The hulls on my older Prindle 16 are soft in spots (both under the tramp and in the bows) Does anyone know if fiberglassing over them will help stiffen them up or of any other fixes you have tried.
I bought ($100) a 1975 Prindle 16 a couple of years ago which had been ignored for years. The first stop was at the local marina for glass work by a professional. I had a 3' long split in the top of the left hull extending from the front cross bar toward the tip of the bow.
He told me that he needed to get the water out of the fiberglass and inside the hull first. It spend a week exposed to infrared lamps which dried everything out. He then hit it hard with the grinder and reglassed an area about 2 x 4 feet. I did the finish work on it, sanded both hulls and sprayed them with some really expensive (but really good) paint from West Marine.
This is my third summer sailing the boat in Michigan and I do store it outdoors in the winter. In addition, I have had the boat out in 25+ mph wind. The glass work is rock solid and no visible cracks of any kind.
If you don't want to go this far, there is an epoxy repair "how to" on this web site that addresses repairing hull delamination. I don't know that any repair job over fiberglass problems will solve your issue or hide it for a season or two.
Good luck and happy sailing.
J. Mueller
Prindle 16
Muskegon Lake, MI
You are asking a lot for a boat that is already 34 years old.