Gelcoat Damage

[\\\Wolverine///]

So I bought my boat, 2016 242 Limited S E-Series, in February and noticed this when I bought it. When it came down from Riva Miami to Key Largo, it was not on one of the factory trailers. Riva put it on a 2019 Shorelandr for me. I have seen the posts about the crap bow rollers and I apparently have one as you can see. I guess the original owner had some trailering issues with whatever he was using since the gelcoat damage in the bow looks like this:



What do you guys think? Is this an immediate issue to fix? How to repair? Change roller to Stoltz? There are also some small chipped areas on the white in various spots on the bottom.
Figured I'd ask the experts.
Thanks
Kris
\\\Wolverine///

 

[Chevyguy2021]

The make a spectrum color gel coat repair kit. I used it. Wasn't perfect but is very much less noticeable. I would order one of those color matched to your boat and fill in the hole. Then sand it down and polish it.

 

[tdonoughue]

Yes, these appear to be self-reparable. First fix the roller so you don't redamage the area. Looks like it hit the support holding the roller...

Spectrum has color-matched kits for the colors. One kit probably does both of those black spots with no issue. If it is your first time and you are not skilled at gelcoat, either it will be hardly noticeable or impossible to find when you are done, depending on how carefully you go with the repair. It is really not hard, actually. Several threads on here with detailed advice and instructions.

Here was my first go at it, many moons ago: https://jetboaters.net/threads/gelcoat-repair-question.9039/

 

[\\\Wolverine///]

@tdonoughue
Great write up. I think I can handle that

 

[\\\Wolverine///]

Ironically, I just got this video link in an email from BoatUS today
How To Fix Spider Cracks, Hairline Cracks, and Crazing in Boat Gelcoat [MATERIALS LIST ?] | BoatUS
Seems like a lot of products and steps!

 

[marcham]

Was the damage there before purchase? This is a $200-300 repair for a good fiberglass/gelcoat shop. I wouldn't worry much about anything above the waterline but I would address anything below the waterline ASAP. Quick repairs below the waterline can be done with gelcoat or with Rapid Set MarineTex if you don't care about matching appearance. MarineTex is a 2 part (epoxy) product that is waterproof and is great for minor repairs in order to delay a proper gelcoat repair to the fall. It is stiffer than gelcoat so it would not be appropriate for large repairs as it won't flex like the surrounding material.

 

[\\\Wolverine///]

Was the damage there before purchase?

@marcham
Yes, was there when I got it. Just wasn't sure how serious something like this is. The plus side is I didn't have to have that new boat / vehicle cringe when the first scratch or dent appeared.

 

[marcham]

That first ding, dent, scratch is always the worst... I had a brand new truck for only 2 days before I got a nice bullseye chip in the windshield.

If it were me, I would just use marine tex for now until a shop can get to it. You can tint marinetex but it will turn out grey, not black. Getcoat can give seemless results but only in the hands of a pro. They can mix the right shade of white/black and blend it in the surrounding material.

 

[tdonoughue]

If you use the Spectrum kit it is already color matched. Makes it much easier to get those pro results...