit alot of subsurface rocks.

[Pimpinmeat]

Get a different boat.

Fear no Rock in a Clackacraft!

I couldn't resist. We have beat the crap out of our 5 year old Clacka and no leaks yet.

I'm curious too, how did you get the hole.

I was going to say the same thing. A 100 hull warranty should cover any hole I punch through mine.

Does Hyde have a warranty for this kind of stuff?

[Chris Gearhart]

What does Hyde say? I used to own a Hyde, I thought they had a lifetime warrany.
Chris

[Jepatock]

I am the 2nd owner, so I don't that the warranty is transferable. It is definatly somethinig to check into.