Repairs

8/9/21 – After letting the plywood dry out over the weekend I cut away some of the splintered plywood and assessed the situation. There will be 5 parts to the repair that will need to be done in steps while the epoxy dries.

1. Repair the cracks in the joint between the frame and seat top.
2. Securely re-install the mast step.
3. Reinstall the mast partner.
4. Repair the splintered seat with fiberglass.
5. Secure the mast step and mast partner with fillets or fiberglass tabbing.

I started off by pre-drilling a number of screw holes through the seat to the frame. Then I used an epoxy syringe to inject epoxy into the cracks and then screwed the seat down securely.

Part of the front support for the mast partner was also cracked laterally. I used the syringe to fill the gap with epoxy and secured it with screws.

Next, I had to address the stripped screw holes in the keel. I purchased a 3/8″ plug cutter and made some mahogany bungs. Then I drilled out the screw holes with a 3/8″ bit and epoxied the bungs in place.

Tomorrow, when the epoxy is cured, I can cut the bungs off flush, pre-drill new holes for longer screws into the keel, and securely epoxy the mast step in place.

8/10/21 – This morning I cut the bungs off on the keel.

Then I pre-drilled holes for the screws and after testing it was a good solid fit, removed the mast step and applied ample amounts of thickened epoxy, and reinstalled it.

Then I added bungs in the screw holes and applied an epoxy fillet around the perimeter of the mast step as an added level of protection against lateral movement.

This afternoon I began work on the mast partner. First, there was a crack in the top layer of the partner, so I pried it open and used a syringe to inject epoxy, and then screwed the parts back together.

Then, using liberal amounts of thickened epoxy, I re-installed the mast partner and secured it to the front and rear seat supports with 1 1/4″ bronze screws. I then added 3 layers of fiberglass, crisscrossed, in the area where the plywood was splintered and removed. It looks like it will take another 3 layers of fiberglass cloth to fill the hole and then a layer of fairing filler. I also filled all the screw holes with fairing filler.

8/11/21 – This morning I sanded down the fairing filler.

Then I added more fiberglass mat to the hole in the plywood and also added some fiberglass to the underside of the front and back seat supports.

This afternoon, after the epoxy hardened, I filled the remaining gap with fairing filler.

Finally, I decided I needed to put a drain hole in the bottom of the boat since it quickly filled with water last Saturday while hanging from the davits. My cover won’t be ready for a few weeks.

8/12/21 – Added thickened epoxy to the underside of the mast partner to cover the fiberglass tape.

Then I added a final coat of fairing filler to the seat top.

8/13/21 – 9:30 am. I sanded down the fiberglass and the fairing filler and applied a coat of Ezpoxy primer. I should be able to apply the first topcoat in 4 hours since the boat is in the air-conditioned garage.

2:00pm – Applied the first topcoat.

8/16/21 – Final topcoat applied.