posted 07-24-2009 08:16 AM ET (US)        

Anyhow the hull’s gelcoat is crazed everywhere. The boat has a few coats of paint on it and I am working on scraping that off to see what I have. The hull appears sound and dry, just too much Florida sun. I have never worked with gelcoat before and only a little with fiberglass. The idea of removing all the gelcoat, inside and out, doesn’t appeal to me. I’m not looking to restore the boat, just make it sea worthy. I’d like to keep costs down too.

So what are my options? Is there anything out there that will successfully bridge the crazed gelcoat? I’d hate to go through the work of grinding it all down, glassing in a thin layer of cloth over the entire hull, and finding out it weighs too much to float!

So I’m thinking along the lines of sanding down the gelcoat a good bit, patching cracks/holes as needed. Maybe adding a layer of cloth/resin in certain areas like keel/transom. Then putting a coat or two of an epoxy “barrier coat” to bridge and anchor the existing gelcoat. I’d follow that up with primer and paint. This is for the outside of the hull. I haven’t started on the inside but might be inclined to go the bed liner route.

I need some advice on what products to use and the right way to go about making the boat reliable to use.