Hull Damage from Metal Dock

[smcclure0270]

First time post on this website though I have used this site for several fixes already. But this is the first time I caused the needed repair lol.

First time boater, bought my first boat. It is a 1997 Bayliner Capri 1950 which was taken pretty good care of but does have some minor issues.

Yesterday, me and the wife had the boat out and was bringing it back to dock so we could get it trailered up and head home. I came in a little fast and my wife failed on her job or catching the dock to stop the boat (like I said, we are rookies and some things take a little practice.) The boat struck the metal dock on the keel, then slid back down and scratched another spot. The gouges are pretty deep, but I don't think the fiberglass was damaged. The problem is, the keel has apparently been repaired before with what appeared to be epoxy in some spots and gel coat in others. I want to fix these spots as they are a little unsightly, but it does not need to be perfect as it obviously wasn't repaired perfectly the first time.

Does this need epoxy like Marine-Tex or a gel coat repair from Spectrum Color? Both marks are well above the water line but still need to be fixed. I have included pictures. Thanks for the time.

 

[smcclure0270]

Re: Hull Damage from Metal Dock

Any suggestions?

 

[bakerjw]

Re: Hull Damage from Metal Dock

The white look of the underlying glass usually means that the glass and resin have fractured. I am no expert on boat repair or construction, but I suspect that the keel in the bow area is built up heavier than the surrounding hull since these kinds of things happen.

Normally, for a hull repair, the surrounding fiberglass is sanded out until you get back to good glass. Kind of like a dentist drilling out a cavity prior to putting in a filling. If the damage is deep enough that it is through the hull, then most likely patching also has to be done on the inside.

Here's a recent thread that addresses how to do the repair.
http://forums.iboats.com/boat-resto...ir/how-do-i-begin-go-about-fixing-627112.html

I'd follow the same method if I were you. In a worst case, can you reach the inside of the hull where the damage occurred?

 

[smcclure0270]

Re: Hull Damage from Metal Dock

I don't think I can get to the inside where the damage is, but I do not think I will have to according to some of the other posts in that thread. It really looks like the only damage is to the outer coating. If you push on it, it is still very hard.

 

[greenbush future]

Re: Hull Damage from Metal Dock

We all learned at one point that slower is almost always better than faster when docking. I made a huge mistake thinking a human at the bow could somehow slow a boat down from hitting the dock, don't ever try that. Boats are replaceable, arms, hands, and people aren't good bumper cushions.

I see some grinding that will be required to get the outside of the hull in good clean and solid condition to accept new fiberglass. Others will post here to advise you on how the lay up the glass work, but the good news is, all of it is fixable, just depends how deep the damage is. You have new and old damage that could all be fixed at one time.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Hull Damage from Metal Dock

Was Elvis a previous owner of that boat?....





The damage is in a high wear area, so I would repair it well, unless you wan the repair popping or falling apart. I'd grind out all the loose stuff, feather it out, fiberglass it back up, then top coat it. Topcoat is paint or gelcoat, that area looks to be painted over gelcoat,,, to me...

 

[500dollar744ti]

Re: Hull Damage from Metal Dock

The glass looks pretty damaged to me, as the previous person stated, if you don't grind it down and lay up new glass, any other repair is just going to pop out or fall apart.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Hull Damage from Metal Dock

Once you get the repair finished, you might consider a bow/keel guard. Iboats sells quite a few, from 4ft to 10ft