Tips on fixing a snaped hull please... this is a tough one!

[lorne.elleby]

Ive posted this in general gassing to draw as much knowledge as i can from fellow PHeaders.

got given a a 10 ft x 6 ft ish catamaran, its an ex sailing one (had a mast... its broken) not really bothered about the mast, was going to bolt on an 10hp outboard.





The main problem i have is the hull has snapped, the whole front clean off
(excuse the child like drawing, its the best i could do)

The outer skin of the hull is made from the same material as you avarage drain pipe..... polythene i think (recorect me if im wrong), and the inner material is like some sort of hard foam, looks like a middle of a crunchie chocolate bar.

I have no idea what im doing and need some advice, there has got to be a cheap way of fixing it.

I would be gratefull of ant tips given.

Thanks Lorne

[AndrewW-G]

make a jig to hold it in position, rub down, remove some of the inner foam and bond a Carbon / Kevlar cloth lip into one end , bond other end over the top and add more material on the outside, drill hole and pour two part foam into the gap, bond over hole

A decent yacht chandlers will have all the bits you need and if your not up to it will recomend somebody adept at fixing em

[DJFish]

You can bond plastic boats with glass and resin but it'll never be as strong, you'll probably need to glass screw some longitudinal battens to it then glass the lot in.

[chimera40]

Personally I would be more concerned about the car, how the hell is that little thing still running. The fact it can support the weight of the busted boat on its roof is a bit of a miracle.

[lorne.elleby]

is a shed i know, havent a clue whos it is, not mine just the delivery man!

[Sam_68]

DJFish said:

You can bond plastic boats with glass and resin but it'll never be as strong...

If it's a polythene hull, I think the OP might be onto a bit of a loser, TBH. Polyester resin (the normal stuff that's used for glassfibre) will melt it, and epxy resin (the expensive stuff, usually used with carbon) doesn't bond to it terribly well.

[GreenV8S]

You haven't said, but given all the damage I guess you are looking for something that floats rather than good as new. If it's a solid core hull then I suppose it doesn't need to be waterproof and even quite crude repairs might get you back on the water. From the look of it, it only has to cope with a little bit of bending plus being heaved in and out of the water. If there's a tough outer skin I'm thinking in terms of pop-riveting and bonding a sheet of something similar around the break to produce a mechanically strong join, and then a bit of cosmetic painting and sealing to keep the worst of the water out. If that's acceptable, it would probably be a lot easier than trying to glue the two broken parts together with fiberglass etc.

[DaveL485]

JB Weld. I stick engine blocks back together with it

Google the stuff.

[paintman]

If its the shiny poly type stuff I think you're going to find it very difficult to repair.
I was discussing this with a friend of mine who owns a windsurfing school. They also hire out surf skis (sit on & paddle things). The latest ones he bought are made of this stuff & he has found damage impossible to repair. Nothing will stick to it for long & even the plastic welding gun he uses (one of the proper ones) won't do it.
Another friend works for a sailing school & they have some dinghys made out of the stuff. Very forgiving for minor collisions, but when cracked they replace them for the same reason.

ETA If anyone does successfully repair this stuff I would be most interested in passing it on to the above friends!

Edited by paintman on Sunday 23 August 19:54