Hull Damage

[rkim808]

Aloha Gang, found some damage to the hull yesterday when I was buffing out the scuffs from the bunks. It’s right at the bottom of the hull at the front, didn’t even notice it cause couldn’t see until I was laying on the ground. I think I know when it happened too, a few months ago when I launched from Blackpot Boatramp in Hanalei River. I remember coming into contact when I was picking up one of my crew from parking the truck and trailer. The river is rocky and shallow, but didn’t see this when we were washing the boat. It looks really bad to me, it definitely has some fiberglass damage. It’s about a 8th of an inch deep in the fiberglass. Do u think I can fix myself, please any advice u guys can help me with would be greatly appreciated. Sad day for me...

 

[Julian]

Is that right on the keel? If so, I would fix it myself. Let it dry out, apply gel coat, then apply a keel guard or keel shield.

 

[rkim808]

Is that right on the keel? If so, I would fix it myself. Let it dry out, apply gel coat, then apply a keel guard or keel shield.

Aloha @Julian mahalo for the quick response. And yes it is right on the keel. So u think I can just gel coat repair it, with those gel coat repair kits from iboat in the matching OEM color? And yes definitely Keel Shield going on.

 

[Julian]

@Glassman would be a good 1st opinion!

 

[rkim808]

@Glassman would be a good 1st opinion!

We have big plans for this weekend to take the ohana(family) do something wakesurfing. think I should cancel because of this?

 

[Julian]

We have big plans for this weekend to take the ohana(family) do something wakesurfing. think I should cancel because of this?

I wouldn't want to put that in the water again until it was fixed. So at least get the keel guard/shield ordered ASAP (unless you can pick one up there?).

Then hopefully others will pitch in on the best way to seal it.....I've seen others just use 5200 then a keel guard....

Bottom line, everything I've read says to clean it out (can involve some careful sanding/cutting to make the edges clean/smooth), let it dry thoroughly then seal.

 

[Shady28]

Just had our boat in the shop for hull damage right on the keel after running over an unmarked rock. Long story short it chipped a bunch of gel coat away down to the fiberglass similar to yours, but worse. 3 shops I talked to and the one I had do the repair (Malibu, Axis, Lund & Ranger certified repair shop) told me that if glass is solid and the resin is intact (e.g. hard fiberglass) you're fine for taking it out for the day and enjoying your boat. Just don't moor it for extended periods. Trailer or lift is just fine.

The issues arise if you have cracked glass and loose glass. Gel coat gauged down to the glass wasn't a concern.

I was really surprised, but it was the end of the season so we packed her up, winterized it and brought it in for repairs + a 12' keel guard.

 

[rkim808]

Yeah think I’ll cancel this weekends day at the river. Going to order the Keel Shield today any recommendations on whom to order from and opinions on length would be appreciated. I’ll also order the gel coat repair kit from iboat too. Mahalo(thank u)

 

[rkim808]

Just had our boat in the shop for hull damage right on the keel after running over an unmarked rock. Long story short it chipped a bunch of gel coat away down to the fiberglass similar to yours, but worse. 3 shops I talked to and the one I had do the repair (Malibu, Axis, Lund & Ranger certified repair shop) told me that if glass is solid and the resin is intact (e.g. hard fiberglass) you're fine for taking it out for the day and enjoying your boat. Just don't moor it for extended periods. Trailer or lift is just fine.

The issues arise if you have cracked glass and loose glass. Gel coat gauged down to the glass wasn't a concern.

I was really surprised, but it was the end of the season so we packed her up, winterized it and brought it in for repairs + a 12' keel guard.

View attachment 107341

Aloha @Shady28 wow that looks nasty like mines, did they repair the fiberglass to or just fixed with gel coat?

 

[Julian]

Some replies to this sort of damage in these threads:

https://jetboaters.net/threads/gel-coat-repair-on-keel.17483/

https://jetboaters.net/threads/hull-damage-from-boat-lift.24300/

https://jetboaters.net/threads/gelcoat-repair-keel-shield.24469/

 

[rkim808]

Mahalo nui loa(thank u very much) @Julian those r very helpful especially the first thread. Think I can do the same.

 

[Shady28]

They use Spectrum, but spray it on using an industrial gel coat sprayer, no cutting agent like acetone.

