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Blue Wing

Dave Hussey

Member III
This is a picture of my E27 a couple of years before I bought her. She was berthed on Lake Union in Seattle. Seems she has an entourage' :egrin:
 

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Dave Hussey

Member III
E27 Traveler cabin top mounting woes

I recently removed the traveler bridge for sand blasting and powder coating, and to rebed the 8 bolts that fasten through the cabin top. As you can see in these pictures, cracks have formed around the holes where the bolts go through. The roof is void of core material here, and only small washers backed up the nuts against the roof fiberglass laminate.
I thought of making a thick epoxy paste and forcing it up (or down) into the void so I could 'through-bolt' the installation.
Alternatively, I've considered cutting rectangular sections out of the ceiling liner and replacing it with SS backing plates up against the inside of the roof and through-bolting, then finishing the holes with teak panels, or something cosmetic. (dome lights?)
Has anyone peformed similar surgery on their Ericsons? I would be very appreciative of any and all suggestions and advice.
Thanks,
Dave Hussey
Blue Wing E27
 

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chaco

Member III
First go to your local Marine Supplier and BUY a copy of "West System
Fiberglass Boat Repair". This manual will guide you through the crack
repair. Also pick up the FREE "West System User Manual".
Now you are ready for ANYTHING !
This looks like a grind-off and patch. You will be able to build it up with
a couple layers of Epoxy/406 Filler and Glass Fabric. Then you will bed the
traveler down with Epoxy/404 Filler. All these products are available at
Industrial Fiberglass Suppliers under different names at 1/2 the price !
Just use the books as reference. I am glassing in Engine Stringers for a new
Beta 902 and have had good luck using West Systems as a guideline.
The INDISPENSIBLE Tool for fiberglass boat owners is the Mini-Angle Grinder
Don't leave home without it....or get ready to pay BIG BUCKS at the Yard !
 

Mike Thomas

Member II
E27 Traveler cabin top mounting woes

Dave,

Before you go nuts with the grinder....

Are the cracks in the gel coat only or down to the glass?
Is that the stock location for the traveler on the 27 or a modification?
When you say "The roof is void of core material here" do you mean that it rotted away or was never there?

All of these are important questions because if the 27 was not engineered to have the traveler on the cabin top then you may want to consider putting it back where it belongs. The main sail traveler is a pretty serious load to just place anywhere on the boat that looks good! Especially if that location has no core material or reinforcements that were engineered to handle that load. Like over-tightening your standing rigging, a traveler located in the wrong place can cause your deck (or entire hull) to flex in ways that it was not designed to. If that is where it is supposed to go (or that's where you want it anyway) I would suggest that you remove the liner from the inside to gain access to the void between the liner and deck. Once that area is open I would epoxy in large pieces of marine plywood building up to a thickness to fill the void. Then epoxy the liner piece (if it's a hard liner) back in place. This accomplishes a couple of things. Oversized plywood backing will spread the load over the deck and any deck flexing that does occur under load will not be concentrated on a couple of washers. Also when you work from the inside the boat any cutting and patching that you do will be in the cabin and hidden over head as opposed to on the deck for all to see. You will have a better chance to fixes those deck cracks by grinding with a Dremmel and making a small cosmetic repair with gel coat.

All that being said, Chaco is 100% correct on the West System manuals. You may even be able to download them from the West System web site. There are also other epoxy companies out there like MAS, System Three and Progressive Epoxy Polymers on line at www.epoxyproducts.com. I’m not affiliated with any one of these companies. You can also find stuff on E-bay, search for “marine epoxy”

Needless to say. Find a good source that you can afford. You will be addicted to the stuff once you work with it.

Good luck.

Mike T
 

Dave Hussey

Member III
fiberglass repair

Thanks guys,
I will look for those references. I am sure that the traveler on the roof on this E27 is the factory location. This boat was pretty heavily used, (I stop short of saying 'abused') judging by other bent or broken things I've discovered since buying her. (had to replace a cracked, bent boom, for example).

I look forward to the day I can just toss the dock lines off and go sailing!!!
Dave hussey
 

Mike Thomas

Member II
BlueWing

Dave,

Do you have access to the back? If so then push up on the crack and see if it flexes.

If you don’t have access then use a Dremmel (or similar) with a small tip and grind down in the crack until you get all of the crack ground out. Like a dentist would. If you go more than 1/2 way through the glass then you probably want to do a total cut out and re-glass because of the load.

Mike T
 
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