Sailing NVvideo
Family fibreglass job - teaching the kids whilst waiting for the engine
July 6, 2025 · 14 min · 4K views
What this video covers
Jo and Timo, currently anchored off a boatyard in Kudat, Borneo, await a replacement engine for their Open 66, NV. While waiting, they renovate a small sailing dinghy that lacks sufficient freeboard and takes on water through its open stern. The crew salvages a discarded piece of fiberglass found floating at sea to serve as a transom patch. After creating a cardboard template to account for the dinghy's asymmetry, they grind the hull surface and bond the fiberglass piece using a two-part epoxy thickened with colloidal silica. They apply peel ply to compress the laminate and improve the bond. Timo and his daughters, Nami and Taya, reinforce the structure by tabbing the edges with carbon fiber. The project also includes sewing new Sunbrella covers for the boat's beanbags. The dinghy remains unfinished, requiring paint and a new sail wardrobe, but the modifications successfully seal the stern and increase buoyancy.
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