made me obsessed with making the bare hull
at least presentable to the neighbors.
a direct result of their foam filling.
After 45 years of abuse,
the foam makes repairs tricky,
with no access to the back side.
As predicted,
the day after opening the holes up,
we had just enough rain to stall any progress.
The dry out week allowed time to think of a proper repair.
at least the corners.
I ended up using styrofoam slivers,
embedded into a wet epoxy bondo-like filler...
The holes were gouged out way more than the top pics show.
Hard to notice,
but someone had raised the transom about an inch and a half,
then someone else cut out a couple inches.
Not sure why.
were screwed and glued into place.
The epoxy filler filled the gaps...
This thing was hammered!
then layed fiberglass over to give it strength.
Way more layers on the really rough side.
It looked like a Mexican panga!
Most of the rail work was done while standing outside of the boat.
I never really saw the discrepancy.
A couple templates were cut out to match the sides.
This answered why there was a lip on one side and not on the other.
but the neighbor had the perfect donor material.
Much more substantial than foam or a cheap 2x4,
and free!
to get as much of a fiberglass bond as possible.
A kitty hair bondo filled the remaining gap in the wood.
You may be thinking,
"What a hack!".
A proper boatyard repair may have entailed cutting out this whole area,
then reshape using a solid chunk of foam.
The ideal way would have been to cut out the entire top section of both sides,
make a giant C out of plywood,
and really have a solid foundation.
That would have been cool!
with limited time.
It sure feels solid and looks great with primer.
What repair?
When the boat is flipped I'll match up the lower lip.
Believe me it's hard to not fix certain things!
I couldn't imagine doing this last year!
Fortunately all the neighbors are actually interested in the progress.
One tool that helps being neighborly is this body file.
Much quieter then a grinder,
and not dusty like a DA sander.
I'm too lazy to search for my wood handle versions!
Not common on a 16/17' whaler.
More later!
TP
did you ever finish the whaler project?
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