Repair a nasty scratch

[Merlinblade]

Hi Folks
Mr 'New to ribs' here... took my Rib out last week for the first time and managed to put a nasty scratch along the bow/keel (or whatever it's called) when we recovered it from the water

I'm based near Chester and wondered if there is anyone local that I could go to for a repair?... Don't fancy doing it myself! Appreciate your advice

[spartacus]

Originally Posted by Merlinblade

Hi Folks
Mr 'New to ribs' here... took my Rib out last week for the first time and managed to put a nasty scratch along the bow/keel (or whatever it's called) when we recovered it from the water

I'm based near Chester and wondered if there is anyone local that I could go to for a repair?... Don't fancy doing it myself! Appreciate your advice

Depends how deep it is? Could be - it just needs a couple of coats of marine gel-coat filler, then sand with fine grit 3M wet and dry paper and finish with a machine polish to achieve gloss.

[Merlinblade]

I don't think it's too deep; just unsightly and I'm concerned that it will do more damage if left unattended... I can understand that it probably wouldn't take much to fix in the hands of someone who knows what they're doing but I'm afraid I'm not that fella! So; I really need a local repairer based in Cheshire, Liverpool or merseyside... any thoughts?

[Hightower]

Have you got a white hull? If so read on.

If you can slap a bit of plaster in a wall then you can use this stuff.

http://www.marine-super-store.com/po...edpartno=02660

Give the scratch a good clean out and roughen the scratch with some gritted paper. De-grease with a little thinners/acetone and follow the simple instructions to mix and just fill the scratch. A tip is to use a couple of layers of cello tape around the scratch so that when you've filled it, the filler sits proud of the hull so that it can be sanded back when it's gone off hard.

It's well worth building a little kit of care items to be used on the RIB, these are pretty important to keep your boat in tip top condition.

You'll save yourself a fortune and learn lots about how boats are made by DIYing it.

[Poly]

Originally Posted by Hightower

Have you got a white hull? If so read on.

If you can slap a bit of plaster in a wall then you can use this stuff.

http://www.marine-super-store.com/po...edpartno=02660

Give the scratch a good clean out and roughen the scratch with some gritted paper. De-grease with a little thinners/acetone and follow the simple instructions to mix and just fill the scratch. A tip is to use a couple of layers of cello tape around the scratch so that when you've filled it, the filler sits proud of the hull so that it can be sanded back when it's gone off hard.

It's well worth building a little kit of care items to be used on the RIB, these are pretty important to keep your boat in tip top condition.

You'll save yourself a fortune and learn lots about how boats are made by DIYing it.

I'm not sure he'll save that much, he doesn't sound like he's Mr DIY so probably needs to go any buy a couple of packs of sandpaper (different grades), and some thinners, and the "filler", possibly even a roll of selotape and a sanding block, then I guess we might be into the realms of "polishing" to gt a nice finish when its all sanded back ... yes he might use them again if he scratches it again, but if he's not a DIY guy, or not a "neat detail person" then it might be better with someone who is.

I'm sure someone local can suggest either a realistically priced boat yard or a mobile GRP repair guy.

[Merlinblade]

[quote=Hightower;367952] Have you got a white hull? If so read on.

The boat is an Avon Searider with an orange hull; I think that means it needs some pimented gel coat filler? Starts to get complicated?

[Merlinblade]

[quote=Polwart;367961] I'm not sure he'll save that much, he doesn't sound like he's Mr DIY

You got that right!! Good with electronics but not the rubbing down and sanding stuff . So; if anyone does know a local boat yard that can be trusted, that would be great!

Thought some pictures might help and; now I think of it.... I could use any boat yard within, say, an hours drive with the trailer. So that puts North Wales down to Anglesey in the frame.... Any thoughts?

[RIBRyda]

Sorry we're in the wrong place to be of any help with this one but just thought I'd add a word of caution for others who may be similarly affected... (not necessarily relevant to this particular incident, you understand!)

We recently had a boat come back to us for a gelcoat repair to a "nasty scratch" on the underside of the hull; that's exactly what it looked like. It was only on further investigation that it was found that the "scratch" had actually caused a minor crack to develop in the hull of the boat; when we cut out the damaged part for a proper repair, it was then discovered that in the impact some fairly serious damage had also been done to the fuel tank, and one of the main structural bulkheads had been fractured internally.

Total repair bill for the "scratch" - nearly £9000. OK - so this was on a commercial boat which had suffered a serious impact, but the moral is - don't always go on first appearances - damage can be caused elsewhere even if you can't see it, and we've all seen the other thread about fires and petrol fumes......

Please guys - be safe...

[Merlinblade]

Good Point... it's what you can't see that usually comes and bites on the B_m! On this occassion the damamge was caused by bad handling of the boat recovery (self inflicted wound) rather than an impact as such; but still caution noted!

Still need to get it fixed....

[yoyo]

Originally Posted by Merlinblade

I could use any boat yard within, say, an hours drive with the trailer. So that puts North Wales down to Anglesey in the frame.... Any thoughts?

Try Tim and Jason @ Menai Marine Caernarfon. Great blokes who make ribs and have made many repairs to boat hulls.

01286 677445.

http://menaimarine.biz/

[Merlinblade]

Thanks for that YOYO; I thought that there had to be someone down that way who would be good with repairs so I'll keep them in mind if I can't find anything a bit closer.

In the mean time I've also got a lead on someone based in Nantwich who I'll track down and have a conversation with. I'll let everyone know how it goes

[Hightower]

Fair enough if you don't have any DIY ability at all, then it's best to leave it to the professionals. But IMHO maintaining a RIB yourself is very rewarding and all part of the experience

Hope you get it sorted.

[Merlinblade]

Thanks Andy; appreciate your input and no doubt I'll give the DIY a go if I keep on being crap at launch and recovery! Took the boat over to a yard near Nantwich this evening so we'll see how it goes...

Cheers

[Smagu]

Sorry to try and revive this thread but was getting some great advice. So it seems my newly fitted rpm gauge was off.

I installed a new one and got a digital tacho which enabled me to calibrate it at various settings up to 3000rpm after this the gauge struggled to pick up rpm.

So maxing out the boat with the current prop I can get 34mph with 2 people and 60l fuel. Sitting at about 5200 rpm.

I am debating getting this 4 blade

https://www.specialistsmallcraft.co.uk/products/13-x-17-k-polastorm-4-1-4-gearcase?variant=31721810428002&currency=GBP&utm_m edium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=s ag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&utm_campaign=g s-2020-02-04&utm_source=google&utm_medium=smart_campaign&gcl id=CjwKCAjw9qiTBhBbEiwAp-GE0cFAfDEdKkjGqLOQMlLveiLVMl0Wm9Jj_mZhJWvikzDg1osy XiShFxoCtFYQAvD_BwE

[paintman]

You're resurrecting a 12 year old thread about damage to GRP hulls to ask a question about prop selection?

[Smagu]

I must have had 2 ribnet pages open at the same time. Is there a way to delete it?

[paintman]

Think that would have to be one of the Mods/Admins