Gel Coat Repair Below Water Line

[Captain Morgan]

This weekend I tried for the first time to put my boat on the trailer. Of course I came on the trailer wrong and scrape the gel coat on the keel where the pink fiberglass shows for about an inch long by 1/8" wide and 1/16" deep. I am going to repair the damage but I was wondering will the gel coat repair keep water from seeping between the repair and possibly causing blistering? I’m new to this type of thing so I wasn’t sure if I should have this repaired by a pro being that it is below the waterline.

 

[Sorrento 25]

Make sure there is no loose gelcoat adjacent to the damage. Feather the area out well and repair it with Marine-Tex. It will be better than original. I've never met a "pro" that I trust more than myself.

 

[RobF300]

Make sure there is no loose gelcoat adjacent to the damage. Feather the area out well and repair it with Marine-Tex. It will be better than original. I've never met a "pro" that I trust more than myself.

hopefully you will never need brain surgery, lol

to the original poster- a pro would get less then $150 for the job, it will match and would look like no one had ever repaired the boat, and if you dont like it you can make them re-do it, thats if you trust anyone.

 

[jimdavi]

Agree with Sorrento, I had a small chunk 1/8 X 1" on the undersides, part of a tree I became aquainted with on the river, ($500 prop repairs) and the marina wanted $200 to repair. I fixed with Marinetex; 15 mins and $14.

 

[RobF300]

smaller shop or mobile guy less then $75, larger marina more money due to overhead costs.

marinetex will not match the bottom of the boat, if you dont care about that then go for the marinetex, if you want it original and you actually care if it matches then at least get a spectrum gelcoat repair paste kit instead of using marinetex.

 

[KayKook]

Agree with Rob300. have it repaired professionally. The OP says he is new to this sort of thing, assume that means boat gel coat repair as well as launching and retreiving a boat. Below the water line repairs, however easy some make it sound, are serious enough for the long term to have it repaired properly by someone that actually does it for a living, not by an armchair DIY boater.