Purchased used boat now I need advise on repairs"

[SHOTGUN RUSS]

So, the boat I was looking at in my previous posts I finally had a chance to go check it out and take for a test drive. All the key things are great with the boat but it is still 28 years old and needs some maintenance and minor repairs. I tapped the H#(( out of the hull, transom and stringers, all are solid, engine and leg are good. There are some chips and scratches in the hull and some very slight longitudinal gel coat cracks between the first and second running strake about a foot long, 2' behind the bow. Also the Cuddy windows and the plastic casing are cracked from old age. I would like to know the proper techniques to have the hull chips, scratches, cracks fixed( do not really care how they look just to preserve the hull). I would also like opinions on what to get for replacement cuddy windows and the casing because the manufacture is out of business so replacement parts are a no go. Thanks for any advise!

 

[AShipShow]

I'm no expert, but for the dings and dents on the hull, if they are not the whole way through then you could probably just fill them with some PB or some resin with microballoons and sand it down and re-gelcoat... If they are the whole way through, personally I would want to do a repair on the inside as well, maybe a layer or two of 1708 over the cracks to beef it up.

 

[ondarvr]

Typical chips, scratches and such don't need to be repaired for any reason related to preserving the hull, it will make no difference, but they will look a bit better. The cracks, depending on what they're from, may need attention.

​The pics are a bit fuzzy, so it's hard to see any detail, but cracks can be serious or meaningless depending why they formed, if possible look for structural issues behind where you see the cracks.

 

[SHOTGUN RUSS]

All the chips, dings and scratches are not through the hull, just to the next layer below the gel coat (you can see the darker layer underneath the white gel coat). I just want to make sure there will be no water intrusion to the fiberglass, as I believe I had read before that the fiberglass will slightly absorb water over time and the gel coat seals it. I do want to fix the chips, dings and scratches properly whether I need to take it to a shop or if I can do it myself. Any ideas on the windows to get a replacement casing or weather stripping would be appreciated also. The cracks in the gel coat are mostly just above the first strake which should be a very strong area and in the identical place on both sides, there is no evidence on the inside of the hull of damage and the cracks are not spidered like from an impact. I suspect that they could be from too thick of gel coat applied to that area but I am by far not an expert.

 

[ondarvr]

Gel coat does not seal the laminate, or really protect it from water, water finds it's way through the gel coat and into the laminate unless barrier coats are used, and they just slow down the process.

​If the boat was kept in the water 100% of the time water would find it's way into the laminate sooner with no gel coat, but it would get there either way, if not kept in the water it wouldn't make a difference whether any of the hull had gel coat on it or not, the laminate wouldn't have time to absorb enough water to make a difference, and then it would dry out shortly after being removed from the water. Some experts believe the blister issue (the main problem people notice) would be lessened with no gel coat, gel coat can be a barrier for the any water in the laminate to escape, so it stays in the laminate longer and as a result does more damage. The reason there's a difference in how easily it enters the laminate and exits is because water breaks down certain products in the laminate and becomes larger once combined with them, so exiting the laminate is tougher.

 

[SHOTGUN RUSS]

Gel coat does not seal the laminate, or really protect it from water, water finds it's way through the gel coat and into the laminate unless barrier coats are used, and they just slow down the process.

​If the boat was kept in the water 100% of the time water would find it's way into the laminate sooner with no gel coat, but it would get there either way, if not kept in the water it wouldn't make a difference whether any of the hull had gel coat on it or not, the laminate wouldn't have time to absorb enough water to make a difference, and then it would dry out shortly after being removed from the water. Some experts believe the blister issue (the main problem people notice) would be lessened with no gel coat, gel coat can be a barrier for the any water in the laminate to escape, so it stays in the laminate longer and as a result does more damage. The reason there's a difference in how easily it enters the laminate and exits is because water breaks down certain products in the laminate and becomes larger once combined with them, so exiting the laminate is tougher.

So what can I use to just fill in or cover the blemishes I assume for cosmetic appearances seen as a repair is not needed?

 

[ondarvr]

You can use some epoxy from the hardware store, or get some gel coat paste (putty), or thicken the gel coat yourself. You can buy white gel coat kits, or color matching kits to get the color closer. The color will never be perfect, but usually close enough.

 

[Woodonglass]

Gel coat does not seal the laminate, or really protect it from water, water finds it's way through the gel coat and into the laminate unless barrier coats are used, and they just slow down the process.

​If the boat was kept in the water 100% of the time water would find it's way into the laminate sooner with no gel coat, but it would get there either way, if not kept in the water it wouldn't make a difference whether any of the hull had gel coat on it or not, the laminate wouldn't have time to absorb enough water to make a difference, and then it would dry out shortly after being removed from the water. Some experts believe the blister issue (the main problem people notice) would be lessened with no gel coat, gel coat can be a barrier for the any water in the laminate to escape, so it stays in the laminate longer and as a result does more damage. The reason there's a difference in how easily it enters the laminate and exits is because water breaks down certain products in the laminate and becomes larger once combined with them, so exiting the laminate is tougher.

As Always this is a GREAT explanation on GelCoat and Glass. Everyone on the forum should read and file this away!!!:clap2:

 

[SHOTGUN RUSS]

Ordered some white Epoxy and will use that. Any ideas for the Cuddy windows. I have a local plastics shop that will cut and bend acrylic or plexi but they do not do that for cheap.