Using Hull with Missing Gel Coat on Bottom

[Schoony]

Hi all. I am lucky to have a 1963 Boston Whaler 13-foot STANDARD that I bought from the Fire Department and want to restore.

The hull bottom has chunks the size of a nickel with gel coat missing. The blue layer of fiberglass is good.

Can I use the boat as-is for the season without fixing?

I want to fish now then fix restore this coming winter. I don't want to do more damage.

Hi all, I'm new here and this is my first post.
Thanks, Schoony

[Phil T]

Gelcoat is very thin, maybe 1/16-th inch.

What do you mean by chunks?

While I think you can make a temporary repair, add an image of the damage or a link to an image.

[Schoony]

Phil, the chunks are the white gel coat below the water line. The gel coat thickness is between 1/16 and 3/32. The damage is I think from running up on rocks. I see no fiberglass damage.

What would you suggest as a temporary repair?

Thanks for the help.

[Phil T]

Presuming there is no missing fiberglass you can apply a gelcoat layer. Problem with this is gelcoat is sold by the quart and is pricey.

An alternative is to apply a gelcoat/fiberglass epoxy-based repair paste. All suggestions are permanent repair solutions.

If it must be color matched because it is required, Spectrum makes a color matched patch kit.

If you are not concerned on color because it is on the bottom and unseen, Marine Tex is a white colored repair kit.

Locketite marine epoxy is also a good solution and is closer in color. Easiest to use, least expensive.

Color match - https://spectrumcolor-com.3dcartstores.com/
General repair - (2 oz. white) https://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=2088
Locktite - https://www.loctiteproducts.com/en/products/build/epoxies/loctite_epoxy_marine.html

[jimh]

Can I use the boat as-is for the season without fixing?

I do not recommend you use the boat at all if it has damage to the hull on areas that are underwater and will be part of the running surface of the hull. If you do use the boat, water will begin to enter the interior of the hull, begin to permeate the fiberglass, and may begin to permeate the foam. These are serious problems and should be avoided.

If you MUST use the boat without repair, use a very high-quality strong-adhesive duct tape or gaffers tape to cover the damage. Don't use $5-a-roll made-in-China cheap tape with a silver shiny surface, use real duct tape or gaffers tape. It will keep most of the water out, not perfect, but better than nothing.

For advice on repairs, I recommend you read this article from the REFERENCE section:

INSTRUCTIONS -- HULL PATCH KITS
http://continuouswave.com/whaler/refere ... tions.html

It will explain making a repair using polyester resin. Actually, I don't like to work with polyester resin, for these reasons:

• the resin is really in the process of curing in the can, so the shelf life is limited
• the curing process is accelerated by adding a catalyst, but the mixing ratios are very small and hard to judge
• polyester resin will not cure if exposed to air, so special additives must be used
• the strength in making secondary bonds with polyester resin is not as good as with an adhesive resin like epoxy
• you usually have to buy it a quart can, which is far too much resin for small area repairs.

However, polyester resin is often used. An excellent repair is described in detail in an article in REFERENCE at

Repairing Hull Damage the Whaler Way
by Taylor Clark

http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/whalerRepair.html

[jimh]

You can make permanent and completely waterproof repairs with an epoxy resin thickened with a filler. I have used WEST System epoxy to make minor repairs to small damaged areas on the hull that are underwater where the gel coat is abraded--which is what you have described has occurred on your boat.

I recommend buying a WEST System Repair Kit. These are very inexpensive (less than $25) and include all the materials--gloves, mixing bowls, brushes, fillers--you will need to make many small repairs. The epoxy resin and the hardener are provided in sealed foil packets, like ketchup packages, and provide the proper ratio for mixing. They have a very long shelf life. I recommend these in preference to any sort of pre-mixed, in a bottle, "epoxy" to which a "hardener" is added by the drop. Once the bottle is open the shelf life is very limited. Real epoxy resins tend to have mixing ratios of resin to hardener from 1:1 to maybe 5:1, not 100:1.

Repairs on the underside of the hull won't be seen. You can just repair them with epoxy that you have mixed with a white filler. You can get a reasonably good color match, but that is not really a concern on the bottom of the hull. One complaint you will hear about epoxy is the resin will age with exposure to UV (sunlight) and yellow. Yes, that happens, but on a hull bottom it is not a problem. How much sunlight does the bottom of a hull see? Also, if the repair starts as white and slightly yellows, it makes a nice match to the Boston Whaler Desert Tan gel coat--okay, not perfect but not horrible.

If the damage is extensive, you might want to consider flipping the hull over to work on the hull bottom. If there are only one or two areas to be repaired, you may be able to work on them from below, although working against gravity can be a problem.

More details are in my lengthy and detailed narrative at

The Epoxy Cure
http://continuouswave.com/maintenance-logs/epoxy/

Epoxy is really perfect for this sort of repair. If the repair is in a highly visible area, the final coat should be a color-matched polyester gel coat resin with wax additives so it can cure in open air. You can buy small batches of this material from Spectrum Color. They make a gel coat patch repair paste, and offer it pre-tinted to match gel coat colors from Boston Whaler. Their use is demonstrated in a presentation at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SQY2_y4Zhw&t=4s

[biggiefl]

As Phil stated, Spectrum Color has the correct gel coat patch kit. If you are in a hurry, any marine shop will have a small tube of gel coat (crazy glue size tube) in either white or off white. The off white is pretty white. The white is like elmers glue white. It is pricey for what you get but it does the job.

How many chunks are there?

[Schoony]

Thanks much for your advice guys. I will be flipping the boat over and doing repair to 8 areas most under a inch square. Thanks again.