Hatch crack

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Chumpy36
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Hatch crack

Post by Chumpy36 »

Saw this today. It goes all the way through.

What’s the best way to repair?

Thanks!
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NiceAft
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Re: Hatch crack

Post by NiceAft »

There will be others who know better than I, but for now, drill a small hole at the end of the spread so it will not travel farther.
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Ray ~~_/)~~
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Jimmyt
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Re: Hatch crack

Post by Jimmyt »

That's a structural repair. There is a good video series by boatworks today covering the repair. Here's the first one.



This is the type of process I would use.
Jimmyt
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Starscream
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Re: Hatch crack

Post by Starscream »

Chumpy36 wrote: Sun Nov 27, 2022 6:42 pm Saw this today. It goes all the way through.

What’s the best way to repair?

Thanks!
Image
If this was my boat, operating under my rules (how's that, Ray?):

Remove hatch. Drill the end of the crack, farther along than you think, to catch possible micro-extensions of the crack.

Use a narrow sanding accessory on a dremel tool to remove the entire crack, and feather the edges back into the gel-coat. Some of the spidering may require small drill holes as well, or they may just sand out with the dremel.

Refer to this website: https://www.westsystem.com/the-105-syst ... ion-guide/

Buy a quart of 105 resin (will be handy to have leftover, later in your boat-life, I can almost promise you).

Choose your hardener for your location: probably either 206 or 205. Choose the slower one if you're unsure.

Buy the 406 Colloidal Silica general structural gap-filler.

Buy some popsicle sticks and tiny disposable plastic measuring cups from Amazon. The measuring cups I use are graduated, hold about 50 ml, and come in a package of 50.

Wearing a respirator, mix the epoxy according to your location, and THEN add the 406 colloidal silica until the thick peanut-butter stage is reached. This is very handy to be able to do with an epoxy resin: it allows you to work it and shape it like it's caulk. It will fill small gaps, such as a thin, sanded-out crack. If the crack is really wide, you can back it with masking tape; just be a little careful because the curing epoxy can get quite hot, if there's a lot of it (like don't leave a bunch of it in a cup) and sand the tape off later. The underside of the hatch won't be visible, anyway.

Fill the crack. Let dry. Sand.

With the colloidal silica, the epoxy resin dries white. It won't blend in exactly, but people who aren't looking for it won't likely notice it. It dries super hard, and structural, with no fiberglass required. It's my go-to solution for any structural fiberglass repair.

I used this to repair the transom of our 26X after our now-bankrupt engine dealer left the ladder down and reversed the trailer up a hill, mangling the ladder and cracking the transom around the ladder bolts. I re-built the bolt-holes out of this mixture, and part of the transom. Now it looks soo good, and the ladder is rigid like...well...a perfect boarding ladder should be.

Here's a photo of the sanded-out bolt hole. The paper tube shoved in the hole was just to keep the epoxy out of the hole, and it worked, for the most part. Still had to redrill to get it perfect.
Image

And here is a screen-shot from a go-pro video showing the repair in action. If you look closely, you can see it doesn't quite match...but who cares?

Image
Last edited by Starscream on Tue Nov 29, 2022 10:20 am, edited 1 time in total.
Chumpy36
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Posts: 197
Joined: Thu Oct 27, 2022 7:54 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26S
Location: Atlanta

Re: Hatch crack

Post by Chumpy36 »

Thanks for this.

Question... I'm not sure what you mean by "sand until you remove the crack"? I understand the feathering I think but not sure of the other bit?

Thanks much!
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NiceAft
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Re: Hatch crack

Post by NiceAft »

I believe he means to sand back and turn were the crack is into an open gap where the crack was. No more crack, instead, a wide, gaping canyon the length of the crack.

He should have explained better, but, his boat, his rules. :P *





*I have broad shoulders, So now it's time to grow up. All is good with me. Peace. :wink:
Ray ~~_/)~~
Chumpy36
Engineer
Posts: 197
Joined: Thu Oct 27, 2022 7:54 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26S
Location: Atlanta

Re: Hatch crack

Post by Chumpy36 »

Got it. So the edges are separated by a bit eh?

Thanks!

J
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Starscream
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Re: Hatch crack

Post by Starscream »

NiceAft wrote: Tue Nov 29, 2022 6:18 am I believe he means to sand back and turn were the crack is into an open gap where the crack was. No more crack, instead, a wide, gaping canyon the length of the crack.

He should have explained better, but, his boat, his rules. :P *





*I have broad shoulders, So now it's time to grow up. All is good with me. Peace. :wink:


HAHAHAHA

Yeah.
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Starscream
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Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Montreal, Quebec. 2002 26X - Suzi DF90A

Re: Hatch crack

Post by Starscream »

Chumpy36 wrote: Tue Nov 29, 2022 6:02 am Thanks for this.

Question... I'm not sure what you mean by "sand until you remove the crack"? I understand the feathering I think but not sure of the other bit?

Thanks much!
What Ray said.

Sand until the crack is gone, even if that means that you are left with a new, larger crack created by the sander, that goes all the way through the hatch.
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