Preventive maintenance system and method for fiberglass boats

Abstract

A method for preventive maintenance of a boat hull to restore the integrity of a fiberglass boat hull and prevent new water infiltration damage to a boat hull. The wet area repair guidelines using a surface moisture meter. Any balsa cored area reading 15% or above is considered a wet area. Any wood cored area reading 20% or above is considered a wet area. The preventive maintenance steps involve removing all through-hull fittings or hardware. Wet core areas are then dried out using heat lamps, lights or heaters, hot-vac systems, or octopus vacuum with grid system. If necessary, any area not drying out is de-cored and repaired accordingly. After repairs are finished, all through-hull fillings or hardware is reinstalled using new sealant.

1 . A method of preventive maintenance for a boat hull comprising the steps of: 
 a) disassembling hardware from predetermined areas of said hull,    b) drying of said areas,    c) inspecting said predetermined areas for any damaged balsa wood core and if any damaged balsa wood core exists, de-coring said predetermined areas, by breaking down any damaged balsa wood core and removing the thus formed debris,    d) reassembling said hardware, and    e) sealing with new sealant.    
   
   
       2 . The method of preventive maintenance for a boat hull as in  claim 1 , wherein said predetermined area of said hull is the area above the waterline, 
 further comprising the step of removing old sealant from outside of existing hull hardware, inspecting beneath the hull hardware, thereafter repeating steps b, c, d and e of  claim 1 .    
   
   
       3 . The method of preventive maintenance for a boat hull as in  claim 1  wherein said predetermined area is at least one gunnel, 
 further comprising the step of removing and inspecting any gunnel hardware, thereafter repeating steps b, c, d and e of  claim 1 , and,    drilling drain holes in the gunnel molding on the underpart thereof.    
   
   
       4 . The method of preventive maintenance for a boat hull as in  claim 1  wherein said predetermined area is the area below the waterline, 
 wherein removing said hardware comprises the step of removing through hull hardware fittings,    wherein de-coring said damaged areas comprises removing damaged core material to a predetermined depth from the edge of the cutouts associated with the hardware, and,    filling said de-cored areas with epoxy before reinstalling the hardware with new sealant.    
   
   
       5 . The method of preventive maintenance for a boat hull as in  claim 1 , 
 wherein after said step of removing hardware said method further comprises the step of drilling appropriate cut-out sections of core to a predetermined depth between respective inner and outer laminate layers of said hull in the area associated with said removed hardware,    after said cutout is cleaned out, filling said cleaned out areas with an epoxy, after said epoxy is set, sanding said epoxy smooth, and    reinstalling said hardware as in paragraph d of  claim 1 .    
   
   
       6 . A method for preventive maintenance of a boat hull according to  claim 2 , wherein troubled areas are detected by utilizing a moisture meter.  
   
   
       7 . A method for preventive maintenance of a boat hull according to  claim 6 , wherein detecting troubled areas comprises utilizing a thermal camera.  
   
   
       8 . A method for preventive maintenance of a boat hull according to  claim 6 , wherein detecting troubled areas of the boat hull further comprises placing a graphical grid on the boat to clearly identify troubled areas in identifiable grid squares.  
   
   
       9 . A method for preventive maintenance of a boat hull according to  claim 8 , wherein detecting troubled areas of the boat further comprises recording the date and amount of moisture in each grid square.  
   
   
       10 . A method for preventive maintenance of a boat hull according to  claim 1 , in which said de-coring of debris comprises routing and turning rotted balsa wood blocks in each cavity into wood chips and debris using a rotary cutting tool entering said cavity through a minimally invasive hole for convenient removal.  
   
   
       11 . A method for preventive maintenance of a boat hull according to  claim 10 , in which the wood chips and debris are removed from said cavity using a vacuum hose connected to said hole.  
   
   
       12 . A method for preventive maintenance of a boat hull according to  claim 11 , in which compressed air is pumped into the troubled areas between said inner and outer skins to aid in drying the troubled areas.  
   
   
       13 . A method for preventive maintenance of a boat hull according to  claim 1 , in which heat is applied to said troubled areas.  
   
   
       14 . A method for preventive maintenance of a boat hull according to  claim 13 , wherein applying heat to the troubled areas further comprises applying heat to the entire boat.  
   
   
       15 . A method for preventive maintenance of a boat hull according to  claim 13 , wherein applying heat to the troubled areas comprises applying heat to predetermined portions of said boat associated with said removed hardware.  
   
   
       16 . A method for preventive maintenance of a boat hull according to  claim 13 , wherein applying heat to the troubled areas comprises applying heat by flash heating the boat.  
   
   
       17 . A method for preventive maintenance of a boat hull according to  claim 10 , further comprising blowing the particles out from the boat through said respective holes of said areas of removed hardware.  
   
   
       18 . A method for preventive maintenance of a boat hull according to  claim 5 , further comprising the step of inducing pressurized air into respective spaces between said inner and outer skins of the boat.