Want an advise on what to do here? Structural or cosmetic?

[Dodi5]

I had a small incident that thanks Go’s it ended up this way but I need advise on what to do , the rudder looks a bit twisted and is scratched from the bottom and the bottom of the boat hull is scratched and a bit if the rudder housing is dinged. I have the spectrum kit to do it with but is that enough .

 

[Dixemon]

I'm no expert, but my .02 is that it be repaired by a professional. Appears you may have more structural damage to that fiberglass than is seen in the immediate area. Definitely not going to be a spectrum kit repair if it were my boat. As far as the rudder goes, I would think any competent machine shop, body shop, marine repair facility should be able to get it back in shape fairly easy. Even if its cracked it's easily weldable and straightened. So what's the backstory again?

 

[BigN8]

Yep. Let a good fiberglass gel coat guy fix that. I’m betting it’ll be about $750

 

[Dodi5]

Yep. Let a good fiberglass gel coat guy fix that. I’m betting it’ll be about $750

You think it’s structural , cause if I can do it , it doesn’t need to look perfect

 

[Beachbummer]

Do you have a winter? If not and you are eager to not part for a few weeks with the boat, or pay triple digits for the repair I'd be temped to repair with a dark epoxy like PC-7 for a few bucks, just to keep the boat running. Worst case you hate it and pay to have it fixed after.

It's an area seldom seen by the naked eye, but we all have different tolerances for less than perfect finishes on our boats. Only you can tell for certain, but I would not hesitate.

PC-7 16 oz. Paste Epoxy

 

[Dodi5]

Do you have a winter? If not and you are eager to not part for a few weeks with the boat, or pay triple digits for the repair I'd be temped to repair with a dark epoxy like PC-7 for a few bucks, just to keep the boat running. Worst case you hate it and pay to have it fixed after.

It's an area seldom seen by the naked eye, but we all have different tolerances for less than perfect finishes on our boats. Only you can tell for certain, but I would not hesitate.

PC-7 16 oz. Paste Epoxy

I was going to attempt to fix with the matching gel coat kit from spectrum , is that the same thing?

 

[swatski]

I'm no expert, but my .02 is that it be repaired by a professional. Appears you may have more structural damage to that fiberglass than is seen in the immediate area. Definitely not going to be a spectrum kit repair if it were my boat. As far as the rudder goes, I would think any competent machine shop, body shop, marine repair facility should be able to get it back in shape fairly easy. Even if its cracked it's easily weldable and straightened. So what's the backstory again?

I agree on taking it to a shop, Yamaha FRP is not a trivial repair especially in that spot with the shape of the AK. (articulating keel)
As far as the rudder, that will need to be replaced, they are made of some funky alloy and most definitely not weldable. I do not believe those are very expensive though and replacing them is doable - someone here posted on it.

 

[Beachbummer]

I think the damage is quite large for a single spectrum kit, but I could be wrong.

 

[zipper]

We learn from our mistakes. Because of the location and the fact that the gelcoat is gone and you are down to bare FRP, I would let a professional do it on such a new boat. Don't get that fiberglass wet. The repair needs to build up layers to sand down with the gelcoat repair and the proximity of the AK drain plug fitting will make the job more difficult, it will need to be removed to do the job properly. I can't see the bend in the rudder, I can see it is out of alignment, but I cannot tell if it is the rudder, the hinge or the AK base (drain plug) fitting that is damaged from the pictures.

 

[Dodi5]

I think the damage is quite large for a single spectrum kit, but I could be wrong.

Is it the same material you’ve sent me or are they different, thanks

 

[Beachbummer]

PC-7 is an all purpose epoxy that will dry a different color than your hull and perhaps might look "amateurish" once dried depending on your skill with finishes. (How do you do with cake frostings? and small sculpting?)

Spectrum is the color match kit sold by yamaha. It's intended to fill small nicks and holes. and contains 2 Ounces of material. The color will be an extremely close match.

