Flying Scot Centerboard Repair

I recently purchased another Flying Scot that had a beat-up centerboard in need of repair. Unlike most of my other boat repair projects, I remembered ahead of time to take some photos (clicking on a photo should enlarge it) throughout the process. This post will be short on words and long on photos, here goes;

This is the before photo. The forward leading corner would be at bottom left, if it existed. Many groundings have worn this corner away so it now is a gradual arc. Tapping the board in the area of the lead ballast insert indicates almost complete delamination.



This shows the leading edge which is worn away enough to expose the edge of the lead ballast, also being worn away. The wear was enough to reduce the weight to 96 lbs, the legal range is 100 to 110 lbs. according to the Flying Scot Class rules.



Let the sanding begin...



With the leading edge opened up rocks, sand, resin pieces, etc, have been accumulating in the void between the fiberglass and the lead. I decided to do the repair "the right way" which always means "more work" so I cut the glass at the perimeter of the lead ballast. The surfaces will be cleaned, prepped and rebonded later.



Opened up with lead visible, note the only area still adhered was the small dark area of the lead, at top left.



Here we are the same stage on the other side which was about 60% delaminated instead of nearly 100%.



The lead has been sanded smooth and clean and was roughed up (small lines) to allow better adhesion of the epoxy resin we will use to re-attach the fiberglass.



Unthickened epoxy then thickened epoxy was applied to both the lead and glass surfaces and we are ready to position the glass piece in place.



A few clamps and some lead weights to keep the pressure on and we wait for it to cure.

We will continue the repair with Centerboard Repair Part 2