Dinghy Fiberglass and Other Advice Please

[Merilintu]

Apologies in advance because it's not a Cape Dory dinghy, but there's so much knowledge on this board that I'm going to ask anyway:

I have a 1966 Dyer Midget that has been serving it's many owners well for almost 50 years. She is still bone dry, but has a lot of missing gelcoat(see attached photo). I've asked quite a few people locally and am getting widely ranging reports on the many gelcoat products available out there today. Most seem to think that with deep holes like this, even with proper preparation, the filled holes will likely quickly just pop out. I've never worked with fiberglass before, but I've watched some experts and it doesn't seem that hard. Am I wasting my time trying to tackle this? If you've had succes with a particular product, please advise!

I got a nice history of the boat from Dyer, and all parts are avaiable. The seats are shot, but new mahogany seats and supports from Dyer are $300+. Is there a reason I can't make my own out of 1x8 oak with a few good coats of varnish? All of the hardware is bronze. Is there a problem using stainless hardware with the original bronze "knees"(support brackets)?

I just hauled my 22D, and am needing something to keep me occupied until spring. There's
plenty to do, but I don't want to waste my time if it's not going to last. Any advice is welcome and appreciated!

[Paul D.]

Roger,

From the picture that looks like a very manageable and even fun project. As to your questions, I would certainly take on the restoration of this dinghy if it serves you well and you'd like to keep it going. I used to repair holes in old Sunfishes and this job looks pretty similar.

I can't tell from the picture the depth of the fiberglass holes. If about 1/4 inch or more, after wiping down with acetone and maybe grinding out a little if rough, I would do a primary fill with an epoxy and filler like a colloidal silica or microballoons. The West System has good directions for this sort of repair. If you plan to paint the bottom, I would just fill with epoxy, maybe in two sessions if some gouges are deep, and then sand down before painting. Prepping the rest of the bottom of course. If not painting you could use a gel coat product like an Evercoat patch over the epoxy fill and fair down.

On the seats, I would look for teak or another rot resistant hardwood. I love oak but it would be prone to decay if the varnish layer was broken, you could epoxy clear coat it all though too before varnishing I suppose.

I would replace the bronze screws with bronze if using in bronze fittings. Jamestown distributors or BoltDepot online would probably have what you need.

Have fun with this project,

[Merilintu]

Thanks for the prompt reply, Paul. On the vast majority of the boat, it seems to me that only the gelcoat is gone. Not sure how many layers of glass were used in 1966, but not many It's possible that the first layer is partially damaged, but it's by no means deep, and the boat does not leak a drop. There is one deep gouge on the transom that is probably almost 1/2 inch, but very small. And a friend told me to mix resin/hardener/filler to the consistency of toothpaste, fill the hole and sand smooth.

The boat has never been bottom painted, but sits in the water for 5 months a year now, so I plan on painting after the restoration. So you think I can just fill the areas with resin/hardener to the level of the surrounding gelcoat, sand smooth and paint, and it won't pop out/peel off later? I'll obviously try to prepare the area as well as I can so the epoxy has a clean surface to stick to.

Thanks for the advice on oak, also!

[Tom Keevil]

Our dinghy spends most of its life getting hauled up onto barnacle-encrusted rocky beaches, and the bottom gel coat takes a beating. Every year or two I wipe it with acetone, mix up some white Marinetex and fill the gouges. A light sanding smooths it all out. We don't paint the bottom, and the Marinetex is not a perfect match for the gel coat color, but it looks OK for an old dinghy that gets a lot of use, and the Marinetex stays put. This is a very easy job.

[Steve Laume]

I refinished a CD 14 with lots of dings and severe spider cracking throughout the gel coat.

You can certainly use colloidal silica filler for the deep gouges but you don't really need the strength it provides. For filling such minor scratches and gouges, West 407, low density filler, is much easier to fair and sand. Once I filled and faired all the damaged area, I gave the entire hull a coat of epoxy to bind up the spider cracks. I didn't gouge them out and was a bit concerned about weather they would open up again but they have remained invisible for many years now. Once the entire hull was coated, I then sanded it down and painted it. If your top sides are okay you might just epoxy to the waterline and buff out the topside gel coat.

I would not hesitate to use white oak for the seats. White oak is a traditional wooden boat building species. Red oak is not so good as it has open pores that will allow water to migrate into the end grain. White oak would be a good choice if you are going to keep things coated with a hard finish. Dinghies are pretty easy to maintain as you can take everything to a bench in the winter and finish all sides of the wood.

If you do decide to paint, plan on doing it every few years as dinghies take a beating. If you use Brightsides, do not paint below the water line as it will peel off when constantly exposed to water. I have no idea why a marine paint is formulated so as not to be able to withstand constant exposure to water but they warn you right on the can. I can personally verify that it will peel, as I sprayed one project without masking off the water line first. If you want to paint the entire boat and are not going to keep bottom paint on it then an epoxy paint would be a better choice.

Fixing up dinghies is great fun in a manageable sized project, Steve.

[Merilintu]

Thanks for the advise, all! I spent about an hour with an orbital sander on the center seat today, and I am shocked at how good it looks. I am going to pick up some Citrustrip at HD and see how that does on the stern seat. I also have some Marine Tex inbound from Amazon and will give that a 1st try to see how it performs.

This little dinghy is a workhorse, and sits and bangs around at our town dock all summer. So I'm in
protection mode more than appearance mode. But maybe with a little experimentation I can achieve both!

Thanks for all the ideas!