Boat repair...HELP!

[Andrew]

This weekend, my son and his partner put a hole through the centre of their almost new Plastex C2. At the damaged area, the outer (hull) laminate and core have been removed. The inside (meaning inside the boat) layer is partially ripped and seems to be a bit stretched form the impact and hang-up. The lay-up seems to be a core of foam sandwiched between two layers of carbon kevlar cloth.

Questions:
1. We are removing the rest of the delaminated outer layer around the puncture. Should we also remove the damaged fabric on the inside of the hull? Doing sowould leave a true hole of approximately 4.5" to fill and repair.
2. Depending on your answer to question number 1, in what order and with what materials should we repair the hole? For example, should we patch inside the hull first, then do the outside?
3. Is there anything else beyond your answers to 1 & 2
that we should consider for this reapair?

I've sent a similar message to a Canadian paddler renown for his boat repair skills; but I couldn't resist running these questions by the always helpful readers of this Forum.

...and watch out for sharp rocks!

[KNeal]

Owning a glass/composite boat definitely improves your repairing skills. Over time, I have stopped doing more ineffective methods, though I am positive I still do not use good repairing techniques, but I will throw some stuff your way and hopefully, the more knowledgeable boaters (Dave M., Scott W.) will kick in their $0.02 worth

I use West Systems epoxy and would want to use glass/kevlar for the outer hull and glass for the inner hull. For the reinforcing filler between the two layers, see if you can get these microspheres that can be mixed with the epoxy resin (to the consistency of peanut butter )

I would fix the outer hull first using a kevlar patch shaped to the hole,, then layer the microsphere mix to the desired thickness (should match the current thickness of the middle core) and then apply the glass layer inside.

Aside from that, there is nothing else I can offer you because you now know the extent of my repair skills. Now, let the more knowledgeable c-boaters chime in. .

KNeal

[Sir Adam]

Greetings...

I'd call John Sweet and ask . My only comments (to add to KNeals) are put like on like (e.g. Kevlar to Kevlar), use WEST Systems Epoxy (GREAT stuff, and well worth the price), and if you can put E-glass on the outside (good abrasion resistance and it makes future repairs easier).

There is a bit on repair in the "Repair" section to the left, but I do need to add a bit more info when I have FTP access (and TIME) again.

[David Miller]

If the boat is new and you want the patch to look really good, take it to someone and let them patch it. Ask if you can watch while they patch it so you can learn the tricks of the trade. I could go into a long tirade about how to patch boats, but there is nothing like watching someone who is good do it and learn from them.

Just last spring my good friend BZ tore a hole in the stern of his new boat. The two of us have been patching boats for years, but we wanted to learn some new techniques on how to make the patch look really good, so we asked someone to patch the boat and we watched... It was great and we learned a lot.

We supplied all the material, the grinder, resin, etc, they just supplied the knowledge.

PS: Before you trust someone with your patch, ask if you can see some of their work.

If you can't get someone to help, let us know and we will launch the tirade....<grin>....DM