To even it out to the rest of the gel coat before they sprayed, they used some sort of color (black) tinted fiber mix. It wasn't a fiberglass layer, it just helped fill the gap vs. tons of spraying layers to build it up. No fiberglass work.

If you're spreading Spectrum from the kit you should be good to go. I had to tackle another minor repair earlier in the year and the stuff worked amazingly well. Even the shop had a hard time finding the spot till I pointed it out and then offered me a job

 

[swatski]

Yeah think I’ll cancel this weekends day at the river. Going to order the Keel Shield today any recommendations on whom to order from and opinions on length would be appreciated. I’ll also order the gel coat repair kit from iboat too. Mahalo(thank u)

I would have no hesitation to boat with this kind of damage.
This is not your fathers fiberglass with embedded plywood - the FRP is waterproof and it would take very long time to swell and propagate the damage. I wouldn't wet slip but going out - absolutely.

Hard to tell from the pictures but unless those gouges are really deep I would not use anything else but gelcoat. Followed by KeelShield/Guard.

My 0.02

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[rkim808]

I would have no hesitation to boat with this kind of damage.
This is not your fathers fiberglass with embedded plywood - the FRP is waterproof and it would take very long time to swell and propagate the damage. I wouldn't wet slip but going out - absolutely.

Hard to tell from the pictures but unless those gouges are really deep I would not use anything else but gelcoat. Followed by KeelShield/Guard.

My 0.02

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Aloha @swatski the gouges r about 2.5-3mm deep at its deepest area. Having a hard time finding the Spectrum Gel coat matching repair kit for my Yammy any suggestions?

 

[seanmclean]

I would go ahead and use it this weekend, glass looks intact. If you had glass torn out and rough looking, I would pass.

This is the kit you want for black: Spectrum Color Yamaha, 2004-2018, Black 2 CCP LVOC Color Boat Gel Coat Patch Paste Repair Kit

I had similar damage, but just picked up a generic white color and it matched perfectly (quart for the same price as the patch) - its going under a keelguard anyway.

 

[Ronnie]

I would boat with that damage and not be too concerned with matching the color on the repair since it would be covered with a keel guard anyway. If I felt leary about boating with that damage I would try to dry it out , with a hair dryer or heat gun if necessary and put 4200 or 5200 over the damaged area before taking the boat out on the water again. I’d use 4200 if if had to remove it to complete the subsequent repair job.

 

[rkim808]

I would go ahead and use it this weekend, glass looks intact. If you had glass torn out and rough looking, I would pass.

This is the kit you want for black: Spectrum Color Yamaha, 2004-2018, Black 2 CCP LVOC Color Boat Gel Coat Patch Paste Repair Kit

I had similar damage, but just picked up a generic white color and it matched perfectly (quart for the same price as the patch) - its going under a keelguard anyway.

aloha and mahalo @seanmclean i was trying to find it. i’ll get that ordered up today. There is a gouge in the fiberglass roughly about 2.5-3mm deep, think i can just use the gel coat repair kit to fill it in. Then was thinking what brand and length of the keel guard i should get? Was thinking 10’ but should i go longer?

 

[rkim808]

I would boat with that damage and not be too concerned with matching the color on the repair since it would be covered with a keel guard anyway. If I felt leary about boating with that damage I would try to dry it out , with a hair dryer or heat gun if necessary and put 4200 or 5200 over the damaged area before taking the boat out on the water again. I’d use 4200 if if had to remove it to complete the subsequent repair job.

Aloha @Ronnie i was just thinking to cover it with some black Gorilla Tape i have, that way i wouldn’t have to scrape or remove the 4200 or 5200.

 

[Shady28]

I went with the 12' 3M Gator Guard per the recommendation of the shop I used. The main reason for the 3M vs. the Mega was the shop felt it would bend better around the prominent flair in the keel as your get towards the back of the boat.

I went with 12' because of coverage. The shop also noted that you should only start your keel guard at the resting water line, not higher towards the tow hook.

 

[biffdotorg]

Is it because nobody hits floating debris with the bow full of people? (smile)

I don't think mine is up to the tow hook, but I think I may want it a bit higher than the water line. But they are correct, most of the time when in motion, that bow should be the first thing to come up out of the water.