Delam prevention / tub reinforcement Vern style

[thompsdw]

Almost done. BTW - I lightly sanded between steps and then cleaned the surface with acetone prior to laying the fiberglass. You should do this for every step other than the first fill over the foam. These are two additional complete tub layups with two large pieces of fiberglass for the entire tube area. I mixed up 32 oz of resin here and then had to mix an additional 6 oz to finish up the sides. In this case you really have to use a roller to get the job done quick enough. Use a foam roller from home depot or lowes.

[thompsdw]

A little paint for the Anal ones

I finished up by sanding the surface with 80 grit and then grabbing a can of grey primer and hitting the new surface with a coat of paint. Doesn't match, but I hate that epoxy yellow. Next an new thicker rubber matt and the gas tank goes back into place.

BTW - I did remove the hull ID tag and epoxy over all the tub holes. There was water in the outer hull. I did all I could to blow and suck it out. After that I decided to seal the hull up with no holes. VERN found some new rubber matting to fill the space in one piece. Neither he nor I reused the push retainers to hold the matt in place. With the rubber straps it is simply not needed. Maybe he will chime in on where he found it.

[thompsdw]

In the beginning - I was dreading this job. In the end - I am glad I did it. Thanks to VERN for all the advice and coming up with the original repair concept. I did already have stress cracks on this new to me '04 RXP that I wet sanded out of the hull. I didn't want them to get worse with time and eventually delaminate. I think the wetsanded bottom (no points of entry or turbulance) and the repair will make sure my bottom says firmly in place (leave it alone again Jammer).

Here is a pic of the wetsanded and polished bottom. New filled rideplate holes and repainted RIVA grate with Girdle.

I hope this helps others keep their bottom in place. BTW - I buffed her bottom for 2 days - and she didn't even smile afterwards. .

HINT: I guess I promised - an old fiberglass insulator trick is to use shaving cream (very thick) to remove fiberglass from your skin. Basically the fiberglass shards stick into your skin as a fiber. Some use tape to try to remove them, but this just pushes them deeper into the skin. If you get a thick shaving cream and put it on the affected areas of your skin and then wipe it over and over - the thickness of the cream will actually remove the shards of fiberglass. It works suprisingly well. And now you know, "the rest of the story".

[thompsdw]

Missed the Pics .................

I forgot to attach the pics .............. .

[Vern]

Excellent job, looks great! I also did a little sanding on the gelcoat where the cracks were and then painted some epoxy resin over them as well. Can't hurt and its easy to see if the cracks pop thru the resin (they have not). I actually bought a very nice rubber Welcome mat and trimmed it to fit in the tub to replace the super thin cheesy stock one ... the tub has four high sides to it and the rubber mat does NOT need to be attached to the floor. The attaching plugs only allow water between the inner and outer hulls and are useless ... my replacement mat is far thicker and has never moved.

[thompsdw]

Final Pictures

Well, I found the tank matt from heaven. 1/4" thick rubber just like the one that was in there except one piece. The negative, weight. I think it weighed close to 7 pounds. Not that much considering all of the intake I removed. The positive, cushioning. It will eventually heat up and form to bed and distribute the weights better on the inner tub.

I wish they had 3/16", but 1/4" was all they had. I found it at an industrial supply store. That is the end of this HOW TO. Good luck on your repair.

[Dockside]

Vern

Remember we were wonderong if they still had the feet in the newer hulls. Look at post #5145. it Reids gutted 07 hull and it look like they eliminated them.

http://greenhulk.net/showthre...42#post1404442

[westy]

Remember we were wonderong if they still had the feet in the newer hulls. Look at post #5145. it Reids gutted 07 hull and it look like they eliminated them.

http://greenhulk.net/showthre...42#post1404442

+1 what hulls does this affect?

[Vern]

I think the 'feet' are still in all RXP or RXP-X hulls ... I know they were in 2004 - 2007 for sure, and I think they are still in all P/P-x hulls still.