Fiberglass repair

[JoeT88]

My sailboat has a 6 inch crack underneath the Barney Post and one side of the crack is 1/2 inch higher than the other. In addition, when I removed the screws from the posts, all the wood underneath rotted away, so now I have a few holes I need to repair that will hold screws. The screw holes are 3/4 in diamater.

I've been reviewing fiberglass repair on line but my question is how to I fill the holes with no access underneath and do I need to have the crack level before I fill it in? Also with a gap that wide, is expoxy the recommended filler?

I'm a pretty handy guy but have no experience with stuff like this.

Thanks for your assistance.
Joe

[Carteret]

Good Afternoon Joe,

Epoxy is the material of choice. This company has been around a good while and has good support publications.

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/

[PAR]

Joe, you have some damage there, possably because of moisture gain in the wood below. Filling the holes with thickened epoxy will not solve your problems, which are two fold.

The wood has to come out, because you can rest assured the rot you see is just the tip of the iceberg. This generally means you have to cut out the area, dig out the wood, replace the wood, then bond the deck patch back down.

I can't see enough of what's going on with that photo, but it appears to be the aft end of a centerboard case and the "king post" has split, rotted, etc. It also appears you have a hollow hull, by this I mean there's a hull shell and a deck cap that's joined at the rail and forms the interior of the boat. It's very possible you have moisture between the shell and the cap (a common issue).

The repair can be made locally, though this will just address the king post and the hardware mounting holes. Conversely, you can remove the deck cap and have a look see for what else is about to "explode" from moisture gain.

What year, make and model boat is this and do you have other photos showing more of the boat?

[JoeT88]

Thanks for all the replies. Here is some additional pictures of the damaged area and the post. My boat is a 1975 Coronado 15. The post only controls the main with no winch.

Here is my plan, since I have no access to underneath the boat. Fill in the cracks with epoxy and fiberglass over. For the holes. Put backers in place, fill the holes and fiberglass over. Then drill in stainless steel anchors to put the post back in place. I think that will be strong enough to hold the post.

I'm thinking about cutting in a few hatches to gain access to underneath the boat, but I'm hesitant to do that. As far as separating the hull from the deck, I'm not prepared to do that.

PAR, I'm not dismissing your reply, I'm just thinking how I can get my boat back int the water and then in the off season, see about gaining access to underneath the boat.

Thanks for eveyone's replies. I really appreciate it. Does this seem like a viable solution?
Thanks
Joe