Lew Hodgett wrote:

so the finish of the repair can basically be slim or none;
however, the repair should do a proper job.


Very true

My solution will be prejudiced since I run an epoxy shop.

IMHO, polyester is for shower stalls, not boat repairs.

Since the rest of the boat is polyester, why should a patch be stronger
than the rest of it? I do use WEST for little things, but a patch
should be the same material the rest of the boat is made of.


Step 1)
Since the boat was built from the inside, I would just do the repair on
the inside. This way there's no finish work on the outside.

Steps 2-6) Grind, mat, roving, mat, roving, gloves, resin, hardener,
roller, don't make a mess. . .


7) Get a beer, maybe 2.

Admire your work while drinking beer.

8) Allow inside patch to cure about 72 hours, then relaunch boat and enjoy.

Notice the lack of labor intensive finish work?


Jim

Jim wrote:
Since the rest of the boat is polyester, why should a patch be stronger
than the rest of it? I do use WEST for little things, but a patch
should be the same material the rest of the boat is made of.


It's not an issue of strength of the material itself, but of bonding
strength. What you are making is called a "secondary bond" meaning that
it's trying to stick to something that's already cured.

Polyester is OK for lay-ups but it's bonding properties are poor, even
to polyester.

It is cheaper, but unless you are really dedicated to squeezing pennies,
and have already wrung the expense out of everything else on the boat,
and don't have any other little projects that epoxy would be best for,
then it's false economy IMHO.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King