[Rhodes22-list] Bow Repair | NH

[ROGER PIHLAJA]

Bob,

To my eye, it looks like you have at least delamination of the gel coat from the underlying FRP substrate for several inches back from the impact area.  Is the port side similarly damaged?  I would expect you need to grind off the gel coat back from the impact area until you get to a crack free interface between the gel coat/FRP substrate.  Then, build it back up with epoxy, fiberglass cloth, and finish it off with paint.  A fiberglass expert may be able to tell quite a bit about the extent of the damaged area by tapping with a mallet and careful listening.  FRP does not bend and crumple like sheet metal in response to an impact.  Instead, it tends to fail by brittle fracture of the bonds between the strands of fiberglass and the polymer matrix and delamination between layers, much of which is hidden.  I guarantee you have a much bigger problem than your initial assessment.

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium 

Sent from my iPhone

> On Mar 13, 2022, at 7:13 PM, C. Robert Lester <C.Robert.Lester at dartmouth.edu> wrote:
> 
> I hope this pic makes it through of the damage.
> Thank you all,
> 
> Bob Lester
> ORION '84
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Rhodes22-list <rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org> On Behalf Of C. Robert Lester
> Sent: Thursday, March 10, 2022 3:24 PM
> To: rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org
> Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Bow Repair | NH
> 
> Hello, Recommendations please for repair.
> 
> At waterline on the "point" of the bow, our Rhodes collided into some shore, rocks in a storm.
> The damage was clear, once I pulled the boat out for winter storage.
> 
> 1st-spot is 1.5x1"
> 2nd- spot is half the size of the 1st spot.
> 
> Structurally the bow is sound.
> Is epoxy the best for repairing?
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> Bob Lester
> Sunapee,NH
> ORION '84
> 
> 
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