Because the damage is relatively large and and curved in areas, it will be challenging to get a "perfect looking" repair on your own, but you might get a functional repair with either if you are lucky.

 

[Dodi5]

PC-7 is an all purpose epoxy that will dry a different color than your hull and perhaps might look "amateurish" once dried depending on your skill with finishes. (How do you do with cake frostings? and small sculpting?)

Spectrum is the color match kit sold by yamaha. It's intended to fill small nicks and holes. and contains 2 Ounces of material. The color will be an extremely close match.

Because the damage is relatively large and and curved in areas, it will be challenging to get a "perfect looking" repair on your own, but you might get a functional repair with either if you are lucky.

I’m really looking for a functional repair, is the spectrum kit an epoxy also?

 

[haknslash]

I would for sure let a competent shop inspect and likely repair that.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

The rudder needs to come off to fully survey possible damage/cracks behind it and to properly grind the entire area in prep for gelcoat repair.

 

[zipper]

My only concern is the location. The cracked and chipped gelcoat that meets the AK drain plug fitting and goes behind it, needs to be repaired also or the repair will not keep water from reaching the FRP and the patch will fail. It is not as simple as applying/sanding gelcoat to look good.

 

[Beachbummer]

I’m really looking for a functional repair, is the spectrum kit an epoxy also?

I don't know what it is, other than it's supposed to be the same stuff the rest of the boat coating the boat is made from.

 

[Bluewater272]

I would be cautious about just doing a cosmetic repair. An impact to the rudder hard enough to bend it may have also damaged the through bolts into the bilge. Take a look through the cleanout port to see what the rudder mounting hardware looks like. If you just cover the outside with gelcoat (insufficient IMO) or epoxy (will likely look terrible), but miss any unseen damage to the rudder mounts, you're in for a world of hurt if that breaks loose at speed.

This will not be inexpensive if done correctly, the rudder and hardware are about a grand all on their own.

 

[haknslash]

Depending on your insurance deductible this may be worth starting a claim.

 

[Dodi5]

I would be cautious about just doing a cosmetic repair. An impact to the rudder hard enough to bend it may have also damaged the through bolts into the bilge. Take a look through the cleanout port to see what the rudder mounting hardware looks like. If you just cover the outside with gelcoat (insufficient IMO) or epoxy (will likely look terrible), but miss any unseen damage to the rudder mounts, you're in for a world of hurt if that breaks loose at speed.

This will not be inexpensive if done correctly, the rudder and hardware are about a grand all on their own.

The rudder isn’t crazy bent it’s just very very slightly it’s rashed from the bottom though . I found a shop to do it and said they have to remove the rudder and the piece that holds the rudder and redo that area again , file the rudder and get it back in shape. Just FYI when that happened I did spend the day in the water and nothing out of the norm happened just trying to calm my self here ?

 

[tdonoughue]

A calm self is a good self. Full points for that.

I will join the others: this should be one for a pro. Why? All of what everyone said about getting to glass, difficult spot, the fittings and what is underneath--all perfectly valid. However, what @Murf'n'surf mentioned bears some emphasis: in order to repair this, the glass needs to be ground down to good, un-touched glass. That grinding may mean that you are all the way through the hull there. Then you need to back-lay with glass and epoxy in order to have a structurally sound repair. These hulls are very thin. Last time I had something that looked like that, they had to grind all the way through to get to un-cracked glass.

And you don't want to just slap something over bad glass. Why? The gelcoat is brittle. If it flexes too much, it will pop off and crack and do all sorts of nastiness. And you are getting into the structure. Be mindful that Yamaha uses very, very little wood in their hulls--and not much aluminum at all. So all there is there is the glass. Significant impact on the integrity in one spot can spread...

Now, we may be all wet (so to speak) and it may not be all the way through. Only way to know for sure is to grind that puppy up. And for that location and size, I would let a pro do that (lest you go too far and make an oops into an OOPS).