up my sleeve i keep a 10' santiam drifter for those places a normal sized drift boat isn't feasible and has paid off handsomely on many occasions.. i've developed quite a crack in the floor of the boat(not the bottom, the structure itself is fine), it's right where i have my feet when i'm on the oars, water gets caught between the floor and the bottom, it's annoying as all hell, and i want to make repairs..i've seen the fiberglass repair kits in boater's world and that seems like the way to go..the floor is currently a gray color with what i guess i'll call paint speckles, but i really don't care a whole lot how it looks, i just don't want that crack in the floor to catch my boot every time i slide over a rock and to prevent water from getting between the floor and the bottom..will that repair kit do the job on that crack? it's a V shape. i want it to hold up to the flex of the bottom since i use this boat exclusively for skinny-ass water and rubbing the bottom is the norm. also, does anyone know anything about santiam drifters? who built them, where, are they still in business, etc??

Go down to Fiberlay and talk to them.
http://www.fiberlay.com/
They have everything you need and will tell you how to use the resins that will stick the best for your application. You might even take the boat down and let them see the crack.

philpac33,

I'm not sure if the kit will work. If the boat is a production model and not someone's garage built, the fiberglass resin was probably polyester. The paint you're seeing is probably gel coat. You'll want to take the gel coat completely off of the fiberglass, maybe a few inches either side of the crack. Make sure you have a rough surface (used coarse grit sandpaper) and clean the area well with alcohol. Fiberlay, I'm sure has the mat and roving, the polyester, the catalyst and the gel coat. A rule of thumb is one ounce of resin per ounce of roving cloth. If you're using a 24oz cloth, 24 ounces of resin should cover one square foot, if you're using more, the glass will be brittle and and crack, if you use too little, the mat and roving will not have absorbed enough resin to utilize it's structural properties. If I remember right, it was a 5% mix of catalyst to resin, then if it begins to kick off, add a little acetone (small amount) to help keep it thin. Usually, for structure, you want to stagger and layer the laminate to allow for pliability and strength. If it's just cosmetic, you could probably get away with just a layer of mat, then roving, then mat without the stagger/layering. Cover it with a layer of gel coat to protect it from UV or water damage. These chemicals are all pretty caustic, so it's a great idea to wear a respirator and use gloves. Who knows what the cost of all that will be though, may be cheaper to just hire them to repair it.

I know a guy who can fix your boat. Send me a PM with your contact info and I'll get you in touch with him.

Most likely you are dealing with Poly resin, not epoxy resin.

first off, polyester is a casting resin so it's fine for making a casting such as a boat hull
epoxy is a adhesive that also acts as a casting resin but will actually stick on a molecular level to whatever you may be sticking to

to fix your crack: find a old fashioned juice can type can opener
the one shaped like a triangle point or something similar
gouge out the crack so that there is a v shaped valley down the length
then drill a 1/8 -1/4 hole at both ends of the valley that you gouged out to stop the crack from elongating
put blue painters tape on the outside of the hull to keep epoxy from running out
mix up your epoxy and give it all a coat then stir some high density filler into the remaining epoxy and fill the valley up
let dry and voila
west systems brand epoxy is availabe pretty much at most marina's and is a good brand and the filler is from them also
if you can't find it locally the internet has plenty

using polyester to fix polyester is not the correct way to make it last

Fuzzygrub has it dialed, fairly cheap, easy, and a reliable repair you can do yourself.
You can never have too much West Systems laying around!

Take your boat with you if you go to Fiberlay.

According to fiberlay, opinions may vary, you dont have to take all the gelcoat off, since gelcoat is the same resin with the addition of a small amount parafin for a good surface cure. Marine stores charge more.
Fiberlay has pints qts and gallons. Get the hardener with the cone tip and get the small plastic shot glasses and measure is by the drop.

they also have all kinds of materials. I dont think you need woven roving for a crack. They have a combination matt and cloth back that is smooth. But im confused if the crack is in the hull or a subfloor. If its the hull, you should turn it over and put a layer on the bottom. Again you dont have to go through the entire gelcoat. Gelcoat is very expensive, but they have a shelf with quarts of gelcoat in various colors that did not match there in house project. Those are 25

Now consider the environment

not outside.
Cold weather requires heat lamps to kick it.
cant be raining
sanding dust all over the garage?
sanding blocks, sand papter, grinders, belt or disk sanders
safety glasses
osha mask 26-29 dollars
latex gloves 7-8 dollars
STINK -use fan and ventilate for 12-24 hours
use wax for final coat, or it will sand gummy
Gelcoat is slick, you dont need it for water proofing, but it looks better.
Time
time
time
expect to spend 100 dollars in materials plus tools.
If you can get someone to do the job for less than 300 bucks let them do it.

If its subfloor, then get opinion for fiberglass putty to block the subfloor from flexing and moving. Hull needs to flex no matter what. Matt will be fine.

LMAO
for some folks spending $300 for a 1 hour $25 repair seems a bit wastefull especially when the $300 fixit dude has zero idea on how to fixit correctly
the greatest thing about the internet is that you have a extremely well stocked library at your fingertips and if any time was spent regarding how to fix a crack in a fiberglass boat using epoxy and its benefits over using polyester was actually researched?, my explaination of how to do it farm hand style would be a cut to the chase interpretation of literally thousands of hits
have fun regardless though
and i wouldn't worry about a respirator either unless you plan on sticking your nose in there
good luck

Philpac,
all though i could'nt tell u much about your crack, what i'd like to know is if you ever figured out that on-going problem with the oarlock situation, and if so what did you do to fix the problem? Up grade to a better product, or just not hammer on the sticks as much. Also maybe carry an extra one? Any ways when you gunna get ur ass down here so we can float some real metalhead streams? hit me up foolio. peace out----the beard

The problem with your hull is common to DB bottoms, it's starts with how they're made and the solution for a permanent fix is a little more involved than just filling the crack. The common method of building DB bottoms is to use multiple layers of 24 oz roving with no mat between them, this works for a while, but as the hull gets stressed over time (used in shallow water and flexing over or banging into rocks) these layers of roving tend to separate. layers of roving need to have mat used between them for a better bond and this step gets left out to make them lighter. As you start to grind out the damaged area you will find the area will be larger than you thought, it won't be confined to just what you can see from the surface. Water will also have filled this void, so you'll need to grind it out and dry it completely. To rebuild it you can use polyester or epoxy resin, epoxy is stronger, sticks better and will cost more. Polyester is what your boat is made from and it will work almost as well for this type of repair. For a repair with polyester resin you will need to use mat and roving, the mat needs to go down first and then used between each layer of roving, you don't need to use mat with epoxy just cloth and/or roving will work. Fill the area back up so it's level with the surround floor and then sand it smooth. It's not hard to do, shouldn't take very long and supplies aren't very hard to find, the only tool you need is a small grinder.

Just put some Duct Tape on it and your good