Thanks Matt,

Well, I ended up having to grind the patch out and start all over. The
layers weren't bonded as well as they should have and by the time I got the
patch level there were holes all over. I've got a better idea how to do this
now, so it should go a lot quicker and a lot better.

There are 2 holes I have to patch, one is about 3 feet long by 5 inches wide
at the widest part, the other one is about 2 feet long and maybe 4 inches
wide at the widest part. This is just a standard production line Ranger 22
built sometime in the 70's.

The only part I'm stuck on is working from the inside, how to I back the
hole so the first and then subsequent layers of glass lie flat and don't go
past the hull and at the same time get all the air out? Any thoughts would
be appreciated and thanks for the ideas.

I took some pictures of the inside repairs I ground out and an exterior shot
to give a better idea of where one of the holes are and put it on the web at
the link below. I'll add more photos to the album as I go along:

http://community.webshots.com/user/bonasa1026

Thank you for the assistance,

Mike

"Matt Colie" wrote in message
...
Mike,

We all live and learn. The big trick is to survive the errors.

Half a millimeter is nothing to worry about. Unless the hull is vacuum
processed (highly unlikely unless it is a high buck or a one design), it
was sprayed into the mold with a chop gun. The hull thickness variation
is probably already three or more mm.

You never did indicate how large and area you were rebuilding. Now you
mention vertical elements. Thwartships (accross the boat) parts are
either frames or bulkheads - Stringers are fore-aft structures.

Were these frames original and you are replacing them?
Or were they your own addition to shore up the damaged area?

Either case....Sail the boat.

If they are original structure that you replaced. Then they are the real
structure of the boat and the glass that you just patched is only there to
keep the water out.

If they are something you added, then the hull is probably a whole lot
stronger than it came out of the box - even with 1/2 mm of laminate
missing locally.

In this case, I think it makes little difference, but if you said more
about the boat (manufacturer, version) and the actual area and possible
cause of damage. It might make a concise answer more possible.

You can use the gelcoat over a wet coat of vinylester resin. Polyester
doesn't actually stick to much, but the base of vinylester will do as good
a job of anything at making it work.

You can post pictures at:
http://www.web-a-photo.com/
http://community.webshots.com/
Both have free and suscription packages, look them over.

If I missed anything - try again. I'm here a lot.

Fair Wind and Smooth Sea
Matt Colie
Lifelong Waterman, Licensed Mariner and Pathological Sailor