Tabbing that has come apart ?

[lumina]

Hi all, this is the glittering image again (48 1974 yachtfish).....I was reading the post about the proper number of stands to use on the hard when Walt mentioned his yard has done it so well there hasn't even been any tabbing that has come free....that reminded me I wanted to ask about this topic.

When I was poking around the innards of the boat the other day I saw 2 spots where the tabbing was separated from the bulkhead by say an 1/8th of an inch. (one from a bulkhead and one from a brace). Upon further close inspection I didn't find others. Is this just normal for a 34 year old boat, are some tabs more important than others, is every tab important, should I have them fixed ??

I'm not very knowledgeable about fiberglass and hopefully am using the right terms here.

Advice would be appreciated.

 

[Genesis]

I would fix it.

 

[Walter P]

Ditto to Karl's (Genesis) comment. Just be sure to use epoxy with the fibreglass cloth. The biggest PITA will be working access but otherwise it shouldn't be a problem. While I have been fortunate to have never had any broken tabbing, I have seen a few and of course they are always in a hard to reach area. As with any structural repair it's always best to obtain the best access as possible even if it includes removing some large panels etc. Working in awkward positions is a sure fire way to insure poor quality work.

Walt

 

[spindrift]

Dear Lumina

I agree with Walt that you should take care of this. While it is not panic time, I have seen this become a major problem in boats if not taken care of.

I had a problem in my older 52 glass sailboat with some uncured tabbing. The smartest thing I did is to get some solid advice from a marine surveyor who advised the yard foreman what to do. I think your problem sounds less severe than mine.

But what I would do is to find a good surveyor or fiberglass man who is experienced here and pay the modest fee for their advice. If you are handy, you can do it yourself. You can also (depending on yard policy) bring an outside guy in to do the work under your supervision. The work can be nasty. Your glass man may advice you to grind back the older adjacent glass a bit to get a solid bond. The one good thing going in your favor is that you found the problem off season. Most yards in Northern climates lay guys off after the main hauling and winterizing is completed. So you may find a good guy to do the nasty work for reasonable amounts of money. This is what I have done over the years. The same guys, working for me not the yard, that cost me about 1/3 of what the yard would bill.

Best of luck




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