Hull Gel Coat Damage - Moderated Discussion Areas

  ContinuousWave
  Whaler
  Moderated Discussion Areas
  ContinuousWave: Whaler Repairs/Mods
  Hull Gel Coat Damage

search | FAQ | profile | register | author help

Author Topic:   Hull Gel Coat Damage

vquest posted 06-17-2012 10:30 PM ET (US)
I just noticed that the gel coat on forward part of the hull near the bow on my Montauk 17 has been scraped off. It looks like what happens when you beach the boat, but I never beach the boat and I am not sure how it happened. The boat is trailered on a Magic Tilt aluminum trailer. The front roller on the trailer is held up off of the trailer cross-member to which the roller is affixed by posts which are held in place by bolts which pushes a curved piece of metal against the post which binds the posts in place. The posts slipped allowing the rollers to fall and bind against the cross-member so that the roller does not spin or roll. I have posted some pics so that you can see what has happened. Do you all think that the "V" part of the keel near the bow rubbing against the roller which does not spin or roll(because it is binding) has scraped or rubbed the gel coat off the keel? If not, do you all have any idea how this could have happened? Hopefully some of you have seen this before and know how it happens.
Is the hull repaired simply by applying gel coat to the area where the gel coat has been scraped off? Any suggestions or tips on how to best make this repair. I have no experience working with gel coat but I have worked with epoxy. I have to do this myself due to present financial circumstances.
Do you all have any suggestions on a front roller system that can be substituted for the present one so that this problem can be avoided in the future. A problem here may be that the cross-member is aluminum.
Any suggestions or information on how to fix these problems will be appreciated. Thanks in advance for any help.

gusgus posted 06-18-2012 12:22 AM ET (US)
Looking at the pictures posted, the forward roller looks like it isn't the issue, because the scratch is behind the roller and support. If the trailer is your primary suspect maybe looking further aft where the bow first contacts the bunks. Perhaps it hits the cross brace there.
wezie posted 06-18-2012 10:13 AM ET (US)
Sounds like a cross brace.
There are hard urethane pads for sale that attach to cross members primarily for extra padding.
The repairs need some resin, and maybe a bit of cloth, depending on whether much of the cloth has eroded; then the gel coat.
Next time you launch and retrieve, take it slow to watch what happens.
Could be happening on either or both.
Take a look at the whole trailer.
Make sure it all works, rolls, tilts, etc.
Good Luck.

vquest posted 06-20-2012 05:03 PM ET (US)
Thanks for the replies. I think I figured out the problem with the trailer. Now I would like opinions on which would be best to repair the scraped off gelcoat: White Marine-Tex or Gel coat? Which do you all think is best for fixing the damage and gouge shown in the picture? White Marine-Tex or Gelcoat? The depth of the gouge seems only to be the thickness of the original gel coat. Thanks in advance for any help with this.
jfortson posted 06-20-2012 07:06 PM ET (US)
Can you let us know what the problem was?
vquest posted 06-20-2012 11:44 PM ET (US)
If by what the problem was you mean, what caused the keel gouges. I still think it was the forward keel roller. After inspecting it carefully I noticed that the nut from the center bolt that holds the roller to the cross brace had broken off allowing the roller assembly to bend forward binding the roller so that it would not spin. Apparently this condition has existed so long that hardened salt filled the gap between the roller assembly and the cross brace. It took 15 minutes to chisel the chunks of salt out of the gap. I think that dragging the keel across the roller (I don't know how many times)that wasn't turning gouged or wore out the gel coat where it dragged across the roller. There is no other place the keel can contact the trailer. The cross braces have the hard urethane pads mentioned by wezie and in any event the rear bunks prevent the center keel from making contact with the cross braces. I always slowly drive the boat straight onto the trailer until the bunks stop the forward momentum and then I winch it up the rest of the way. The keel never hits any metal part of the trailer. That is my best theory. I am going to carefully observe the boat the next time I launch and recover to see if there is any other possibility.
jfortson posted 06-21-2012 07:33 AM ET (US)
Yes, that is what I was curious about. Thanks
vquest posted 06-30-2012 07:56 PM ET (US)
Here is the repair using white Marine-Tex before any sanding. I used a piece of cellophane to make the surface smoother. Worked pretty good for a first try. It is going to need minimal sanding (I think.)
http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l603/henry7895/Hullaftrepaira.jpg
laira10 posted 10-16-2012 05:35 AM ET (US)
[Contact me--jimh.]
Buckda posted 10-20-2012 09:45 AM ET (US)
If your boat will remain bottom painted, then a bit of marine tex might be a quick solution - but I would prefer to use gelcoat. Sand the area and feather it out about 6 inches on either side. Be sure to remove all bottom paint. I'd personally use a PREVAL sprayer and spray on several coats of thinned gel coat, using the wax/PVA additive on the final coat. Then sand smooth, add a barrier coat and patch the bottom paint.

