Snark sailboat hull repairs
Ken Caine
yard sail. The sailboat is a Snark. The hull number ends in M78F
can I assume that this is the manufactureing date?
Anyway the hull has some minor damage. Cracks and a few broken areas
from scraping the bottom on the rocks I presume. My question is what
material should I use to repair the hull? The hull is hard styrofoam
encased by what appears to be a plastic shell. I don't thinks its
fiberglass but I could be wrong. If it is a plastic hull can I use
fiberglass to patch it up or is something better. Someone already tried
to make some repairs with something and actually made the situation
worse. Any ideas would be a great help.
Thanks
Ken
Scott Truesdell
wrote:
Snarks are, simplistically speaking, throw-away boats--designed and built
to be used lightly for a few years and then discarded. I BELIEVE the hull
in a thermo-plastic, not fiberglass, which is basically not repairable
(nothing will stick to it.) Is it sort of soft to the touch? Can your
fingernail leave a mark in it?
You may have some luck with one of those hot-melt glue guns that you can
pick up at the hardware store for under $10. It may not look fine, in
fact, it will look horrible, but it can prolong the life of the boat a
bit.
On the other hand, if it is indeed glass, you can tell by sanding a bit
until the color is abraded through and the "frozen snot" color of raw
fiberglass shows. You would also see the structure of the glass fibers. If
this is the case, conventional fiberglass repair techniques can be used.
At the local marine store (or, probably, most hardware stores) an
all-in-one fiberglass repair kit can be purchased that has instructions in
it. Also, the Gougeon Brothers have a $3.00 mini-book on fiberglass repair
that details the use of their epoxy (which is more expensive, but
stronger, than normal polyester fiberglass repairs.)
--scott
scott morris
>I just picked up my first sailboat (first boat at all) from a local
>yard sail. The sailboat is a Snark. The hull number ends in M78F
>can I assume that this is the manufactureing date?
>Anyway the hull has some minor damage. Cracks and a few broken areas
>from scraping the bottom on the rocks I presume. My question is what
>material should I use to repair the hull? The hull is hard styrofoam
>encased by what appears to be a plastic shell. I don't thinks its
>fiberglass but I could be wrong. If it is a plastic hull can I use
>fiberglass to patch it up or is something better. Someone already tried
>to make some repairs with something and actually made the situation
>worse. Any ideas would be a great help.
>Thanks
>Ken
Unless they've actually improved the constuction of these since I looked last,
the outer shell is of vacuum-molded polyolefin (either polyethylene or poly-
propylene, most likely the former). It's a bear to fix, but the best crew
to talk to are the canoers/kayakers (try rec.boats.paddle) who have to
fix dings in their plastic boats as a matter of course. Hot-melt glue is
a potential start (the worst thing that can happen is it'll fall off).
Regular epoxies and such don't usually stick too well, with one exception
that I know of which is a 2-part epoxy made especially for use on plastics.
Made by Devcon, and called "Plastic Weld" or some such, it comes in one of
those double syringe gadgets, looks like reptile mucus, and is a little
pricey even at the discount store (but hasn't let me down yet).
For my money, I'd put some duct tape on the bad spots (the hull won't leak
or sink since it's basically a big foam coffee cup), and go sailing. The
point of sailboats is sailing them, not fixing them. The boat may not
agree with this, but in principle....
Good Luck,
Scott
Scott A. Morris
smo...@uiuc.edu
S/V "Rumply Bateau"
A high-mileage beauty in a radioactive sea....
David R Gerty
>From: true...@ics.uci.edu (Scott Truesdell)
>Subject: Re: Snark sailboat hull repairs
>Date: Thu, 03 Aug 1995 11:21:11 -0800
>In article <3vqi29$j...@news.icubed.com>, Ken Caine <ken....@industry.net>
>wrote:
>> I just picked up my first sailboat (first boat at all) from a local
>> yard sail. The sailboat is a Snark. The hull number ends in M78F
>> can I assume that this is the manufactureing date?
>>
>> Anyway the hull has some minor damage. Cracks and a few broken areas
>> from scraping the bottom on the rocks I presume. My question is what
>> material should I use to repair the hull? The hull is hard styrofoam
>> encased by what appears to be a plastic shell. I don't thinks its
>> fiberglass but I could be wrong. If it is a plastic hull can I use
>> fiberglass to patch it up or is something better. Someone already tried
>> to make some repairs with something and actually made the situation
>> worse. Any ideas would be a great help.
Snarks are made of polystyrene foam (Styrofoam). The stuff is a little denser
than a cheap picnic cooler, and very sensitive to most solvents. The coating
is some kind of plastic.
When you paint a Snark, use latex or an epoxy resin system *without any*
solvent. repairs may be feasible with a pour in place urethane foam. Try it
first in a cooler. Otherwise epoxy in a repair section of dense building
insulation board and sand to fair.
>You may have some luck with one of those hot-melt glue guns
Try it on a styrofoam scrap first.
Don't park it under an oak tree in the fall.
Ken Caine
>Unless they've actually improved the constuction of these since I looked last,
>the outer shell is of vacuum-molded polyolefin (either polyethylene or poly-
>propylene, most likely the former). It's a bear to fix, but the best crew
>to talk to are the canoers/kayakers (try rec.boats.paddle) who have to
>fix dings in their plastic boats as a matter of course. Hot-melt glue is
>a potential start (the worst thing that can happen is it'll fall off).
