Living For Sail · video

What this video covers

John repairs a 1.75-inch diameter hole in the bow of his boat, *Antidote*, by grinding a 12-to-1 bevel into the 0.75-inch thick fiberglass hull.0:44 Following the West Systems manual, he uses a 4.5-inch angle grinder equipped with a dust-extraction shroud and diamond-puck grinding discs to achieve the taper while minimizing airborne fiberglass dust.7:00 He confirms the hull thickness against *The Elements of Boat Strength* by Dave Gerr, which prescribes a minimum thickness of 5/8-inch for the vessel's scantlings.9:38 After cleaning the area and installing an internal backing plate with peel ply, he applies the initial fiberglass layers, opting to place the chopped strand mat (CSM) side outward to facilitate easier fairing.26:51 Separately, he removes rotten plywood from the starboard bulwark and uses a new brushless die grinder with a 6-inch double-cut bit to clear resin from pockets behind bronze backing plates.20:24 A 12-to-1 bevel provides sufficient structural integrity for a single-sided fiberglass repair when access to the interior is limited.10:13

Boats in this video

More from Living For Sail

Can I Save This Bronze Cleat? Sailboat Bulwark RebuildSept 2026This Was Inside The Boat!? — Should I Put It Back?Sept 2026BACK to Work on ANTIDOTE! - How I Used 3D Printing to Fix My BoatAug 2026⛵️ I Tried Boiling Water Out of My Boat... It Actually Worked - sort of?!Jul 2026

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