gelcoat broke off when hitting dock

[saurav16]

Hi,

I just had a sailing lesson and the instructor hit the dock hard on the side of the boat. The gelcoat flaked off in the spend about .25 inch by 3 inch gash. I can see the fiberglass roving. What is the best way to seal it temporarily till haul out in Sept? Is there some kind of sealing compound I can use where it can be done left in the water that I can sand out in fall and put gel coat paste? Thanks in advance.

[RickLaPaz]

Your boat's not named Bumfuzzle by any chance, is it?.........

[USCGRET1990]

Bondo! Your boat is made from polyester resin and so is Bondo. Overfill the gouge just a bit, then sand down smooth with 60 or 80 grit. Personally, that's all I do other than cover it with a tat of gelcoat and buff it out.
This is the quick and simple way..I'm sure someone has a very complicated and expensive way that is better.

[USCGRET1990]

...Oh, and charge the instructor $75 an hour for the repair..!!!

[Giulietta]

Saurav, I can't help you with the repair, (others here will do in good US english), I can however provide a little schematics as to what to do to make you feel happy, and regain self esteem.

You will need a HQI (Highly Qualified Instructor), which you obviously already aquired, and 2 hands, that I assume you also have, if not ask a friend to lend you one.

See drawing bellow for details.



Its real easy, make sure that after raming fist into HQI's head, he is "sleeping"....

Step 2 get another instructor, or one with the decency to offer to fix the repair.

[saurav16]

thanks for your replies, I need a fix temporarily that I can do in the water and then permantly fix it during haul out in 1.5 months. Any ideas?

[Giulietta]

Was the hit under the water? You can use 5 minute epoxy and Duct Tape (American tape) or whatever you call it.

Its not the best solution, but will hold for the month and half. Try to get the area as dry as possible before glueing, that is if you can, by tilting the boat slightly.

[sailingdog]

MarineTex and some other two-part marine epoxy repair putties will cure underwater... provided the water is warm enough....and will allow you to make a semi-permanent repair. Giu's idea of beating on the instructor is not a bad one, but will lead to legal problems... however, the instructor really should pay for the repair if he was being paid for the instruction. If he wasn't being paid, then you take your lumps...

[saurav16]

Its not quite under water its about 12 inches above the water line. Will the semi permanent solutions posted work for that. I would say the instructor should pay but its a club instructor who was being paid idk if it would look bad making him pay.

[sailingdog]

Yes, the MarineTex will work for that.

An instructor has a responsibility to his students and their equipment... hitting the dock hard enough to damage the gelcoat is something he should have avoided. If not, he should take responsibility for the damage.