How bad is this?

[TRDon]

I was looking at a boat and the corner has the gell chipped down to the fiberglass. They are chips about the size of a dime and about 4 of them. I know it isnt good but how bad is it? I have a pic but cant upload it because I am a computer idiot. I dont know how long it has been that way either. Please advise because I may sell my boat for this one shortly.

[bkhallpass]

RE: How bad is this?

Try to post a picture so we can see how bad. In general, it's not that big of deal. Just needs a gel coat patch. Lot's of people do the patches themselves. The real trick is to get the gel properly color matched, and to prep the surface properly before applying. It is not cheap to have someone else do it. Depending upon how bad it is, could be several hundred dollars, which I would take off the price of the boat. BKH

[crowland]

RE: How bad is this?

I dont think you are talking about any structural damage at all, merely cosmetic. It sounds almost like a dock ding from how you described it. This should be pretty in expensive to have fixed professionally. I would think less than $300 if they are all located close together. Is the fiberglass where the chips are white? Darker colors are more difficult to match than white.

[MHayes]

RE: How bad is this?

Are the chips below the waterline? As others have said, it shouldn't be that expensive to fix, but it would make me concerned about how the boat was cared for overall. If we somehow got a chip in the gel of our boat, I would feel the need to fix it immediately, personally.

[TRDon]

RE: How bad is this?

I did forget to say that the chip was below the waterline. I was concerned about the actual porus fiberglass becoming saturated with water and potentially causing a problem down the road. My other concern was how long it had been there and how long has it been below water bacause of the above concern. It seem that the concensus is that it isnt that big of a deal then?

[TRBenj]

Re: RE: How bad is this?

I was concerned about the actual porus fiberglass becoming saturated with water

CC switched to epoxy resin in their hull construction in '89, I believe- and epoxy resin is not hydroscopic like polyester is. Gelcoat is actually polyester (which is why it will bubble if left in the water too long). The problem is relatively minor- cosmetic only. Id try and get a discount for it anyways since it will cost a bit to have repaired.

[TRDon]

RE: Re: RE: How bad is this?

cool, thanks for the advice

[bchesley]

RE: Re: RE: How bad is this?

You can order a patch kit from your dealer with the correct color for your year. It comes in a paste so it is easy to apply. I have one that I am filling some holes from a bimini top that no longer works with my tower.

[bkhallpass]

RE: Re: RE: How bad is this?

Bchesley, It would be good if you could fill most of the hole with epoxy, and then use the gel coat patch to go over the top of the whole. It will be a more durable patch of those holes. BKH

[bchesley]

RE: Re: RE: How bad is this?

Thanks I had not thought of that. It has taken a back seat now that its summer. Any spare time I have I want to be in the boat not working on it. I will be doing this as a winter project.

[8122pbrainard]

RE: Re: RE: How bad is this?

bch, If the chips are only in the gel and not deeper into the glass, then I would just go with the gel repair. There are a couple problems with the epoxy. Getting it in the hole and leaving enough depth for the gel is one, but the biggest is polyester gel will not stick to the epoxy. When you re-gel a complete boat, epoxy is used as a first coat as a moisture barrier but then a polyvinyl cot is put on as a conversion coat to the polyester gel coat.

If you can't get the patch kit from the dealer, go for one of the gel repair kits from a marine supply. They come with tinting colors to match your existing. I have to caution you if you get one of these kits - use extremely small quantities of the tinting. I'm talking about what will stick to the end of a tooth pick! Keep adding untill it looks correct. Matching is tough!

[bkhallpass]

RE: Re: RE: How bad is this?

I agree Pete. As I read Bch' post, he is repairing holes drilled all the way through to mount the bimini. The holes would be topside, well above water line, so I suppose he could use a poly patch and then go over with gel. BKH

[8122pbrainard]

RE: Re: RE: How bad is this?

Thanks Brian, I too reread the post and yes found that I was referring to the chips and not the holes!

[bchesley]

RE: Re: RE: How bad is this?

Thanks guys. I did get the color matched paste kit from my dealer. The holes are really small in the actually glass part. The beveling of the gel to prevent cracking is the large part of the repair. I am just hoping that as small as the holes are even if the gel has faded some it will still match. I sanded and buffed the whole deck this winter so it should match pretty good.

[8122pbrainard]

RE: Re: RE: How bad is this?

bch, Just a couple of small tips here. A Dremel tool with a small 1/8" dia. burr in it will make routing out the area real easy. Next, cover the surounding area of the repair with 3M fine line tape. If needed, use a Xacto to carefully cut the tape away from the fill area. This will do a couple things. First, it will prevent the gel from getting outside the fill area. Next, the thickness of the tape will give you depth control of the fill. Use a putty knife across the tape to spread the gel. You don't want to have to sand more than needed. Don't remove the tape and start hard block wet sanding the fill. The tape will now prevent you from sanding the original gell around the fill. Finally, when you aren't removing anything by sanding, remove the tape and sand flush. Buff.