Fiberglass repair

[86supraproject]

Hello fellas, went out this weekend and had a very nice run. What has happend is that I changed out my wheels on my trailer and the tires were to wide and I removed the wood that protects the boat from the tires. Well bulling the boat up the ram the boat was setting a little off to one side and rubbes down into the fiberglass. I really cant tell if there is a hole there but it did do some damage. Can this just be repaired with the resin.

[Salty87]

it really depends on how much damage there is. can you see fiberglass strands? if the glass is damaged, you need to reinforce with more glass. although if it's just a little surface imperfection, you probably don't need to re-glass. you don't want any weak spots.

otherwise, i'd use marine tex. it's epoxy based and approved for below the waterline. it's more white than the off-white hull bottom. in that spot though, it should be fairly well hidden once you get the trailer back in shape.

i've got my fingers crossed for ya. marine tex is really easy to use, alot easier than fiberglassing.

[86supraproject]

It looked like it just broke thru the gel coat. Just would rather be safe than sorry. I think i could see the strands in a spot about 1 inch square but it didnt look like it disrupted them .

[Salty87]

from the sounds of it, i'd be surprised if you messed up the glass....unless your ramp is 5 miles long or you have a dragster towing it. i would imagine you'd see frayed ends and a rubber stain if it was bad but i dunno.

how big is the area showing glass? the whole area?

[86supraproject]

Its just about 1 inch square, I found some of the marine tex at a local marina and went and picked it up on my lunch break. I guess I pulled it 500 ft untill i could smell the rubber burning from the tire. Its probably ok just want to make shure I dont sink.

[Salty87]

you're prob fine.

with the marine tex...get a plastic spreader or squeegee. wet it in water and you can work the marine tex like wall spackling. work clean though, it dries really hard. this makes sanding MUCH easier. you don't want to leave any ridges or bumps.