My first rock damage

[attean]

Hit a rock and need a gel coat repair. Two questions:

1. Fiberglass damage?
   Can someone tell from the pictures if the fiberglass is damaged? This is my first repair attempt so I'm not sure what is needed.
2. Gel Coat Repair
   I might get the gel coat from the dealer but the boat is in remote Maine so it is a two plus hour trip through the mountains. Since the chip is out of the rear it needs to have a hard back. Do I need a tool to shape this or just shape it with a trowel and sand it down?

Thanks in advance... I'm a novice

I pulled the boat out of the water right after doing this (was on my way to the ramp). Got the algae off with Slimy Grimy (stuff works great).

 

[bakerjw]

Re: My first rock damage

I'd say that your fiberglass is okay. The damage is really only superficial as they build those areas up pretty well.

I'd say that you probably have to sand the area down until you get into solid glass. You would then mix up what is referred to as PB (peanut butter like consistency) which is a mixture of resin and Cabosil (fumed silica). Put the PB into the void and shape it to the desired profile. Once it cures out, you'd need to sand it down and then cover it with a matching color of gelcoat. The gelcoat is a polyester based resin that stays tacky unless a wax is added to it.

If this is the only repair to be made, you'll be better off taking it to a place that already has all of the ingredients to fix it for you.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: My first rock damage

Welcome to iBoats!
From what I can see in the pic, the keel is filled with thickened resin and maybe some wood. If this is the case then as bakerjw suggested the repair will be to fill the area with thickened structural resin and then reshape it with a grinder. Structural resin is made by using Polyester resin, Cabosil, and chopped up fibers from scrap pieces of Chopped Strand Matt. Grind the damaged area back about 4-6 inches and clean well with acetone. Mix the resin, cabosil and fibers to the consistency of Creamy Peanut Butter and apply to the damaged area. I would also then lay a couple of layers of CSM over the area for added reinforcement. Sand, Fair, and Apply 3-4 coats of Gelcoat and then sand and polish. A quart of Resin, 2 quarts of cabosil and 1 sq ft of CSM should be more than enuf to get this done. Check with local boat shops, marinas etc to see if you can get the materials locally. Should not cost more than $50 bucks to do this.

 

[attean]

Re: My first rock damage

Thanks. About how long should I allocate to doing this?

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: My first rock damage

If you had all of your materials on hand you could do this in 4 - 6 hours. Poly and Gelcoat set up rather quickly. Being your first time it might take a bit longer but once you mix up the resin you only have about 20 mins before it sets up so the prep time and the finish time are the only variables.

 

[attean]

Re: My first rock damage

I am looking online, but do you know of any good example videos on how to do perform this repair?

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: My first rock damage

Youtube: gelcoat repair

Look for 1 by Friscoboater on Glastron CVX (he has a youtube channel)

 

[pauloman]

Re: My first rock damage

patch with a kevlar (tm) re-enforced epoxy putty then computer color matched enamel paint from the hardware store

paul

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: My first rock damage

This is not quite as bad as yours but this will give you a general idea of the overall process. You will need to add some filler first and then apply the glass patches and then the gelcoat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz5WCfipaNw