skeeter hull repair

skeeter7

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Aug 23, 2009
Messages
40
I bought this skeeter from a friend a few months ago and am working on getting it back on the water. Last October at Lake Mead we hit some really bad weather combined with engine trouble and ended up stranded with the boat beached for a couple days. Needless to say, the hull ended up getting a natural sandblasting. The rest of the boat is coming along nicely, I'm just looking for some advice on the fiberglass situation. Most of the damage just involves the gelcoat being scratched and worn down, but there are a couple tiny spots where the fiberglass is barely exposed. My plan is to fill the deeper divits with marine-tex, sand, and install a keelguard. I will also probably apply some clearcoat or epoxy paint to some areas. I know it won't be pretty, but with the hull in that condition will it structurally be ok, or could this cause major issues? Any opinions or advice would be much appreciated. Here are a couple pictures. Thanks.

IMG_0041-1.jpg


IMG_0044-1.jpg
 
Joined
Aug 17, 2009
Messages
941
Re: skeeter hull repair

skeeter,

Glass looks okay from the pics. If there are no deep gouges where the glass matrix is largely exposed then you are okay. Your corrective course sounds reasonable. If you are just going to finish with paint then you are good to go with the marine tex. If you plan on gel coating than use a marine polyester filler. Gel coat willl adhere to it better than the epoxy.
 

skeeter7

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Aug 23, 2009
Messages
40
Re: skeeter hull repair

Thanks for the reply. Is there some sort of clear coat I can use to paint in some areas? I'm not really worried about looks, just sealing it. Does the marine-tex have to be covered with something?
 

Bob_VT

Moderator & Unofficial iBoats Historian
Staff member
Joined
May 19, 2001
Messages
26,022
Re: skeeter hull repair

Pictures too big Resize them to 640 x 480 and edit your post please
 
Joined
Aug 17, 2009
Messages
941
Re: skeeter hull repair

Sorry Skeeter. Been out of town.

There really isn't a clear coat to use in this case. You will be better off properly sanding, fairing and painting the area. I don't think that Marine Tex needs to be covered but the finished results might not be that appealing.
 

ondarvr

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Apr 6, 2005
Messages
11,527
Re: skeeter hull repair

You can use clear gel coat, it won't look great, but will look better than just about anything else.

You need to sand all surfaces or it won't stick, so sand it well.
 
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