New to me Laser with a crack in the Hull

X

Xterramatt

New Member
Hi my name is Matt and I recently bought a used laser I think it is a 82
I thought I went over it pretty good but it was starting to get dark and I was kind of excited :) Well the next day I noticed a crack in the hull. I do not know how I missed it. Basically it looks like it went into a dock or another boat taped it petty hard .There is a around a 4 inch crack with some nice chips of gel coat and a lot of spider lines coming off it some of them pretty long . I am pretty sure it does not go all the way through but I did not try putting a knife in there. It feels a little softer then the other side but not much. Besides that there are a few stress/spider cracks on the deck and a few nice scratches in the gel coat on the hull and the plastic grab rails in the cockpit need to be replaced
Hopefully I did not get hosed too bad I paid 700 for I . It did also come with a trailer in pretty good shape ( needs new lights).
The mast step is solid and holds water the deck did not fell all that soft but then again I have nothing to compare it too.

Oh and I have no desire to race it is strictly going to be used at a few local lakes and maybe some bays in NJ . I just want to have some fun

I would like to take it out this weekend but I am worried about it leaking at that crack is there anything I could put over it temporary until get a chance to fix it or get it fixed I have never repaired fiberglass but there is always a first

Thanks

matt
 
Matt....

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on buying an awesome boat! I'd say $700 is a pretty good deal, especially with a trailer. You could most likely ebay it in a couple of years and get what you paid for it! Nothing beats free sailing.

From the sound of it, the damage you're talking about isn't too bad and is quite common in older boats that have been used.

For this weekend, I would just put some duck tape over it and go sailing. It would be OK without the tape but you may as well put it on to be safe. As for fixing it.....

If you search in this forum you'll see some people discussing fiberglass repairs. If you take some pictures and post them, I'm sure you'll get people offering advice on how to fix it and with a little bit of time and effort, you'll be able to get a good result yourself. I think the skill level determines the amount of time it takes to get the repair to a certain standard but they all end up pretty much the same after you use the magical wet & dry sandpaper.

Take some pictures of the area, let us know where it is on the boat and whether there are any inspection ports on the deck and we'll help as much as we can.


Once again... congratulations!

T
 
Thanks for the info. I will try to do the soapy water test tomorrow and see what happens. I will also put some pictures up of the crack to get some input on the best way to fix it. I did search and found some good info but it is always nice to have some other eyes on it.

Also there are two brackets mounted on the deck in front of the mast towards the bow. Would they be for a compass? I will post some pics of it tomorrow

Is there anything I should be looking out for during my first sail/swimming session tomorrow.

I had a sunfish 2 years ago and currently have a sailing kayak ( upwind sail) which is pretty fun on a reach but dose not have enough momentum to make it through a tack and I need to get the paddle out, jibbing is fun on it though. I have the feeling the laser is going to be a completely different experience from my other two boats
 
Doubt the brackets in front of the mast are for a compass, I've only seen them mounted between the mast and daggerboard.

As far as the first sail, make sure you have some sort of retaining line (shockcord is what is normally used) on the daggerboard, if find yourself capsizing a bunch, tighten it up, it will help keep the board down and save you some energy.

Compared to a Sunfish, the Laser will feel a little more powerful and smooth upwind, and faster but less stable downwind.
 
Another problem I just found which I did not know until I started reading this forum I have about a foot of hull deck separation on bow of the boat. I have read about the repair and it does not sound too difficult . Will I be ok sailing it this weekend with out taking on too much water

thanks
 
I would use some duct tape on the the hull/deck sep. just to keep as much water out as possible, it will mean less time drying when you go to repair it.
 
Thanks again for the geart info. I am going to pick up some westsystem epoxy this week and try to repair it soon. Can the seperation get worse if I do not get to it for the next few weeks? Is this somethign I can wait untill the end of the season for or doI have to get to it quickly I am going to tape it up for this weekend and mayby next . Here are the Pics of the crack and the brackets

Thanks again
Matt
 

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That does not look bad at all.
The brackets are indeed for a compass, a Silva probably.
As long as you keep the separated area dry (duct tape) it will not hurt the boat. Nevertheless, a repair is simply and I would not wait too long. Make sure to use some masking tape, because it will be ugly if you get epoxy on the gunwall of the boat.

G
 
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