1955 Lone Star Commander - replacing old patch

[Lady Terrapin]

Hi, I've owned my classic boat for a few years. She's perfect for taking my boys fishing or cruising around small lakes. I love her original charm.

However, she has an ugly old patch which is starting to fail. I think it's epoxy, which is starting to chip off and is pulling up around the sides. She takes on some water in the stern. The rest of the boat stays dry and the rivets are all tight. It's useable as is so my boyfriend says we should leave well enough alone and maybe caulk around the outside of the patch, then fix it properly in the off season. I don't want to make a bad repair worse. I feel like I should pull the whole thing off and do it right. (But I don't want to miss summer fun on the water) Maybe I could put some strong marine adhesive into the cracks from the bottom for now, then pull the inside patch off and assess what else should be done later. This grey epoxy stuff is also on the seats and I'd like suggestions on how to remove it.

I would like to hear your thoughts about what I could do to keep this boat going strong. Here are a few pictures, showing the outer hull where the leak is, the inside patch, and the whole craft in all her glory. Thanks!

 

[CMOS]

LT,

I have a 66 Lone Star Commander. Darn fine boat.

Here's the thought process I suggest you take short term:
1. First decide if you want to miss this summer's fun, or - dive into the repair and do it properly right now. To do this right, you're correct, you'll be down for a while.
2. If you decide to hold off and repair in the Fall, then I'd suggest using 3M 5200 Marine Adhesive as a temporary patch. It's darn strong stuff, yet it remains flexible, which is a big plus.

When you finally do tear off that patch you'll have to assess the situation better. Unexpected things tend to reveal themselves when you remove stuff like large patches.

Note: I had one of the starboard seams on mine come up with a small leak. Not much really but enough to make me want to get it done right. It's that seam where 2 pieces of the side of the boat overlap. There is some type of seam "gasket" that was put between the overlapping sheets before they inserted the rivets. That gasket tends to get brittle when the hull gets old. So, the easiest way, in my simple cave-man mind, was to overturn the hull, and run a bead of that 3M 5200 alone the entire seam, then press it into the seam with one of my fingers. I wiped off the excess immediately (have to because when this stuff cures.....) so the seam looked very smooth.

She doesn't leak a drop now.

How's your transom wood?

Keep us posted on your progress.

CMOS

 

[Weldorthemagnificent]

X2 on the 5200. If you clean the outside well with a wire brush or scotchbrite, the 5200 will stick well and may last several years. It will surely get you through this season.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[user 23839]

CMOS, thank you for that reply. I just adopted a 1956 Lone Star Clipper fixer. The left seam along the bottom near the driver's seat leaks, and I have been told that Lone Star laid a strip of rubber gasket along those long, fore-aft seams before riveting. I was thinking West System G Flex 6500 might be the only solution, so it is good to know 5200 also works well in this application.
I just pulled the fragments of rotted transom out yesterday.

 

[Lady Terrapin]

Sounds good; I'll get some 5200 and press it into the exterior seams, then chip out the epoxy from the floor later. Thanks!

The transom was pretty weathered, so I put a coat of duralux paint on. It soaked in like a sponge. So then I applied several coats of something called pc petrifier, which has hardened up the wood very well. I'm going to paint it again soon.

 

[CedarRiverScooter]

Lady - I just repaired a leaking seam on my boat too.

I was able to spread the gap with a small screw driver, so I could clean it out a little bit with fine sand paper wrapped over a knife blade. Also made sure it was dry with blow off ( it wasn't at first).

Trying to push the sealant into the gap is hard. I ended up using some nylon string by 1st applying some sealant, then using a hacksaw blade as a spatula, I pushed the string into the gap, followed by more sealant. Did this several times. Now there is no doubt the sealant went in deep.

Use disposable gloves

Good luck on your repair!