I was working as a first-mate on a lobster boat out of North Rustico harbour, Prince Edward Island in 1992 through 1994. It was the first year that I had to fix a major problem, where the winch to pull up the lobster traps from the Ocean's floor broke off of the boat, taking a nice, big chunk of the boat with it. We went into the boat builders' shop, and asked them how much they would charge to repair the boat, and upon learning that they could not even start on it for at least 2 to 3 months due to being behind on orders for new boats, they gave me a quick course on how to apply fibreglass to a boat.

The enire job actually only took me two days; one day for the repairs, and one day for the sanding and painting. Now, this was a 42 foot lobster and deep-sea fishing charter boat, made of fibreglass, but the principles and steps to follow are the same for smaller, recreational boats made of fibreglass.

Adding fibreglass to a wooden or metal boat will not give you the desired results. If your boat is made of wood, use wood or a wood replacement for the job. The same holds true for any other materials that your boat may be made of; use the same materials that your boat is made of to make structural damage repairs. So, if your boat is made of fibreglass, or the part of the boat that has damage is made of fibreglass, following these simple steps to add fibreglass to your boat will make your task an easy chore to complete, and should return your boat to an almost-new appearance.

The first thing to do is to acquire all of the materials and tools that you will need for your fibreglass repair;

* Grinder with grinding wheels, course and fine.

* Sander (preferably a belt sander for the rough work).

* Sand paper (for the finer work) - at least 10 sheets of rough, 10 sheets of fine - depending on the size of the area to be fixed).

* Fibreglass repair kit (includes trowels, rubber gloves and face mask, along with the fibreglass sheets and the resin). This includes two or three different grades of fibreglass sheeting; filler, which is used to fill in a large gap. Coarse, which is thick and used to fill in smaller gaps. And fine, which is used after the coarse sheets are finished being applied in order to make the repaired area the same as the original contours of the boat. If needed, you can also purchase some small-strand fibreglass filler, to fill in any large holes or dents.

* A sunny day with minimal wind (do not attempt fibreglass

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