Leaky Laser

Ok - here's the outcome of what happened....

The crack in the joint had opened up wide enough to allow me to get in with a grinding tool on my Dremel. I used two different sizes - the tool looks like a wee ball on the end of a stick and it carved it's way nice and cleanly through the joint without ever straying from the crack. I cut down to about 8mm depth in most places - less if the material seemed strong, and right through to thin air if weaker or crumbly.

I mixed polyester resin with colloidal silica powder until it had a paste consistency rather than liquid. Hopefully the filler will give it some resilience and less brittleness. One side of the boat had a 2mm gap to fill but the worst bit on the other side had opened up to 4-5mm. I filled it proud of the surface then sanded it back flat the next day. I was going to reinforce the wider gap with a couple of layers of tape and resin but it seems to be a strong enough join. Once on the water I may be proved wrong - as someone pointed out, the forces are strong when capsized or in waves. If it opens up again, I'll repeat the filling but will add the tape.

water trials this weekend...

cheers,  Angus....