by GreenLake » Mon Jul 26, 2021 7:55 pm
Bring a battery powered sander and grind off (40 grit) the area around the crack. Should be a 12:1 bevel. You try not to sand through, but generally a 1/4" or even 1/2" gap would not be critical - as long as the two sides remain aligned.
That way, you place your patch "in" the seat, as opposed to on top.
You place the largest piece first, then reduce size of the patches as the "V" gets narrower.
If you have strong sun - give it a coat of spray paint for cheap UV protection. Later, you grind that off, as you make your repair flush and then you paint it nicely.
If the laminate on the seat is so super thin that this doesn't work, here's the proper way to reinforce.
Grind per above, but make sure you get a 1/2" - 3/4" gap. Bring a strip of rep-laminated (and cured to where it's stiff) fiberglass that will become a backing plate. Coat with epoxy (thickened so it doesn't run, or use non-sagging epoxy glue, or even Marine Tex). Insert into the gap. Use a wire loop through two holes on the center line to pull it up against the repair while the glue cures. When cured, you the pull out the wire. That should give you the structural reinforcement, without an ugly visible patch. Your gap needs to be wide enough so you can get in around the edges to sand (by hand) and wipe it down with solvent, so the patch will stick.
You either apply your final patch in the gap, or leave that for the off-season and temporarily live with a depression. Again, a bit of paint over the exposed epoxy will prevent it from degrading in the UV.
~ green ~ lake ~ ~