Cracked Fiberglass Shaft Log

[Salty87]

don't forget that one of the first steps is driveshaft removal, that can go smooth or take a weekend in itself. if all goes smoothly i think 2 weekends is probably a good estimate if you already know how to fiberglass. start by taking the shaft seal off. might see if the shaft wants to go easy or hard too.

as to what caused it, the prop strike might have. i suppose a handle could too. i could see it getting wedged between shaft and hull and causing some flexing.

the closeup looks pretty nasty. that's a really bad spot for a flimsy patch on a big problem...if it is big. still hard to say from here if a temp patch is possible. you're gonna need to open her up a bit before you can plan an attack. a crack is easy to fill but a crunched area is a bigger deal.

okie's on the road otherwise i'm sure he'd have seen this thread.

[Okie Boarder]

I didn't remove the drive shaft, just worked around it. It took, essentially two weekends, but it would be feasible to get it done in one I would think. If you could grind and clean the first day, then set the log in thickened epoxy, you could glass the next day and be done except for putting the interior back together.

I would definitely recommend tearing it out and redoing. You don't want to risk any water that seeped in between laminate layers. It isn't hard to do at all and you should be able to follow the thread I made up. If you have any questions, let me know.

[djm284]

Thanks all. Okie, your threads on supra and wb are great! Can't tell you how lucky I feel that its all there and documented. Much less intimidating to take on with all the detailed discussion and step by step pics.

I wasn't brave enough to go out in this weekend's heat in a painter's suit, so knocked out some other shade and indoor projects this weekend. Likely will start in 2 weeks and hopefully knock it out in a week. Will keep everyone posted on progress and I'm sure I'll run into some more questions along the way.

Thanks again.

-Dave

[djm284]

Hi all. Finally diving into this project this weekend. Checked alignment and everything looks good. Started chiping away at the cracked fiberglass with a screw driver and most directly on top of the log came off w/o too much effort. Going to grab some items from the store and hopefully start grinding tonight or tomorrow.

Okie, if you are still around, I have a quick quesiton for you...

How many layers of the woven roving and cloth did you put on there. Can't tell from the pictures on Wakeboarder.com if each pic is a new layer or if some are just different views (and I can't seem to view the pics on the supra thread anymore).

Thanks!

[Okie Boarder]

IIRC, I used 2-3 layers of each after I bedded the shaft log in place. I just went and looked through all my pictures and even looking at them is hard to tell for sure. Using 2-3 layers of each would be good.

[wiatowski]

Totally unrelated sorry but anyone know why I can't seethe pics? not just on this post but others as well. Anyone else experience this? It's hard to know what's going on with out seeing it. All I see is a grey box that says "attachments" in the upper right hand corner. but no pics. Help?

Sorry to high jack.

[djm284]

I get the same problem. Suspect after a certain period of time, they stop storing pics on the server. The post on WB is more extensive and Okie took a ton of great pics of the whole repair. here is the link: http://forums.wakeboarder.com/viewto...=asc&start=210

[djm284]

Thanks Okie. I went back through your pics late last night and looking at the size of the pieces I think I figured out the order. Another couple questions if you remember...

Can I begin laying the fiberglass over the log before the thickend epoxy that the log is sitting in is fully cured. If not, should I rough up the epoxy layer once cured, or can I still get a good chemical bond beteween the smooth epoxy and glass if I wet it out.

[wiatowski]

I get the same problem. Suspect after a certain period of time, they stop storing pics on the server. The post on WB is more extensive and Okie took a ton of great pics of the whole repair. here is the link: http://forums.wakeboarder.com/viewto...=asc&start=210

thank you!

[Okie Boarder]

Thanks Okie. I went back through your pics late last night and looking at the size of the pieces I think I figured out the order. Another couple questions if you remember...

Can I begin laying the fiberglass over the log before the thickend epoxy that the log is sitting in is fully cured. If not, should I rough up the epoxy layer once cured, or can I still get a good chemical bond beteween the smooth epoxy and glass if I wet it out.

Yes, that's actually a smart move...makes it easier to get a good mechanical and chemical bond from what I was told.