Fixing a large hole in my ferro boat. Need advise!!!

[Wake31]

I am about to pull my 45' ferro up on the weighs to fix a L shaped tear in the port side. What do you recommend I use as my mix? Portland V or portland III cement? I have the weighs for a week, then the boat has to be back in the water. I was told by the boat works that it was a benefit to cover the entire patch with epoxy and cloth. Do you recommend this? Will this ensure a water tight seal? How long after I repair her should I keep a damp towel on the patch? I will only be able to towel the inside as it will be in the water. What epoxy should I use as a bond between the new and old cement?
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[tunnels]

Originally Posted by Wake31

I am about to pull my 45' ferro up on the weighs to fix a L shaped tear in the port side. What do you recommend I use as my mix? Portland V or portland III cement? I have the weighs for a week, then the boat has to be back in the water. I was told by the boat works that it was a benefit to cover the entire patch with epoxy and cloth. Do you recommend this? Will this ensure a water tight seal? How long after I repair her should I keep a damp towel on the patch? I will only be able to towel the inside as it will be in the water. What epoxy should I use as a bond between the new and old cement?
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Go find a soldi concrete plaster and ask advice of joining cement new to old . Had a friend that carried Quick drying mix from hardware store with him during the trips round the pacific islands and hawaii. Had to use it a couple of times and never had leakage problems .

[Wake31]

Thanks for the info!! I think I have made up my mind but still don't know about covering the whole patch with epoxy and cloth. Does anyone have advise? Is this a good idea or not?
Thanks
Damon and the Someday Lady

[tunnels]

Originally Posted by Wake31

Thanks for the info!! I think I have made up my mind but still don't know about covering the whole patch with epoxy and cloth. Does anyone have advise? Is this a good idea or not?
Thanks
Damon and the Someday Lady

In a word no i dont think it is a good idea Is the rest of the boat glassed ?? There is epoxy cement and epoxy tar . The inside needs the be completely exsposed and have no coatings or sealers what so ever , It need to breath !!!All the older boats i have seen over the years if there was a coating inside the outside had problems of peeling and blistering , clean off the insdie and the problem went away . !!

[PAR]

An epoxy and 'glass patch on the exterior is standard practice on ferro hulls. Where's Darr Palmer when you need him (oh damn, did I actually say that). I've seen ferro repaired on numerous occasions, but I only trust one repair technique, which was suggested to me by Jay Benford, who would certainly know.

The technique is actually fairly simple, the repair area is opened up on the inside of the hull and exposing the wire mesh. This lets you see the real amount of damage that's occurred, not just the external cracking. Next, the wire and crumbled up concrete is removed, which isn't an easy task, but tin snips and a chisel work well for this. Once the repair area is chiseled back to solid hull all around, new wire is tied to the old stuff making up to a similar density, then a moderately wet mixture is packed in. It's "packed", pushed and mashed hard into the wire mesh to unsure it's got contact with both the old and new wire, then of course troweled smooth. As to which concrete mix to employ, Jay's book on ferro construction would be a good source for this information. I'd be very surprised if a "concrete" guy could offer the best information, as without experience in the technique (ferro hulls) he wouldn't have a clue, so he'd be guessing. Lastly on the outside of the hull, you'll want to open the cracks (after the internal patch is well cured) with a grinder, fill them with thickened epoxy and most cover the area with a light 'glass cloth to fair and seal it in. The inside of the hull is left exposed, covered with a ceiling, what ever is their owner's choice.

[rberrey]

As portland will expand or contract with a 15 degree temp change I sugest you ask a concrete guy for material sugestions, as there have been alot of advances in concrete patch material over the years. A cheep non shrink grout like Bonsal F77 with a bonding agent in the mix might be an option. Epoxy injection might also be an option without chippinp out chunks of your hull. Prepping the area for this type concrete patch would be as PAR states above, having patched more sq ft of concrete than I care to remember I can tell you except on bridge work which is behind the times portland is no longer an exceptable patch material. rick

[PAR]

Naturally, an acrylic bonding agent is assumed, though epoxy injection sounds like a lot of epoxy, possibly an option, it wouldn't be my first approach.

[Wake31]

It has been an adventure, from the tug around the Cape to the weighs, to more damage than I expected, to fixing her!!

We had it up on dry dock for 11 days, going way over budget and having to repair way more than expected! Also the weather snapped the moment it was up and we had record cold here on the West Coast! With everything against us we were able to repair her large hole in her port side, her beaver tail and install her rudder! Also fixing a bunch of dents in the port side of her keel!! Do to the time and cold the only thing I was not able to get done was grinding her keel and beaver tail patch flush! But we are going to give her until Oct to cure up under water and then pull her out for some more TLC! We plan on installing a large metal shoe under 2/3 of her keel. Due to her going up on the beach 3 years ago she has a few dent and dings which this should fix!! Check out the blog we have posted covering her repairs!!! This is the first step in restoring the Someday Lady!!!
http://somedaylady.wordpress.com/

[cthippo]

Awesome blog, Wake. Thanks for sharing!

Always nice to see an old boat rescued and returned to service.