scratched the side of my boat

[manjo]

The boat dock had a metal frame with no plastic coating, I did not have a fender out while docking the boat and so scratched the gel coat a little, like 4inches long. Is it ok to leave it like that or do I need to get the scratch taken care of ? The part that got scratched is the swim step I believe that is made of plastic ? No scratches on the body of the boat. Please advice.

Next time I will have my fenders out, ... lesson learned.

Thanks

 

[gerryb]

Is the scratch on a bolted on swim platform? If so, shouldn't be a big problem but Iwould try to fill it in with some epoxy or other product that will hide it somewhat.

Someone should start a post with pictures of all the scratches and dings our boats have taken. Got my first gash in the hull about the size of a quarter as a gust blew me into my slipmates anchor while I was docking. (OK, that sounds better than saying I wasn't paying attention to the direction of the wind prior to arrival at my slip and got caught.) Just filled it in with liquid epoxy but it is still noticeable (to me anyway!). I still think how I could have let that happen!

 

[jrcinnh]

If you can't see open fiberglass, I would wait. If you have an off season do it then.

But waiting is good because this is not the last scratch you will get. Once you get all the stuff ready, it's just as easy to fix three or four scratches as it is to fix one.

 

[Dave S]

If you could post a picture, we could also advise you better whether the gel coat will have to be repaired or whather the scratch might sand out or buff out.