1990 How to fix tristar hull damage

[Ski 42]

Hello,my first post. Just bought Tristar for a family ski boat,boat has
a crack at front-bottom of hull(hit trailor) which takes in a bit of water.
Can I just fix it from outside of hull, or is there a way that you can
get at it from the inside. It is a bow-rider.

[Bongo]

Sorry, don't have that same boat.


However, I will tell you that you need to fix it from the inside. Lay many new layers of fiberglass on an area broader than you think needs the repair. Once these have fully cured, address the outside of the boat.

If you are only doing the outside, you'll keep addressing the symptom over and over.

BTW, if you haven't done fiberglass - it is pretty straightforward and easy. Just make sure you don't get too much hardener in the mix so that the resin gets stiff too quickly.

Good Luck.

Bongo

[erkoehler]

Welcome to the board!

[DanC]

Welcome :toast:
If you have a crack in the bow, below the water line, and it is leaking water, then you have some level of water intrusion into the fiberglass layers. You will need to tear down to these layers and also ensure they are completely dried out. Otherwise you will have reoccurring problems. I would strongly recommend a professional fiberglass shop if you are not VERY familiar with fiberglass repair. If that is not an option then do plenty of research. There are lots of resources on the internet. Also talk to folks at stores like West Marine. Good luck and congrats on your Tristar.

[erkoehler]

Did you buy it knowing it had a crack/leaked???

[rodltg2]

some duct tape should do the trick :D



j/k i would take dans advise.

[DanC]

some duct tape should do the trick :D



j/k i would take dans advise.

The Toolman would recommend 45 mph duct tape since 100 mph duct tape would be a waste of money :uglyhamme

[jimmer2880]

I once owned a supra that had a similiar problem at the Chine in the front. After having it patched - 4 years later, the patch fell out. DOH!

Glad I didn't own the boat anymore. Oddly enough - at the same time the patch fell out, so did the rudder. Box & all! :eek3:

So - my :twocents: is to find a shop that you KNOW does good work & have it fixed right. I went to a buddy who's done a lot of glass/gel coat work. Apparantly - that wasn't good enough.

[jsonova99]

I did a repair in this same area, but mine was only from rubbing on the roller that had worn through. (Previous owner never replaced it for some reason. Anyway, I sanded mine down pretty good and only applied fiberglass to the outside since it wasn't a structural problem. Was this the correct course of action? Seems to hold fine. Not the prettiest thing, and I do plan to have a professional shop clean it up for me down the road.

[T Scott]

Hello,my first post. Just bought Tristar for a family ski boat,boat has
a crack at front-bottom of hull(hit trailor) which takes in a bit of water.
Can I just fix it from outside of hull, or is there a way that you can
get at it from the inside. It is a bow-rider.

My two cents is that it dosen't sound as terrible of a problem as it may seem. Structurally, I think it would be hard to crack the hull all the way through as to allow water intrusion from that spot. Don't confuse normal water in the bilge (1 inch or so after normal running) This "Leak" may be a poor packing around your prop shaft. You might have a simple gel coat crack which in itself would not allow water into the hull of the boat. A picture would help out a bunch here.

[Ski 42]

Water is getting inside, after I take the boat out of the water it drips out
of crack for about an hour.

[DanC]

Water is getting inside, after I take the boat out of the water it drips out
of crack for about an hour.

:eek: ouch, my condolences