Fixing My First Gouges

[maine89]

Originally Posted by minaret

Sorry those aren't in order. I tried to post some pics last night but it just wouldn't let me. I'll try to go a little more in depth here.
What you are trying to do is a substantial project. Try not to worry too much about $150 bucks worth of tools-it's a drop in the bucket. By the time you are well equipped enough to do this work properly you will have spent substantially more than that, and a bunch of time. That's why most people take it to the pro's, we are already well equipped and experienced. If you want to avoid doing that, you need to become just as well equipped and experienced yourself. I could do this job in a week, but it will take you much longer. Don't get in over your head. Only do this if you want to learn how so you can repair and maintain your boat in the future. That is the only pay off, your boat is not worth enough for it to make sense financially.
Having said that, get rid of the Dremel tool. It is for homeowners and amateurs only. Go buy a 1/4" shaft die grinder in electric and some bits for it. Will actually be cheaper than the Dremel and much more capable of doing the job. Look at industrial supply stores. Also acquire some 1" roloc shafts and discs to chuck into your die grinder or a cordless. Get a proper 4" grinder and some 16 and 24 git discs as well. If you don't plan on needing them much, buy from a place like Harbor Freight that has cheap industrial tools. These tools will do the job right and more than pay for themselves in labor saved. You will also need a 5" random orbit sander, Porter Cable is preferred. These aren't cheap but are a basic and critical tool. That's several hundred dollars worth of tools which you absolutely must have to do this job right, and we haven't even gotten into materials yet.
You will need poly resin (iso), catalyst, a catalyst beaker, a yard or two of DBM 1708, a yard or two of 10 oz. CSM, some chip brushes and air rollers, pots and stir sticks for mixing, lots of sandpaper, Tyvek suits for grinding and laminating, a box of gloves, a respirator, masking tape and masking film, acetone, rags, a hard block for sanding, a spray rig to finish spray your gelcoat, and a whole lot of patience and hard work.
Much of what you pictured are large stress cracks. If you just V these out and fill with any filler, including epoxy, they WILL come back. You need to grind these out and fiberglass them. Post more pics and I'll give you a better opinion of what your looking at. Find a decent fiberglass supply store near you and stop shopping at west marine now. It will only bring you grief at great expense. These products all have very short shelf lives, and West marine doesn't sell enough to keep fresh product on the shelves. You cant tell the difference between good gel and bad just by looking. Don't gamble on it, it's too much work.

I should clarify it is the above process that I think is too much for my current level, not fixing the transom.