Plastic tub repair

[SkunkBoat]

Thought about doing this for years on my last boat. Finally tried it on the 265. Plastic tubs have cracked brittle rims. Missing large sections of rim.

Made new rims from glass cloth and epoxy. The idea is to match the shape . Use clear packing tape to cover the opening. (Epoxy doesn't stick to packing tape). Make sure there are no leaks.
We added strips of 1/4" plywood to make a gap for clearance of the tub. Tape goes over ply also. There must be NO bare plywood or gelcoat. COVER with tape.
For god's sake cover the batteries!

I used thin glass cloth that you find in autoparts store. Need two packs of 1 sq yd to do the complete job on two tubs from a 265 express. You don't need 1708 or glass mat. You want thin cloth that takes a shape and doesn't get strings everywhere. You are not going for strength you are trying to get a shape.

Precut your strips..maybe 2.5"-3" wide and lengths to overlap the corners. I used 3 pumps of epoxy & hardener. Perfect amount for one rim
Paint the tape with epoxy. lay on the strips. paint the strips and soak.
When set, the piece will peel off the tape. It will be flexible
The new rough rim slides over the tub as high as it will go easily. Glass the outer sides of the tub to the rim. The sides of one took 6 pumps of epoxy perfect amount.
I laid the side pieces out on cling wrap and wet them out and then applied them to the tub

Don't fill up the underside of the new rim. That is already the perfect shape. Don't ruin it. You will reinforce it from the top later.
Trim the old plastic tub rims off and glass the rim over the top into the tub a few inches. (I would not glass the full inside of the tub.)

Trim off excess glass rim and dry fit and then clean it up & paint however nicely you prefer. Maybe add outer bottom glass

Tub feels solid. Fits well. Doors close.

I know expoxy doesn't stick well to plastic but with four sides and bottom there is no way to let loose.
If the plastic ever lets loose or disintegrates the glass with still be the perfect shape.

 

[DennisG01]

That's a pretty good way to do it - losing a couple inches of tub depth but keeping the process simple. I like it!

I think you'll be fine with the glass to plastic adhesion, as well. Depends on the type of plastic, too. But heck, by now, that plastic has probably lost all of it's slipperiness, anyways! Hmmm... can that even happen? But, yeah, you've got so much overlap with the glass on the plastic that's it's going to be plenty good.

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

Hey Dennis , maybe you can over and fabricate an entire new tub for me? Lol. Cool job and work .

 

[Hookup1]

Looking good!

Fiberglast.com has been a great. source for small quantity fiberglass and related products. I bought some of the lightweight fiberglass cloth from them. Also some vacuum bagging tape and release film. In Ohio, same time zone and they ship quickly.

 

[DennisG01]

Hey Dennis , maybe you can over and fabricate an entire new tub for me? Lol. Cool job and work .

Bob, that was all Skunk! A simple, but ingenious, fix for a common problem that, otherwise, can be quite costly to fix.

 

[SkunkBoat]

If your tubs are missing;
Once you make the rim you can frame a tub with 1/4" underlayment & glass.
I thougth about using pink foam but the smallest they had was 1" thick

They are getting a coat of primer and then Fighting Lady yellow...

 

[weatherguage]

That is just awesome - I'm not to far from taking that project on! Thanks for the details!

 

[SkunkBoat]

An add on to this.

After we had the rims on the tubs and tested them, one of the corners on one was to low. make the box wobble a bit.
We cut the corner and the edge that rolls over into the tub along the top about 6". We put some weight in the tub and the rim found the perfect position.

We removed the tub, taped everything again, put the tub in with weight and glassed that edge again. this time it was perfect.

 

[DennisG01]

If your tubs are missing;
Once you make the rim you can frame a tub with 1/4" underlayment & glass.
I thougth about using pink foam but the smallest they had was 1" thick

They are getting a coat of primer and then Fighting Lady yellow...

I used that foamboard insulation as a core to a hatch over a gas tank. At the time, anyways, I was able to get 1/2" foamboard from Home Depot... but it was purple Also try Lowes. But that's still kinda thick and an overkill. I like the underlayment idea (luan/etc). You might be able to use something like PVC pipe ripped down to create rounded corners? I dunno - just a quick thought as I was typing.