Hey Guys,

I inherited an old fiberglass driftboat that is missing half of one side- I've been given good insight on fiberglass patching and have started the grinding process.

Does anyone know of a good source for boat specific fiberglass repair info? Specifically the molding required for the side hull patch and the best way to recreate sturdy oar locks. Also some of the underlying seat wood is punky and will need to be replaced, perhaps with fiberglass fill.

Thanks, Mike

Mike,

I know a fellow located in Aberdeen who could take care of your fiberglass repair job.

Andy

PM me if you are interested.

Dogfish,

I'm planning on doing it myself to save money but I might need parts (oarlocks?), etc. All I have is the bare hull.

Later

West Marine or Boater's World.

Ive bought several sets of oarlocks on ebay. Does this boat have rolled gunnels or wood trim? Full length sliding seats? Once you glass in your side and tie back in your seats and re install your wood trim your strength should be back. What I would do is make a flat mold and pull out a flat sheet the same thickness as your other side and then glass it in. If you could post some pictures and give us a better idea of what your working with it would help.

Hoh#er,

You need to pay a visit to Don Ray on Gull Harbour Rd. NE Olympia. He knows boat repair. About a half amile past the Gull harbor store on the right at the flying red white and blue!

Thanks for the response guys, it'll be wood trimmed and I'll be taking digital pix during the process. More later, time to do some grinding right now!

Here's a picture of where I'm at so far:

Lazydrifter,

By making a flat mold and pulling out a flat sheet the same thickness as the other side, are you saying I wouldn't have to build the siding one (thin) sheet of glass fiber and resin at a time, doing it at once?

I plan on using side molding of thin plywood attached to the outside of the hull via small screws after CAREFULL alignment.

Not sure what to do about the seating wood on the replacement side, as the last 3-4" is pretty bad, as is the glassed in wood of the transom and centerline of the stern.

The bottom is in pretty good shape, although there are a few cracks that have some decay that will be ground down to solid material and reglassed.

I plan on putting trim on both sides of the gunnels and glassing it in after I find some good oarlocks...

Thanks for your input!