[Rhodes22-list] Fiberglass Failure at Motor Mount in Lazarette

[asnooch at aol.com]

David, over 10 years ago, I encounter a similar event of a much greater magnitude. My Rhodes is a 84 model.... at the time I had a 2 cycle Mercury 8 hp motor on the stern.... 4-6 foot sea returning from Block Island... sails reefed motor on.... and all of a sudden a tearing of the stern fibreglass , mount and all leaving the motor hanging by safety, and gasline... roaring away about to cut into rudder, etc... stopped engine, disconnected gas line, hooked topping lift to motor mount ... plastic sheet jury rig... over gaping exterior hole... bilge pump on, hand baling and we limped back to port. 

The repair.... noticed the extreme difference in the thickness of the stern glass when compared to almost anywhere on the ship. Well my particular ship was not "designed" to support such weight under such conditions.... well it was going to have to... 

I obtained at reasonable cost a suitable sheet of 1/4" aluminum and proceeded to match it to the stern's exterior.... having already repaired the fibreglass with interior /laz reinforcement... embedding strips of aluminum in that glass to act as backing plates. The reinforcement extended to the rudder and ladder mounts also... 

Over ten years of ocean voyages.... with no flexing , cracks, etc... placed zinc plates in various locations on the exterior of the aluminum... used epoxy based white paint that has covered the aluminum . 

Perhaps overkill... however, I'm over 70, and enjoy my sailing ... sometimes, eternities of boredom, however lacking that moment of sheer "terror".  Perhaps not so essential sailing in a pond, however I rarely wear brown pants .. 

I'll try to provide more details and photos if interested.... 

Burt
Golden Snooch
Southold, NY 11901



-----Original Message-----
From: David Craft <chsyhkr at gmail.com>
To: Rhodes List <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Sent: Mon, Jul 30, 2012 6:20 pm
Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Fiberglass Failure at Motor Mount in Lazarette


Well,

On a trip out Lockwood Folly inlet we encountered some nasty rollers at the
last channel marks   We took 4-5 waves for the last 50 yards, mostly head
on as as we had little time or room to maneuver.  This is a newly dredged
channel and a little unpredictable.

Upon returning to  Southport the next day I noticed the separation in the
lazarette of the fiberglass between the hull and reinforced area for the
motor mount.  Note the mount had been moved up due to a new longer shaft
motor.  You can still make out the 2 lower screw holes now filled in.  The
upper two holes are now the lower two holes in the new location.  The
outside of the transom is intact with no cracks or defects in the gel coat.

Proposed fix.  Quick set epoxy to hold the separation together.
Fiberglass mesh and adhesive over the the separation. New talller backer
board to come all the way down the bottom of the laz and bolted in using
the old holes as well as the upper holes where the mount current is.   That
would be 6 bolts in the 12" x 18" board.

Thoughts?


-- 
Regards,

David B. Craft
Greensboro, NC
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