Devlin Mallard Repair

J

Joe Lane

Active member
I hit a submerged log this weekend and put a crack in the hull of my devlin Mallard, now I'm looking for repair suggestions.
The crack is 14"-18" long and is located about mid ship. There is no apparent cracking of the glass on the outside of the hull, inside the hull I chizelled a section of the crack down to the root and it appears the depth of crack is down to the bottom one or two plies. The hull is glassed on one side only, plywood is BS1088 okoume.
My initial repair plan is to chizel out the crack with a large v-groove, fill with epoxy/wood flour, and glass over crack. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Joe Lane
 
Joe,

You might want to consider laminating a piece of marine ply over the crack, after you have filled it with thickened epoxy. If you just fill and glass over it, you'll still have a weak spot in the hull.

I think I've got some 1/8" scrap left over from a kayak that you could have--if you don't mind waiting till the end of the month to pick it up at the boatbuilders gathering.

Rick
 
You could chop up some glass and mix it with the epoxy to fill the V..then give a layer or two of glass on top of that.
 
Rick,

I'm not sure that there would be a "weak" spot in the hull after the repair with thickened epoxy and glassing. Thickened epoxy with wood flour seems to be pretty tough stuff, after all the entire boat is held together with it. Hopefully someone else will chime in.

Thanks for the offer on the 1/8" scrap, I'll give a holler if I think I'll need it.

Joe
 
Hi Joe,
I think Rick's advise is more insurance than overkill. I believe the wood flour and epoxy are more about fairing out and sealing the depression left from the crack. Intuitively I would think you would get a little strength from the gluing action of the epoxy, more strength and further waterproofing from a layer or two of glass, and best structural strength from Rick's suggestion of a thin piece of wood laminated in place under the glass.

I would call Joel or Sam at Devlin (360) 790-0577 to find the best method of repair that isn't over-kill.
 
Great idea John. I think I'll take some pictures of the crack and email them to Joel at Devlin and see what his recommended repair method would be. I'll post there response.

Thanks

Joe
 
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