damaged goods

New to the forum and know squat about fiberglass or boat repair. I hit a stump with my bass boat and damaged at-least the gel-coat. It is on the bottom, on the very outside edge. I did not damage the fiberglass; it pealed off the paint and a thick layer under it (right to, but not the fiberglass) is that paint and thick layer what is referred to as the ?gel-coat? or did I go deeper?

Re: damaged goods

Welcome to iboats.

Post a few snapshots of the damage. It sounds like you damaged the gel coat.

Re: damaged goods

trying to make the jpeg smaller, it's 2MB...any help?

Re: damaged goods

http://forums.iboats.com/forumdisplay.php?f=32 top 3 threads are all about photos with good instructions

Re: damaged goods

ratherfish said:

trying to make the jpeg smaller, it's 2MB...any help?

Click to expand...

Resize to 640x480

Re: damaged goods







bout kicked my butt...hopefully this worked

Re: damaged goods

I see fibers

I am calling in the pro!

You must inspect to make sure there is no moisture that could have seeped in. I imagine you are goinf to have to do fiberglass repair then re-gel coat those spots.

Make sure there are no cracks.

Yes good job with the pictures.

Re: damaged goods

Ok, I?m with you. It looks like it took one layer of fiberglass mat off but other than that the exposed layer looks clean and smooth (other than some hairs hanging down). It happened about four years ago, would it dry if water absorbed in it?

Re: damaged goods

That's a nasty little scrape and I assume you've been using it for the four years its been like this.

You'll need to get at it from the inside for a couple of reasons, one to repair it, and two so you can see if water has gotten into the foam, wet foam is very heavy and will rot any wood below the deck.

Start by cutting a hole in the floor above the damage and see what you find, then post more pics.

Re: damaged goods

Nope, parked it after it happened. What about the white sandy shape that is washed away? It is almost like sand with glue in it to shape the water dynamics of the boat???

Re: damaged goods

The only problem with using it was water getting in, that is if it held up and didn't sink.

Its hard to tell from the pics, but its most likely putty that's used to fill the strakes so its easier to glass over them. You'll need to reshape the strakes as you rebuild the hull.

Re: damaged goods

It didn?t sink, the bilge didn?t even come on?no water was taken on. It is for the strakes, it isn?t in anyway supportive is it?

Re: damaged goods

Well depends on what is on the other side inside the hull..... maybe a cracked stringer?? Yup I would check below the deck .... just a peek.

Re: damaged goods

The strakes are for better performance, but because of their shape, they also stiffen the hull slightly.

Re: damaged goods

Hello ratherfish..

Just for an FYI.. fiberglass techs are like lawyers..you need to tell Everything. We cant help if you dont ( not saying your not ).

It seems like the skin coat ripped off from initial impact . Appears to be located at a plane strake.. could have pushed water/air under your skin. ( some skins are not properly layed-up in the cure time.. ) does not mean your boat is "faulty" m8..

From your pics .. It seems like you could take the boat off the trailer..and bevel your damaged areas/glass/regel.

You might have to do this in parts depending on how you shore the boat. ( make sure you leave proper overlaps on where you cant glass..to when you move shore and overlap glass..)

You really have to look at the inside. To see if there are fractures on the inside..

When you said you hit a "dead head".. how hard man ? I mean.. HARD ? soft..bounce..hit..etc.. pray tell.. or its going to be harder on us..

I cant tell you how many times I repair a " It was just a light bump on the dock .. just a simple gel repair " and after inspection I ask..well how freaking hard ?
( they seem to blame there wife or friend and have no Idea lol ).

Grind and glass the outside as needed .. then you may or may not have to glass inside.. ( Ive seen big 4x8 skin rip off due to high speed "slight" impact .. and rip skin off from poor skin layups ).

YD.