: I'm ready to start repairs on our Ches 18 and Arctic Tern. There are a few
: areas on the hull, primarily the keel line, that need glass patches - no
: damage to the wood at all. Can you walk me throught the repair process, or
: at least get me started? thanks

1. Sand the affected area. You don't need to go down to the bare wood, but you do need to sand off varnish/paint and any "bad glass" (i.e. where there are white spots and other signs of brokenness.) Where the glass is fine, don't sand it off. Don't go wild, but you do want the area you're going to re-glass to be a bit larger than the actual spot that needs to be fixing.
2. Patch with glass/resin. Same technique as when you glassed it originally. Make sure that the glass you use for the patch is a bit larger (2 or 3 or 4 inches?) than the problem area. Apply fill coats.
3. Sand (after the epoxy is cured, of course). The reason you made the patch bigger than the problem is so that you can sand off the edges to feather it smooth. Apply another fill coat if you need to (i.e. if you've sanded into the weave where the new glass overlaps the old glass.)
5. Varnish (or repaint). For best results, you'll probably want to refinish the whole hull. You don't need to do this right away.. and it would be a good idea to let the epoxy cure fully. So... patch now... let it cure all winter, then in the spring, WASH OFF THE BLUSH and refinish the boats.

Don't stress too much about making it look absolutely *perfect* because
a) it won't show when you're paddling anyway
b) you're just going to scratch & bang up that area again as you continue to use your boats.

Julie Kanarr