GelCoat Repair / Keel Shield?

[JDFester]

After a weekend of camping, I came home to some new damage/rash in the fiberglass/gel coat. First off, I am confused as to how the keel damage could have happened, as the boat was never in shallow water, beached, etc., and it's deep enough to be through the colored gel-coat. The boat was docked at the campground overnight, but the depth was over 4 feet there, and we were never anywhere that I could conceive of it being in contact with the bottom.



The other issue is my bunk boards; originals rotted and broke, so I made new ones, and after two outings, it appears I should have saved/reclaimed the old carpet. This carpet was sold as bunkboard carpet, but my hull appears to think it's sandpaper! I'm about sick, as the hull looked dang near factory new until 2 weeks ago!

I've read through the FAQ on the gelcoat repairs, and wonder if anything is different with the damage being on the keel (and over a much larger area than the usual nicks and scratches), and also if anyone has any ideas on the bunk rash? Not sure how to get to that area to buff/repair with it on the trailer, or how to support it off the trailer to get to those areas? Thank you!!!

 

[Jim Crane]

Check the back cross-brace on your trailer and see if the black rubber pad is worn. You might be rubbing the keel against that pad as you are loading. Once it is fully on, you can see there is plenty of clearance, but what about when you are approaching the trailer? Just guessing.

 

[JDFester]

Checked the pad, and it looks good. The ramp I use is fairly steep, so the back of the trailer is actually quite low when loading/unloading.

On another note, I would like to go ahead and try to patch this up and then add a KeelShield, but am having trouble finding the color. SpectrumColor does not list any blues for 2013 Yamahas, and then only appears to offer a "Bright Blue" for Yamaha in the small paste kits. As my boat is a dark blue, I am sure that isn't it. Does anyone know the color name, and/or if it was used in different years?

 

[swatski]

Checked the pad, and it looks good. The ramp I use is fairly steep, so the back of the trailer is actually quite low when loading/unloading.

On another note, I would like to go ahead and try to patch this up and then add a KeelShield, but am having trouble finding the color. SpectrumColor does not list any blues for 2013 Yamahas, and then only appears to offer a "Bright Blue" for Yamaha in the small paste kits. As my boat is a dark blue, I am sure that isn't it. Does anyone know the color name, and/or if it was used in different years?

They sell every Yamaha OEM color paste kits through iBoats. if you call with the hull number and the exact boat model year number.
There is a number to call listed somewhere on the forum.

—

 

[swatski]

Personally I wouldn’t worry about the bunk rush, unless fiberglass starts showing. The other damage showing I would do the best job with gel coat paste and install a keel-shield

—