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Permalink Reply by Randy Dersham on March 29, 2009 at 9:16am

A.J. please jump in. You have done more of these than I have.

First you need to test how strong the patch is. I would do this by setting a block against the patch and giving it a soft rap with a heavy hammer. Obviously be a bit careful so start soft and work up to a healthy rap that you would feel comfortable that any other part of the 1/4 inch side panel would take. Also, place the block on the stem side of the patch away from the frame. If it feels solid then I would leave it in place and work on top of it. If it's not solid you are going to find out very quickly and you'll have your answer about if you should scarf in place. This sounds aggressive but you need to know if a good bang on the river is going to knock that patch out of place and if it doesn't you will have confidence that your patch is as good as the rest of the boat.

If you trust the current patch then you can strengthen and prep the surface for paint like this. Use a fine grinder or aggressive sander and grind down an area of the good plywood about 2 inches from the edges of the patch Grind it just deep enough to laminate some 6oz to 10oz fiberglass cloth level with the outside of the good plywood panel. Use epoxy to laminate the cloth over the patch and feather it in to the good plywood. Fill and level with epoxy fillet. Sand smooth with a long rigid sanding block. Then fair and smooth the entire boat as you prep to paint.

The inside of the patch doesn't look that bad. Those marks are earned over time and I don't mind them. I would sand them as smooth as possible and leave them.

If you want a more clean and finished look then you have a couple of choices that would also insure your patch is secure. You can cut a piece of 1/4 inch ply to the shape of the inside space between frames. Scribe fit it between the frames and cover the entire area from frame to frame and rail to chine with new wood. Some people put a patch between the frames on both sides of the boat so they match. Most don't notice the extra panels there if both sides balance each other. You could cover the entire inside of the frame or you could cut a strip similar to the rub rail and put a couple of "stripes" of 1/4in ply on each side. The advantage of doing all of the area between the frames is the second panel is less noticeable from the inside of the boat. It blends in a little better. The disadvantage is the extra 1/4 is visible when looking down the handrail of the boat. The advantage to the small strip is less weight added to the boat, and it doesn't show the extra visible edge on the handrail. The disadvantage is it is more obvious from the inside of the boat.

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Permalink Reply by AJ DeRosa on March 29, 2009 at 6:08pm

Jeff,

Randy has given you a couple of good ideas. I think the way you plan to finish the panel will determine the best method.

Am I right in observing that the damage was a crushing blow to the panel, fracturing the plywood, and not a gaping hole? If that is the case then Randy's advice of a glass/epoxy patch on the outside is easily made, fared and covered with paint. If the wood in the damaged area is reasonably sound the outside patch will help stabilize it. A fiberglass patch on the inside would be unsightly if you want to clear finish the interior. You can however apply clear epoxy to the area, sand, repeat, sand again and have an area that can be clear finished. We have applied oil finish over wood that has been epoxy soaked with good results. The epoxy brightens the dry wood in the same way the oil will to the surrounding wood. The old epoxy that is still stuck to the interior area below the old patch is easily scraped off. A sharp scraper and a heat gun will make short work of it. Using a laser thermometer to monitor temps, we have found cured epoxy to be very workable at 135 to150 degrees. Your scraper will tell you when it's right.

I plan to be in Idaho Falls in the next few weeks. Give me a call or email and we will stop by for a look.

Cheers,

AJ

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Permalink Reply by Jeff Jennings on March 30, 2009 at 8:23am

Thanks Guys.

The "hole" in question does seem to be a crushing blow and not a gaping hole. I need to test the strength of the area before moving forward. Banging away on the side of my boat makes be a bit nervous...but I can see is totally nessesary. I will take a look sometime soon. I hope its good to go. My initial thought is that it is.

I have been thinking about the extra 1/4" between the ribs since I got the boat. That is certainly the way I am going to go since I plan to oil the interior/paint the exterior and want a nice finished look. Even if I have to have a war patch.

How would I go about attaching the strip of 1/4" ply? If I were to use ring-shank nails, they would protude to the outside...

I also think I may try the heat gun. I have meticulously sanding down the existing finish on the ribs, and its taking forever. I knew it would from previous boats. Would the heat gun speed up this process as well?

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