Disaster my first time out! 🤦🏽‍♂️

[Babin Farms]

Think about it this way with the Gel coat repair on the keel. It's towards the rear where no one can see unless your under the boat so as long as the repair is a close match I'd call it good enough, slap a keel guard over it and call it good. The longest I seen for guards was 14' so you can run a second one if you want to go all the way to the transom of the boat and seal the seam with some 5200 or epoxy & there again, it's going to be where you can't see unless your laying under the boat.

 

[the MfM]

Think about it this way with the Gel coat repair on the keel. It's towards the rear where no one can see unless your under the boat so as long as the repair is a close match I'd call it good enough, slap a keel guard over it and call it good. The longest I seen for guards was 14' so you can run a second one if you want to go all the way to the transom of the boat and seal the seam with some 5200 or epoxy & there again, it's going to be where you can't see unless your laying under the boat.

The back where no one can see is the most important. If it’s not smooth and flat then performance will suffer. Keel gaurd or bedliner seem like a bad idea for the back third of the keel/hull.

 

[2kwik4u]

He has a Garmin I believe, just not the proper maps loaded. Navionics on the phone as a backup for $20 is a solid investment.

Most folks (myself included) didn't have Navionics until recently. I'm going to say that until about 2, maybe 3 years ago....Navionics App was north of $200. I wasn't going to spend that kind of money on an app. Now that they've dropped into the subscription model, I finally ponied up the $20.

You're 100% correct, it's a great tool, but a good deal of us "old guys" didn't know it had gotten cheaper until recently.

 

[the MfM]

Found a video of the OP’s outing.

 

[fatboyroy]

He has a Garmin I believe, just not the proper maps loaded. Navionics on the phone as a backup for $20 is a solid investment.

I have navionics in my phone for backup, I think you need an ipad to see clearly but that's just me with fvcked up computer eyes lol.

 

[JPINOT]

Definitely looking at a keel guard once I repair the damage. Wondering if I should buy the charts for my Garmin or just do the Navionics subscription

 

[HangOutdoors]

I run both, always nice to have a backup, especially for that price. Navionics is updated pretty quick with sunken hazards as people find and post them which is nice. Now with that being said, I guess it all depends on where you boat and what charts you have. Buying additional maps may be a few bucks, but far cheaper than the damage caused.

 

[2kwik4u]

Found a video of the OP’s outing.

Some serious absurdity in that video!

I love it!

 

[tabbibus]

I never boat without navionics up. Just a habit now.

 

[Crob83]

Definitely looking at a keel guard once I repair the damage. Wondering if I should buy the charts for my Garmin or just do the Navionics subscription

Which Garmin model?

 

[Babin Farms]

The back where no one can see is the most important. If it’s not smooth and flat then performance will suffer. Keel gaurd or bedliner seem like a bad idea for the back third of the keel/hull.

I would think that if the guard went from the front (anchor locker drain) to the rear that there would be no performance lost but if you installed from midship to the rear there would be some lost performance due to a slight drag from the guard's leading edge in the water. Any lost performance would be negligible if going from locker drain to transom IMO.

 

[fatboyroy]

Definitely looking at a keel guard once I repair the damage. Wondering if I should buy the charts for my Garmin or just do the Navionics subscription

Charts for the garmin is couple of hundred bucks but more convenient, if you can see your phone clearly, you can just buy the navionics subscription. If you have an iPad its easier to see navionics charts while underway.

 

[Maineiac]

One thing to keep in mind with an iPad is not all models include GPS. I think it’s only the cellular iPads that have it.

 

[RobbieO]

Speaking from personal experience as I damaged my boat earlier in the season, you want to at least re-gelcoat the areas of where the fiberglass is exposed. The shop that did my repairs says the fiberglass will start to absorb water at some point and will travel to the areas that are still protected by gelcoat. The main problem is trying to get those areas dried out because they are under the gelcoat. This shop has been doing this since 1972 and they are well known. So I learned a lot from them.

 

[anmut]

That's an insurance claim! You can do what I did when I removed a patch of gel coat last year: File the claim, then get in writing from the insurance company to allow you to temp fix your boat, then have it completely repaired in the off season.

Here's what I used: https://www.fleetfarm.com/detail/bondo-glass-short-strand-reinforced-fiberglass-filler/0000000307482?Ntt=fiberglass repair

Mix, apply, sand the bumps. It was super easy and I was able to enjoy the rest of the summer without having any downtime at a repair shop. Btw, I had a local fiberglass boat builder do the repairs, as none of the auto body shops would touch it.

 

[anmut]

Speaking from personal experience as I damaged my boat earlier in the season, you want to at least re-gelcoat the areas of where the fiberglass is exposed. The shop that did my repairs says the fiberglass will start to absorb water at some point and will travel to the areas that are still protected by gelcoat. The main problem is trying to get those areas dried out because they are under the gelcoat. This shop has been doing this since 1972 and they are well known. So I learned a lot from them.

I've heard the same thing, but I honestly don't believe that. Reason? The entire inside of the boat hull is raw fiberglass, and it fills with water on every use. Maybe there's a light coat of something over that fiberglass - but still, it's certainly not gel coat.

 

[RobbieO]

I've heard the same thing, but I honestly don't believe that. Reason? The entire inside of the boat hull is raw fiberglass, and it fills with water on every use. Maybe there's a light coat of something over that fiberglass - but still, it's certainly not gel coat.

It has to be sealed. If you look in the cleanout locker, you can see the fiberglass is sealed. No way the inner liner is filled with just raw fiberglass. Especially when some boats are taking in salt water.

 

[JPINOT]

Which Garmin model?

I believe it is the 94v

 

[fatboyroy]

I believe it is the 94v

are you sure you do not see all the numbers in navigation mode like this one? You probably are in sonar/fishing mode if you dont see it.

 

[Wisefam22]

I go over shallows but never beach my boat. I walk in, also I said don’t hit rocks I think you might have. Here I anchored and walked in.View attachment 151604

Where is this I'll be in marathon this summer (end of next month)