Gel Coat Damage on my 242

[Shookie]

Would like to get thoughts from folks on here.... my boat has been at my dealer for a couple of weeks getting a small area fiberglass repair done, oil change and acid washing the hull because it was a dirty mess from my wet slip last year.

They just called me and apparently after cleaning it they found a lot of damage on the bottom. They are telling me I hit something and it caused the damage. Take a look at the picture and let me know what you think. I am not a gelcoat expert but the way it’s flaked off just doesn’t look like I hit something and caused that. I’m driving down tomorrow to check it out and get some better pictures .

 

[sunbyrned]

WOW! I would think you would have seen that right away while trailering it to the shop. Thinking something probably happened at the dealership.

 

[Shookie]

Let me clarify. I had it in a wet slip last year and the hull was a mess. I didn’t get it cleaned before winter and had it done now. That’s why we didn’t see it before it was cleaned.

 

[tdonoughue]

That does look like a hit. Sorry. Now have had two...

Latest at https://jetboaters.net/threads/hit-a.25099/

 

[Brad460]

Hard to say how that happened...I would hope the dealer is ethical and would tell you if they did it.

That being said, that is very minor damage..get it fixed and move on..

 

[tdonoughue]

I agree--minor damage. Doesn't even look like it impacted the glass. So this is a simple grind off the gelcoat and lay some more--but to a significant area.

The size and location, in addition to that fracturing, tell me this likely was something you hit. When I hit this last one (the bad one that went all the way through the glass), I didn't even know it. Probably just nicked a stump at full speed or at least really fast. Our hulls have a pretty thin layer of gelcoat on them. If you glance something at speed, this is exactly what you get. I would be very surprised if the dealer could do this, unless he took your boat out into the water.

 

[Shookie]

I was more wondering if it’s a manufacturing defect. How it looks like it flaked off made me question it.

 

[tdonoughue]

Yep. I understand. But it is not, unfortunately. It is like when you pull a scraper over paint and it flakes off... That said, our boats do have a very thin layer of gelcoat. It does not take a very hard hit to do some damage (especially at speed).

 

[Bluewater272]

Looks like a slight grounding to me. Dragged my boat through some sand and it looked nearly identical.

 

[sunbyrned]

I was searching for something else and discovered this thread. Maybe something here that can help you fix it on your own if you want. Pay particular attention to the post by @CrankyGypsy

https://jetboaters.net/threads/fiberglass-and-gelcoat-repair.12270/

 

[Shookie]

Dealer came back with a $550 estimate to repair it so moving forward with that. Based on a few other threads I read, I was expecting it to cost more.

 

[scokill]

Would like to get thoughts from folks on here.... my boat has been at my dealer for a couple of weeks getting a small area fiberglass repair done, oil change and acid washing the hull because it was a dirty mess from my wet slip last year.

They just called me and apparently after cleaning it they found a lot of damage on the bottom. They are telling me I hit something and it caused the damage. Take a look at the picture and let me know what you think. I am not a gelcoat expert but the way it’s flaked off just doesn’t look like I hit something and caused that. I’m driving down tomorrow to check it out and get some better pictures .View attachment 116194

Definitely looks like impact damage, and from the aging around the cracks it didn't happen at the dealership. Personally I would repair this myself for less than $100 and a few beers. Working with white gelcoat is easy, and you won't ever see it, so you're just concerned about keep glass dry. $550 seems a tad steep, but not way out of line IMO. Should be around $300...just enough to make it worth someone's time unless I"m missing something.

 

[tdonoughue]

Actually seems in line to me (but reasonable minds may differ). Maybe a $50 high or so, but not too much. There is something to be said for having an expert do it if you don't want to mess with it. My first hit impacted the glass (so was a bigger job) and I did that one myself. Results lasted a couple of seasons (as I didn't have enough gelcoat on there--so had to redo that). I learned a lot and would not have done it differently--but not everyone wants to spend that much time under the boat learning things. Dropping $500 to avoid the trouble would not be out-of-the-box in my book.