GPSguru Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 (edited) In my last catch report, I mentioned that one of the stern wobble rollers locked in the vertical position and took a decent chip out of the Gel coat on the top lifting / spray rail strake. The problem with the wobble roller was the wobble pivot bolt had rusted, which made the assembly very stiff. To fix this issue I have changed all 8 pivot bolts on the stern rollers to M10 Stainless Steel A4 bolts, washers, and nyloc nuts. I did this by jacking the boat from the transom keel which takes the weight off the rollers. On reassembly, I have plastered them in 'Fuchs Aqua 2' which is pretty much saltwater proof grease. This is to ensure that the pivots will be well lubricated, and also the grease will form a barrier to help prevent electrolysis of dissimilar metals. My son was going to do the Gel coat repair as, although he is now a government HGV inspector / AI, his actual profession is vehicle body repairs, and he is apprentice served with 20 years experience as a painter. However, he managed to catch this nasty cold bug that is flying around here, and it put him in bed for almost a week, but he is OK again now. So, using his advice, I decided to tackle the job to take my mind off the forthcoming eye surgery ! The advice was, A) Carefully grind the chip edges to at least 45 degrees. Degrease with acetone B) Mask off the area and fill in the chip with multiple layers of Gel coat, using acetone to degrease before each layer, and force the layers to harden quicker with a hair dryer. C) Sand down to the correct shape with 100 grit wet / dry. D) Fashion the final shape with 320 grit, and then carefully finish with 400, 600, 800, and 1500 grit. E) Final rub with Farecla G3 cutting paste and then a final shine with either hard Diamond wax or Mer. and the final words were, F) If you fcuk it up, then I will come and fix it properly when I am better ! Here is the chip, The Tool I use a lot - Blue Point (Snap-On) air die grinder The finished result. The top of the picture is a reflection of the tarmac drive and airline on the polished hull. Edited October 13, 2021 by GPSguru Geoff, Dicky, Andy135 and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy135 Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 A seamless repair. Very nicely done and thanks for sharing the process 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saintly Fish Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 Not bad👍🏻 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike farrants Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 better than before the dink! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 (edited) Impressed. I always use too much filler and the colour never matches. Edited October 13, 2021 by mick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPSguru Posted October 13, 2021 Author Share Posted October 13, 2021 5 hours ago, mick said: Impressed. I always use too much filler and the colour never matches. Mask off just a small area around the chip with the blue masking tape, and then fill the chip. 👍 white is easiest, probably followed by international orange. Other colours can be a nightmare to get right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 (edited) 10 hours ago, GPSguru said: Mask off just a small area around the chip with the blue masking tape, and then fill the chip. 👍 white is easiest, probably followed by international orange. Other colours can be a nightmare to get right. All our boats have been offwhite, pain in the arse ,now have XS in orange Edited October 14, 2021 by mick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captin slows old outlaw Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 nice job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPSguru Posted October 14, 2021 Author Share Posted October 14, 2021 3 hours ago, mick said: All our boats have been offwhite, pain in the arse ,now have XS in orange The orange should be ‘International Orange’ and is a colour used by most RIB builders as it is a ‘standard’ for rescue boats. mick 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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