I am looking for some advice on repairing my 16' Thompson 1960 Seacoaster hull... I have the windshield off, the instruments out of the dash, about 90% of the sanding complete (done by hand) in preparation for the staining & varnishing... I also have sanded about 95% of the hull with 120-150 grit paper, and just need to complete the areas I could not get with the 4 1/2" palm sander and then go over the whole thing by hand with 180 grit.. The condition of the old paint is real good. There was very little flaking, and most of the cracks disappeared as the sander passed over it once or twice...Since I am not planning to remove the seats and floor until next year, I need to fix one key bad spot on the hull externally. There is an area of about 20" by 30" at the very bottom, stern of the boat that is wavy... not wrinkly or washboard, just not flat. It looks like a sheet of cardboard that had become damp and then dried. At first I had thought that it was deformation due to the center rear roller, but I now think there was probably some water setting inside at one time or another and there is some delamination. Since I want to get the boat in the water this year, and replacing plywood is not an option right now, I want to repair this area. I may even make the patch 2' x 3' just to be safe. The whole rest of the boat is solid underneath, except for this area which flexes a bit when pushed and there is one little 1 1/2" circle that feels real soft. So I think I need to make an extra 6" patch to reinforce this area, and then cover the rest of the 2x3 section with some sort of epoxy/ resin and fiberglas matting.... I see Epiglass with wood fibers to mix in.... Boatyard resin, Sea-glas fiberglas cloth and woven roving.. There is Easypoxy by Pettitt, although that says should be used only for day sailers...I also see other fillers, Kitty Hair, resins and Episize glas fabrics from West Marine. Does anyone have any recommendation for a reinforcement process that would be good for this situation?.. Then I believe that I need to use an additional filler or glaze after this to blend the area with the rest of the bottom. One consultant from West Marine suggested getting Get Rot and drilling shallow holes around the area and trying to saturate it as best as possible. I realize that this is not a purest approach, but I just can't tie up my garage nor afford to pay a restoration company to start pulling wood off an otherwise solid boat. (Even if I did know how to do it).
Any tips or comments will be approeciated.