Dave,

Go ahead and cut her open, thats the hardest part. Once she's opened up you should be able to figure out how to fix it pretty easily. Making her watertight is pretty easy and straight forward, making her look like she hasnt had major surgery is harder. I would fix it and sail her now, and worry about pretty this winter.

When you close the hulls back up, that repair should mirror the original construction as closely as possible, so if the boat was made with S glass and vinylester, use that in the repair of the hull when you close it back up. Epoxy will stick to vinyl, but not the other way around, so its better in the long run to stick with what the builder used. Vinyl is more toxic so follow the directions and dont breathe it or smoke around it. Most boats these days are made with Vinyl, its cheaper than epoxy. You also dont want to create a hard spot in the hulls, or a spot that doesnt flex the same way the rest of the boat does, so use the same material as the rest of the hulls if you can.

If you add carbon to the daggerboard wells, I would add it to the whole part. Again, you dont want to create a hard spot, or a spot that doesnt flex like the rest of the part. So adding carbon just at the break might transfer the load to the spot on the daggerboard well with no carbon on it.

I'm curious why the daggerboard well broke in the middle, was the top of the board half way down the trunk? Or do you think you flexed the hulls top to bottom?

Bill