Gel-coat/hull repair

I am need of any advice on the best way to repair a chip in one of my H18 hulls. The hull was it by a rock coming off someones landscape mower. The area is about 2 inches in height, 1/2" wide and maybe 1/8" deep. The hulls are white/beige.

I realize fiberglass/gel coat repair is much different than painting cars but I have spraying equipment, compressor, etc. as I have painted a number of cars.

Any advice as to the steps, materials needed, etc.

Thanks for your thoughts.

I would use Marine Tex (simplest) or polyester resin mixed with fairing filler to thicken it up and white pigment (all from west marine). Forget painting, just mix the color close. You'll have a lot of leftover resin, hence the Marine Tex idea (small bottles). Others can better descrbe how to apply it, but the better you fill it, the less sanding.

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H18, H17 & Various motor boats

Rick Buchanan has created a great series in the Hotline called “This Old Hobie”. The articles go back to the March/April 2008 Hotline. http://2010.archive.hobiecat.com/hobieclass/

I suggest looking up in the Hotline achieves: Spraying Gelcoat (July August 2008) and the Gelcoat chipps & Dings (May/June 2009). If the damage is large enough; check out the Blind Hole Repair article (HotLine May/Jun 2008).

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John Latimer
'79 Hobie18 - Magnum
Sail#4854

[quote="divimon2000"]I would use Marine Tex (simplest) [quote] I agree with this it matches pretty close and is easy to use and cheap. Spraying gelcoat is a pain in my opinion and you have such a small area its not worth the hassle I would go Marine Tex.

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Floyd
00 Tiger
http://www.HobieFleet33.com
10 Mile Surfside, Texas
Join us on our Facebook group: Surfside Sailing

No on the Tex. It's epoxy. Use Formula 27 on the deeper gouges, fair, and gelcoat.

This might help.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0fO8TVEtoQ[/youtube]

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Sail Revolution
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hehe, just goes to show ya, there are million ways to patch a scratch. We're all right

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H18, H17 & Various motor boats

Exactly. I made a similar "ding" on one of my hulls earlier this summer after I carelessly loaded my boat on my trailer and slammed the front bumper. I ended up going with the Marine Tex fix. Simple, fast and (seemingly) durable. After fixing the gouge I can tell you there isn't any sign of failure, inside or outside the hull. I'll be keeping an eye on the repair and if the the patch does fail, I'll simply patch it again because the whole process only takes about 10-15 minutes plus drying time. The color even ended up matching almost perfectly with my semi-faded (white) hulls. +1 for Marine Tex.

Actually... no professional fiberglass repairman would ever use MarineTex (an epoxy product) to repair a scratch in a polyester hull. There are about 50 reasons why, but I'm not going to get into them.

MarineTex is NOT the right stuff to use for a lasting and proper repair.

Go read the article that danneskjold linked above, that's THE right way to do it.

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Sail Revolution
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Hey thanks everyone for the advice. I'll take care of this issue come spring but I think I'll practice a little prior to handling the hull. It's in one of the visual spots that I would prefer it look original when complete.

Thanks again.