Hop to:

Contact Us | RETURN to ContinuousWave Top Page

Powered by: Ultimate Bulletin Board, Freeware Version 2000
Purchase our Licensed Version- which adds many more features!
© Infopop Corporation (formerly Madrona Park, Inc.), 1998 - 2000.

Author	Topic: Hull Gel Coat Damage
vquest	posted 06-17-2012 10:30 PM ET (US) I just noticed that the gel coat on forward part of the hull near the bow on my Montauk 17 has been scraped off. It looks like what happens when you beach the boat, but I never beach the boat and I am not sure how it happened. The boat is trailered on a Magic Tilt aluminum trailer. The front roller on the trailer is held up off of the trailer cross-member to which the roller is affixed by posts which are held in place by bolts which pushes a curved piece of metal against the post which binds the posts in place. The posts slipped allowing the rollers to fall and bind against the cross-member so that the roller does not spin or roll. I have posted some pics so that you can see what has happened. Do you all think that the "V" part of the keel near the bow rubbing against the roller which does not spin or roll(because it is binding) has scraped or rubbed the gel coat off the keel? If not, do you all have any idea how this could have happened? Hopefully some of you have seen this before and know how it happens. Is the hull repaired simply by applying gel coat to the area where the gel coat has been scraped off? Any suggestions or tips on how to best make this repair. I have no experience working with gel coat but I have worked with epoxy. I have to do this myself due to present financial circumstances. Do you all have any suggestions on a front roller system that can be substituted for the present one so that this problem can be avoided in the future. A problem here may be that the cross-member is aluminum. Any suggestions or information on how to fix these problems will be appreciated. Thanks in advance for any help.
gusgus	posted 06-18-2012 12:22 AM ET (US) Looking at the pictures posted, the forward roller looks like it isn't the issue, because the scratch is behind the roller and support. If the trailer is your primary suspect maybe looking further aft where the bow first contacts the bunks. Perhaps it hits the cross brace there.
wezie	posted 06-18-2012 10:13 AM ET (US) Sounds like a cross brace. There are hard urethane pads for sale that attach to cross members primarily for extra padding. The repairs need some resin, and maybe a bit of cloth, depending on whether much of the cloth has eroded; then the gel coat. Next time you launch and retrieve, take it slow to watch what happens. Could be happening on either or both. Take a look at the whole trailer. Make sure it all works, rolls, tilts, etc. Good Luck.
vquest	posted 06-20-2012 05:03 PM ET (US) Thanks for the replies. I think I figured out the problem with the trailer. Now I would like opinions on which would be best to repair the scraped off gelcoat: White Marine-Tex or Gel coat? Which do you all think is best for fixing the damage and gouge shown in the picture? White Marine-Tex or Gelcoat? The depth of the gouge seems only to be the thickness of the original gel coat. Thanks in advance for any help with this.
jfortson	posted 06-20-2012 07:06 PM ET (US) Can you let us know what the problem was?
vquest	posted 06-20-2012 11:44 PM ET (US) If by what the problem was you mean, what caused the keel gouges. I still think it was the forward keel roller. After inspecting it carefully I noticed that the nut from the center bolt that holds the roller to the cross brace had broken off allowing the roller assembly to bend forward binding the roller so that it would not spin. Apparently this condition has existed so long that hardened salt filled the gap between the roller assembly and the cross brace. It took 15 minutes to chisel the chunks of salt out of the gap. I think that dragging the keel across the roller (I don't know how many times)that wasn't turning gouged or wore out the gel coat where it dragged across the roller. There is no other place the keel can contact the trailer. The cross braces have the hard urethane pads mentioned by wezie and in any event the rear bunks prevent the center keel from making contact with the cross braces. I always slowly drive the boat straight onto the trailer until the bunks stop the forward momentum and then I winch it up the rest of the way. The keel never hits any metal part of the trailer. That is my best theory. I am going to carefully observe the boat the next time I launch and recover to see if there is any other possibility.
jfortson	posted 06-21-2012 07:33 AM ET (US) Yes, that is what I was curious about. Thanks
vquest	posted 06-30-2012 07:56 PM ET (US) Here is the repair using white Marine-Tex before any sanding. I used a piece of cellophane to make the surface smoother. Worked pretty good for a first try. It is going to need minimal sanding (I think.) http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l603/henry7895/Hullaftrepaira.jpg
laira10	posted 10-16-2012 05:35 AM ET (US) [Contact me--jimh.]
Buckda	posted 10-20-2012 09:45 AM ET (US) If your boat will remain bottom painted, then a bit of marine tex might be a quick solution - but I would prefer to use gelcoat. Sand the area and feather it out about 6 inches on either side. Be sure to remove all bottom paint. I'd personally use a PREVAL sprayer and spray on several coats of thinned gel coat, using the wax/PVA additive on the final coat. Then sand smooth, add a barrier coat and patch the bottom paint.