Small hull FG repair - suggestions?

[mikequig]

So my boat got hit by another boat, which knocked off one of my anchor drain clamshells, cutting into the gelcoat a good bit and deforming the screw hole for the cover. It looks like something I can tackle but I'm not positive how to start. Any suggestions on how to best repair his ding (along with the others I noticed When I looked at the accompanying photo)? Thanks in advance.

[deltaten]

marine-tex.
clear away loose, level hi spots, scrape out w/knife,clean w/acetone and fill w/M-T. A bit of polyfilm on top and tape flush (as possible). sand flush after cure and rei stall fitting g

hth

[hellosailor]

Yup.
Dremel kit to chew and grind out the torn stuff, some acetone to prep the surface. White MarineTex (epoxy putty) to fill and rebuild it, and practice a bit on some scrap if you're not sure how to use a proper putty knife or scraper to get a nice smooth finish on that. Then sand if needed to get a further smooth finish.


No, that won't perfectly match the gel coat but it will give you a strong repair that isn't hideous to look at.


You can get kits that will let you try to match the hull color with gelcoat, but that requires more practice and some artistic talent. To really disappear the damage, you'd wind up repainting that entire side of the hull. Which of course, is always an option.(G)