Re: Bad taping of fillets

Posted by Robert N Pruden on May 21, 2005

Without seeing the bad edges, I'd agree with the CLC answer.

That said (speculative answers now), if it is only the very edges of the tapes that are lifted, I'd sand them off and leave it as is. You'll have enough tape remaining to keep the joint strong. The exterior glassing will add more strength to the seams.

If there are air bubbles under the remaining tapes (after sanding off the bad edges) then you have one choice: inject epoxy into the bubbles to solidify the tape. I have done this from time to time with great success. Drill one hole into one end of the bubble and inject using a needle+syringe into the other end. You can only do this if-and-only-if a non-amine blush glue was used. Any glue added to an amine-contaminated surface after the fact will only fail to adhere.

If it was my boat and all else failed, I'd take the ROS and sand most of all the tapes off and apply new ones. Since you didn't do any of the other work, this extra sanding won't be any kind of extra work. Heck, it's a free boat and if the keel is straight and its profile looks symmetrical, it's worth the effort to repair properly.

Robert N Pruden

In Response to: Bad taping of fillets by raul calzadilla on May 21, 2005

Replies:

• Re: Bad taping of fillets by Howard on May 22, 2005
  • Re: flying shards by LeeG on May 22, 2005