missing gel coat

antiqueboy · 21 May 2006, 17:16

on my boat on the keel i have a few small patches of gel coat missing ie 6 mm wide and 75 mm long, how bad / bigger deal is this. considering that i am a trailer sailer it is right under the rubber roller so a pain to get at.
it is oviously not a catastrophe as the boat dries out at the end of each days use, but should i be overly concerned

Ezgoing · 21 May 2006, 21:25

Fix it.

Fix it.

Fix it.

If water get up into the fibres you will have a serious job on your hands

It can only lead to greater problems.

Jack up stern of boat. Secure on both slides with some blocks of timber. Slowly ease the trailer out from under the boat. Add extra supports as required. YOu possibly will not have to completely remove the boat from the trailer.

A gel coat repair kit does not cost much. Dry the boat out well. Sand the area. Clean with acetone or thinners. Work the gel well into the area. Use flat blade knife to get it smooth as possible.

You probaly dont need to sand back the finished repair as it will go unnoticed. Consider a Keel gaurd.

Best of luck.

Biggles · 21 May 2006, 23:03

I've done some lower hull repairs with gelcoat along very long lines near the chines, these repairs ran virtually the whole length of the hull. They have all held up suprisingly well. I did them last year and so far I have had lots of bouncing round the Solent and they've held.
Some of them were near the rollers which was a pain but what I did was put axle stands under the trailer and then push the boat back whilst it was held with the ratchet strap back about one foot. Then I did the work and the next day I did the other bit.
Only problem I had was a slight difference in colour.

antiqueboy · 22 May 2006, 22:24

this is oviously a vunerable area and i am sure many boats beached, or not held off slipways suffer.
my ignorance is as a newby to boating,for a trailor sailor, is it realy that bad a deal