I'll give this a try as well as some fiberglass repair kit. I'll test
it before I actually use it though.
>Regular epoxies and such don't usually stick too well, with one exception
>that I know of which is a 2-part epoxy made especially for use on plastics.
>Made by Devcon, and called "Plastic Weld" or some such, it comes in one of
>those double syringe gadgets, looks like reptile mucus, and is a little
>pricey even at the discount store (but hasn't let me down yet).
>
I'll look for some of this stuff.
>For my money, I'd put some duct tape on the bad spots (the hull won't leak
>or sink since it's basically a big foam coffee cup), and go sailing. The
>point of sailboats is sailing them, not fixing them. The boat may not
>agree with this, but in principle....
>
>Good Luck,
>
>Scott
>
I have already taken it sailing locally and have vacation time this week
at Lake Erie. I will be taking it up there as it is. The hull is not
really to bad but I want to prevent any further damage as much as I can.
Thanks
Ken
Ken Caine
>
>Snarks are made of polystyrene foam (Styrofoam). The stuff is a little denser
>than a cheap picnic cooler, and very sensitive to most solvents. The coating
>is some kind of plastic.
>
>When you paint a Snark, use latex or an epoxy resin system *without any*
>solvent. repairs may be feasible with a pour in place urethane foam. Try it
>first in a cooler. Otherwise epoxy in a repair section of dense building
>insulation board and sand to fair.
Will a polyester resin fiberglass repair kit do any damage to the foam or
the plastic shell? Some have told me yes it will other said no it will
not. I'll try it on a small area first but if I know before hand I would
not try it at all?
>
>>You may have some luck with one of those hot-melt glue guns
>
>Try it on a styrofoam scrap first.
>
>Don't park it under an oak tree in the fall.
Have an oak tree in the back yard. It'll stay clear.
Ken
Gordon Mann
to use epoxy resin fibre glass not polyester resin because the polyester resin will
disolve the foam core. I bought an old, 1974, Mark II and was still able to get a
new tiller and hiking skick from them. Great service and nice people to talk to.
Gordon Mann
gm...@acy.digex.net
mh...@freenet.vcu.edu
favorite boat.
Mine has a couple of minor cracks in the foam hull, but hte
real problem is the plastic shell over the foam. What is that,
and how can I glue it to itself again? There's a "rubrail"
where the hull's exterior and interior shells come together,
and it's separated.
*sigh* I also need a new boot over the daggerboard slot.
Still a good boat, and in use today.
--
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Michael B. Holt | It's not "arrogance" when it's true.
Richmond, Virginia |
U. S. A. | Support the cybereconomy: e-mail cash.
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Ken Caine
Hi Gordon,
Thanks for the information. I've had responses that said I can use the
polyester fibreglass and one other that said don't. If Snark says no I
will not use it. I did patch some of the smaller areas with a hot glue
gun and a styrofoam paper plate. Seemed to work pretty well. I will
work more on it as the weather gets colder.
Do you have the phone number for Snark. My capacity plate says they are
in NJ but I called directory assistance and the said they had no listing.
Have they moved? I would like to be able to call them if needed.
I have taken it sailing and it is a bunch-o-fun. Hope to take it to Lake
Erie next week on my vacation. My mom has a summer house right on the
lake so some good sailing is in the future.
Thanks and take care
Ken Caine
Ken Caine
>I have an older Snark: I bought it in 1973. It's still my
>favorite boat.
>
>Mine has a couple of minor cracks in the foam hull, but hte
>real problem is the plastic shell over the foam. What is that,
>and how can I glue it to itself again? There's a "rubrail"
>where the hull's exterior and interior shells come together,
>and it's separated.
>
>*sigh* I also need a new boot over the daggerboard slot.
>
>Still a good boat, and in use today.
>
the job for hull repair. I used some hot glue and crushed sytrofoam
plates to repair some minor areas on mine. I am going to try to fix the
bigger problems over the winter.
Could you use a plastic wastebasket over the daggerboard slot and epoxy
it to the inner shell? Somebody else mentioned to me that plastic
welding is also possible. He said he used old milk gallons to repair
some areas. Didn't look good but it was functional.
I took it sailing this past week end and had a great time. It's my first
boat and practically my first sailing expierence. Had a great time!!
Ken Caine
baile...@gmail.com
> I just picked up my first sailboat (first boat at all) from a local
> yard sail. The sailboat is a Snark. The hull number ends in M78F
> can I assume that this is the manufactureing date?
>
> Anyway the hull has some minor damage. Cracks and a few broken areas
> from scraping the bottom on the rocks I presume. My question is what
> material should I use to repair the hull? The hull is hard styrofoam
> encased by what appears to be a plastic shell. I don't thinks its
> fiberglass but I could be wrong. If it is a plastic hull can I use
> fiberglass to patch it up or is something better. Someone already tried
> to make some repairs with something and actually made the situation
>
> Thanks
> Ken
Hi, ken.
I just bought my very first boat..12' Snark Sun Chaser II. It's older and has some cracks in "shell", but only $100.00...I've got this under control :)
Go here for expert knowledge about these boats:
www.castlecraft.com/repair
Good luck. Be blessed & happy.
Christi
