Hull Repair

[mdjd]

Please help! I have a 1988 Celebrity Bowrider 180. I recently hit the dock with the front of the boat which made a 1" diameter chip above the waterline. I'm not too familiar with fiberglass or gelcoat. But I think its chipped down to the fiber glass, there is NOT a hole in the boat or hull. It's more like a 1" diameter chip that exposed the fiberglass material. I feel absolutely sick about this damage. Can someone please advise me how to repair? How extensive of a repair is this? Is it something I can fix myself?

 

[oops!]

Re: Hull Repair

hi....welcome to i boats !

im really sorry to hear about the dock episode.

im even sorrier to tell you that the boat is totally unsafe. it could sink. you need to get rid of the boat.

however i (out of the kindness of my heart) will take away that un safe boat for you for free.
yep....i ll just tow it away for you and deal with the boat accordingly. please have ownership papers ready

just kidding

its not the last dock your gonna hit. so get used to it.

gellcoat repairs are realitivly simple when you have the tools.

the big thing is to match the color.

basic steps.

1 scuff the area.
2 clean with acetone.
3 mask off area.
4 match color
5 apply gell paste.
6 sand/fair
7. buff and polish.

you will find that white is not white. and your gellcoat is allready faded from the sun, so factory gell will be a tough match.

get a gellcoat color kit from a local supplier.
use the neutral gell and add the color to match.
do a dab test on the gellcoat to see if the color is the same, (i doubt that you will match it, but you will get close. how close, is how much patience you have).

do a search here, there are lots of posts and vids on gellcoat repair.

good luck.....and post pics here, if you get stuck...we will help.

cheers
and again...welcome to i boats.
oops

 

[saildan]

Re: Hull Repair

Please help! I have a 1988 Celebrity Bowrider 180. I recently hit the dock with the front of the boat which made a 1" diameter chip above the waterline. I'm not too familiar with fiberglass or gelcoat. But I think its chipped down to the fiber glass, there is NOT a hole in the boat or hull. It's more like a 1" diameter chip that exposed the fiberglass material. I feel absolutely sick about this damage. Can someone please advise me how to repair? How extensive of a repair is this? Is it something I can fix myself?

• You are going to chip away all the loosened gelcoat.
• Then you sand the area by the instructions for the brand gelcoat you buy.
• You apply the gelcoat paste higher than the surrounding surface
• Let it cure
• Sand it even
• Compound out the sanding marks
• Polish it to match

There are a couple of different styles of gelcoat, ones that stay tacky for layering and ones that cure hard for a single application. Be sure you match the correct style with the fix you need to do.

Google gelcoat supplies. Evercoat and some other brands let you read their instructions right on-line so you can see how they are handled and plan your repair needs in advance of going to the fiberglass or marine supplier.

Click on the links and videos below for some walk-throughs.

Chip Repair
This is actually a blister, but the procedure is the same for a chip​

More on dock scars


TAP Video 1

TAP Video 2​

 

[redfury]

Re: Hull Repair

Make sure that you check to see if there is any damage to the glass underneath if you whacked that dock hard. you could have done more damage than simply popping off a chip of gel coat. If the hull is solid around the chip, then you are good to go. If it's springy, radiating around the chip, then you are in for a larger repair...just fixing the chip will be a temporary solution to a permanent problem. I actually have this kind of dock damage on my boat restore that I am going to be getting to pretty soon and will be sure to post pictures when I do the repair.

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Hull Repair

Reminder though.. that just doing a Gel-Paste-Fill repair without spraying over it with gel Will eventually fail ( Crack around the repair ).

If you decide to just to a fill repair Let It Cure Fully ! I mean let it sit there for a few days to make sure it shrinks out. ( gel paste shrinks a good amount so filling it "fair" will result in a dimpled repair after it cures ).

For a long lasting repair .. Match your color with Gel .. mix some cabosil to make your paste .. fill ..wait a day for shrinkage .. fair .. spray gel .. wetsand/drysand and buff... done.

You can use a " Preval " ( 5 bucks ) for your sprayer ( apply 3-4 medium coats with some dry time between coats ).

You can reduce a Little acetone with your gel for better spray ( not too much or you will create a run/sag.

Small Gelcoat repairs are Very simple once you get the hang of it.

YD.

 

[Blue2Green]

Re: Hull Repair

Good information on this thread as well. I have some small chips on my project I am about to start. But I think I need to tackle the oxidation first so i can get a closer color match on the gel coat repair.