Rookie mistake: how to fix?

Posted by caMV-35S@reddit | sailing | View on Reddit | 14 comments

New sailboat owner here. I didn't tie off properly, and the gel coat got rubbed off on the dock, which has exposed the fiberglass. Does anyone have any advice on how to repair this kind of damage? I've never worked with fiberglass before, and I am not exactly sure where to start.

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14 Comments

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NotASexJoke@reddit

Don’t panic, and don’t touch it on the water ideally. Gel coat repair on the water is a PITA. The glass will be fine to get a bit wet this summer, just lift, let it dry out and fix it over winter. Buy some gel coat repair and watch some YouTube videos. The trick to gel coat repair is not to apply too much, and cover it with tape while it cures to avoid a sticky surface, then sand with progressively finer paper and then polish.

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Waterlifer@reddit

Sand it and coat it with something, either gelcoat repair or even just paint.

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fastautomation@reddit

Polyester gelcoat and silica thickener: Mix first coat of gel with a silica thickener to fill the voids. Apply with a flexible spreader. After it cures, use hot water and soap to remove waxy surface. Sand to remove high spots with 80 grit. Topcoat with straight polyester resin either with a brush or roller (or preval sprayer if you also get a styrene thinner). Sand with 220 (using a sanding block), 500, 1000 then 2000. Buff to shine. [https://www.totalboat.com/products/gelcoat](https://www.totalboat.com/products/gelcoat) (get white, with wax). [https://www.totalboat.com/products/silica-thickener](https://www.totalboat.com/products/silica-thickener)

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MyTrashCanIsFull@reddit

Step 1:Continue sailing it, it is summer after all Step 2: Plan to fix it over the off season Step 3: Do not fix it during this off season, or ever.. Step 4: Eventually sell the boat to someone else, whi will totally fox it next off season... At least, in my experience...

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Mehfisto666@reddit

"i was planning of fixing this but it's such an easy fix that i didn't bother but you can fix it easy" "no prob fam that's easy I'll fix it sometime"

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caMV-35S@reddit (OP)

Hahahaha this is my first instinct for sure, but I gotta be good to this boat. It'd be a bad omen to treat my first that way.

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MyTrashCanIsFull@reddit

On the other hand, your first boat is a great one to ding up a bit and sail the stuffing out of. Whatever you do, fair winds!

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FutureConsistent8611@reddit

https://preview.redd.it/02jaqhprb05h1.jpeg?width=1220&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5ef7d534437b2b31e729ab7a01cf186849f31d58

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FutureConsistent8611@reddit

Good news, that doesn't look like a fiberglas repair. Bad news, it's a pain to work on while it's in the water. Get a bunch of gelcoat, prep the surface (make sure to degrease really well) and apply. You can use unwaxed gelcoat to build layers and waxed to finish. Or just used unwaxed to finish but add a plastic sheet to dry the last layer (unwaxed won't cure with oxygen present). Then comes the fun part, sanding, more sanding and finally polishing. It's going to be a bit of a pain to match the exact color but getting close is usually good enough for most people.

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K_rey@reddit

I'd recommend buying or borrowing Don Casey's book "Sailboat hull and deck repair" in addition to some YouTube vids. The book is nice, short and well illustrated

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caMV-35S@reddit (OP)

Sweet. Much appreciated. Any excuse to get another book is good for me.

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Candygramformrmongo@reddit

This guy is pretty good, but there are any number of them out there. Don't be intimidated. Good luck! [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlpH8nP5ObY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlpH8nP5ObY)

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caMV-35S@reddit (OP)

Will watch. Thanks!

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foilrider@reddit

Look up "patch gelcoat" on youtube. Do that.