Gell coat repairs.

   Im slowly tracking down the many small leaks in my 300. The latest is right under the mast pot. The gell coat has lots of small holes in it which appear to be part of the leaky problem.
Im unsure as to how i would go about it. The gell coat is so thin in this area that there is no hole to fill. This would mean it wouldn't grip or stick and so would be useless. One option would be to grind out some of the epoxy/resin stuff in the hull to make a hole big enough to fill. Only thing is this is right under the mast base and so the more material i take out the weaker it would become and lets face it, the mast pot is pretty essential.
Any advice and past experiences here would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers Tom

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tmoore Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 01 Nov 07 Location: Wales Online Status: Offline Posts: 880	Post Options Post Reply Quote tmoore Report Post Quote Reply Topic: Gell coat repairs. Posted: 13 Aug 09 at 12:00pm
	Im slowly tracking down the many small leaks in my 300. The latest is right under the mast pot. The gell coat has lots of small holes in it which appear to be part of the leaky problem. Im unsure as to how i would go about it. The gell coat is so thin in this area that there is no hole to fill. This would mean it wouldn't grip or stick and so would be useless. One option would be to grind out some of the epoxy/resin stuff in the hull to make a hole big enough to fill. Only thing is this is right under the mast base and so the more material i take out the weaker it would become and lets face it, the mast pot is pretty essential. Any advice and past experiences here would be greatly appreciated. Cheers Tom
	Landlocked in Africa RS300 - 410 Firefly F517 - Nutshell Micro Magic RC yacht - Eclipse

Neptune Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 08 Jun 09 Location: Berkshire United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 1314	Post Options Post Reply Quote Neptune Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 13 Aug 09 at 12:06pm
	Gel coat is more of a cosmetic finish so as its under the mast base I'd just pour some epoxy resin in while its still very fluid and try and level it out - will do it itseld if the boat is level.

tmoore Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 01 Nov 07 Location: Wales Online Status: Offline Posts: 880	Post Options Post Reply Quote tmoore Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 13 Aug 09 at 2:33pm
	yea, the thing is the gell coat is so thin there isnt really a hole to pour it into. would it be worth making one for the resin?
	Landlocked in Africa RS300 - 410 Firefly F517 - Nutshell Micro Magic RC yacht - Eclipse

Neptune Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 08 Jun 09 Location: Berkshire United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 1314	Post Options Post Reply Quote Neptune Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 13 Aug 09 at 3:45pm
	I would have thought so long as the surface is clean it should be ok. Its all under compression anyway and having struggled to get expoxy overruns off in teh past it should be ok.

tmoore Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 01 Nov 07 Location: Wales Online Status: Offline Posts: 880	Post Options Post Reply Quote tmoore Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 13 Aug 09 at 3:49pm
	i dont understand what your reccomending me to do now. Just pour a few drops of runny resin on and let it settle out?
	Landlocked in Africa RS300 - 410 Firefly F517 - Nutshell Micro Magic RC yacht - Eclipse