Swift rowing boats

I've had several repairs to complete on the local club rowing boats this year. The racing shells are tricky to work on and have epoxy/kevlar/carbon hulls. On these boats I have done a repair to a delaminated area of coremat in the hull skin, a rudder tube that had broken out at the deck end and a fin box repair. The hull had distorted around the site of a previous repair to the fin box at the stern. It seems that the fin had been caught on something and had ripped the fin box out. Someone had bonded it back in slightly proud of the hull and the aluminium had corroded, expanded and distorted the area around it forming a bulge, like a snake swallowing an egg.

Distorted hull area

The hull did not return to its previous shape when the fin box was removed so I cut the whole section out and  moulded up a repair patch from epoxy/glass with carbon strands laid along the keel line. This was then bonded in on both sides, epoxy filled and faired. This was not straightforward as I only had access to the outside.

The finished repair

A new fin box and fin were bonded in and then the repair was primed and spray painted in 2 pack automotive paint.