Pitting or Dissolving fiberglass on old boat

[camondw]

I just got a 15' Interclub sailboat....basically I bought a trailer and got an old boat for free. I am restoring it but the fiberglass smells bad (polyester?) and has this weird pitting...see imgur link for pics.

What has caused this pitting, how can I fix it, how can I avoid this happening again?

My idea was to fill the pits with bondo and paint it.

thanks

http://imgur.com/a/xABLk

 

[tpenfield]

:welcome:

Welcome to iBoats . . .

Ruling out termites and carpenter ants for the moment, it is difficult to understand from the photos what part of the boat we are looking at. Had you removed the gelcoat, or is the picture the way the boat was when you obtained it?

Things to understand about fiberglass boats that would involved 'pitting' would be blisters and oxidation. Blisters may be more appropriate in this case.

Please do post some more pictures from a greater perspective and more information to get more thorough responses.

Bondo may not be a good choice, as I am not sure if it is intended for marine environments, etc.

 

[ondarvr]

First, if the fiberglass is hard, there should be no smell from it.

​This looks like several things are going on, possible blistering, abrasive abuse, paint, then a clear coating over the top of the old mess, what the clear is is anybody's guess at this point.

​And yes, back up with a few pics so we can get a better perspective on what we're looking at.