Need opinion Are these an easy fix

[Simple_Man]

a couple of chips one at the bow eye and one under the water line hoping these are going to be reasonable to repair

 

[alldodge]

Re: Need opinion Are these an easy fix

The gel coat is easy enough to repair but the cause of the bow eye chips could be because your eye moves. The eye is probably a bit loose, but you will need to remove the eye before the gel coat is repaired.

 

[Simple_Man]

Re: Need opinion Are these an easy fix

I tried to move the eye couldn't get it to budge even with a bar. Thanks for the help any more will be appreciated.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Need opinion Are these an easy fix

Depends on how "Picky" you want to be. If you are "Finicky" and want it to look as close to perfect as possible, you'll need to mix up some Gelcoat paste and try and match the existing gelcoat on the boat. This will take time and effort since the gelcoat is old and faded. You'll get close but it won't be perfect. Use a dremel to grind out the gouge and remove any and all loose chps etc.. Then sand and feather the edges, wash it all down with Acetone then Mix the Gelcoat with some cabosil to thicken it and then apply it in layers to build it up higher than needed. Sand, shape and feather starting with 60 grit working all the way to 1,000 grit. Finish up with some polish.

If you're NOT picky you could do a Quick fix with Marine Tex or PC-11. They're both Epoxy based Marine repair products that will fix gouges in 15 minutes. Both are White and blend fairly well with your hull color. Problem is, gelcoat will NOT stick to them so if you want to gelcoat over the repair in the future You'll have to grind out the repair and do it again using the above method.

Do you have inside access to the "Eye"? What Boat is this? If it's a Bow Rider You might be able to remove some seat pads to gain access to the eye bolts. If you can't get access then the repair, will be basically the same, just harder to do since you'll be working around the eye bolt. If the Eye bolt is not loose then I wouldn't worry about removing it. Patch the chip and move on.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Need opinion Are these an easy fix

The chip on the right ^^^ has exposed the fiberglass laminates behind the gelcoat. This is below the water line?

If you tried to use a large enough lever to try & get the bow eye to wiggle, you probably weren't using a large enough lever. The boat's 1500lb+/- (WAG but you'll get the idea) and unless you can load & unload the bow eye w/ the same amount of weighted leverage, you may not see the movement.

I'd bet the bow eye made contact w/ something:

The winch post during a power load
The lumber/metal framing of a dock or slip
Rock/tree when beaching
​

2 other possiblities:

The boat wasn't loaded up the trailer far enough before they started winching it forward, overloading the bow eye w/ the boats full weight.
The boat wasn't strapped down at the transom, but was clipped at the bow eye. Trailering it at freeway speeds or too fast down rough roads with the boat bouncing around tied just at the bow would transfer more weigh & load to the eye then it was intended to hold.
​

If the fiberglass weave that's been exposed is not compromised, a gelcoat repair kit would likely be sufficient. But if the large below the WL chip has loose fiberglass, how long has the larger chip been submerged?

Can you reach the back side of the eye bolt? Loosening it a bit (or removing it), then making the repair, would give you a better end result. But you've got to have access to the thru bolt & the nut on the interior of the hull. Make sure that the glass laminates and gelcoat behind & around the eye bolt isn't stress fractured, more then it appears, before you repair it...

 

[dvx216]

Re: Need opinion Are these an easy fix

Repairing gel coat is not that hard, matching your color is the hard part. Go to You Tube there is plenty of videos to show you how. The bigger problem is the cause of the damage behind the bow eye. If that is the angle of your winch line as in the picture that is probably what is causing the damage to the gel coat. Your winch line should pull as straight as possible so the bow eye does not pull off center and pop the gel coat. On the inside of the boat there will be nuts which hold the bow eye in place. If there is not a good level plate for the nuts and large flat washers to tighten against you will need to make one. Allot of times boat builders do not go to the trouble and the all the pressure you put on the eye when trailering the boat causes the eye to move and damage the gel coat.

 

[dvx216]

Re: Need opinion Are these an easy fix

Here is another way you could go after getting your wince positioned better. Remove bow eye repair gel coat install a bow plate.

 

[Simple_Man]

Re: Need opinion Are these an easy fix

Thanks again All I am not to worried about matching color the boat is an 87 bought it to fix it up and have fun with the grand kids. I haven't had a boat for about 20 yrs got this one cheep knowing the floor needed repair I've done that before. again thanks