Someone hit my boat with his prop and scratched it. :(

[dansshin]

I just bought what looks like brand new 2013 212x with 15 hours on it and I've put in about 15 hours in about a week I had it. Today someone with small aluminum outboard boat was trying to put it on his trailer with engine off, lost control and his backend swung and his prop hit left front hull of my boat which was docked waiting for me to get the trailer. His engine was off but it left couple scratches on my hull. One is about 3 inches long and other about 1.5 inches long. They are not deep but I can feel the scratch with my nail. Is this something I can repair/touch up or should I take it in to have it repaired. I'm bummed about this. Any advice on how best to take care of this would be appreciated.

Below are couple pictures showing the scratch. There is no other marks on the hall. Other marks are just reflection.

Thank you in advance.

 

[njmr2fan]

That stinks. Did you guys exchange info? Tell him its a brand new boat with (0) marks on it? Did he offer to have it buffed?

Search gelcoat repair. I think glassman or another member just had a thread on it.

 

[dansshin]

I did talk to him about the scratch but I did not get his info. All he said was "sorry" and left.

 

[octavio3311]

Wait. 1st of all - that sucks.
But - I don't understand how 2 boats are at the dock, that close in proximity - and nobody is holding them - watching them.
For the prop to hit your bow - you guys are on top of each other.

 

[dansshin]

I was at the dock first but somehow he got his trailer first and was trying to pull his boat through to get by my boat and it hit me. My boat was being held by few people securely against the dock waiting for me to come with trailer.

 

[subysti]

Next time get the reg numbers off his boat. Hit and run..

 

[octavio3311]

Sounds like he was a deuche.

But For his prop to hit your bow - your people and his people - someone's people weren't paying attention.
Uh huh - that ain't to happen at the dock.
I would' ve freaked on him.

 

[Julian]

Totally sucks...I would have asked him for his insurance info...but too late for that now.

This FAQ has info you will want to read....

https://jetboaters.net/faq/how-to-fix-gel-coat-scratches-or-gouges.71/

 

[dansshin]

I suppose we could have pulled our boat further back but I don't think anyone saw that coming. I'm sure guy could have been more careful but I doubt he did it intentionally. It just sucks seeing the scratch on there. I'm hoping I can get it repaired for $100 or $200.

If anyone knows if there is factory touch-up product for 2013 212x black gelcoat please let me know. For local repair shops what do I search under?

 

[dansshin]

@Julian Thank you for the info. It looks like if I want to try to touch this up myself I need below product. I only saw one Yamaha black color. Is this correct? Will this leave the area shiny like untouched spots?

http://spectrumcolor.com/ProductDesc.aspx?code=F557021K&type=4&eq=&desc=F557021K&key=it

Thank you again.

 

[pagekl]

Went boating today and I can tell you boating etiquette is becoming a serious thing of the past. People are straight up "A-holes at the launch. Waiting to pull up to the dock and this kid on a jet ski goes right in front of me and parks his ass right where I was headed. I yelled at him to move his ski forward so I could pull my boat up to the dock. The tool standing there with his girlfriend actually had an attitude, but moved that ski. Funny, because had I got an attitude, cops would have been called from me starting a fight with this dude. Common sense people, if your rig is not ready to launch when you get to the dock, don't jump the line and try to get everything done at the dock. This holds everyone else up. But common sense is in short supply it seems these days as well. Someone hit my boat and cause damage, sorry ain't gonna cut it. I'm no badass, but I am tired of pompous mofo's acting like they run things on the water.

 

[Geoff Cooper]

Not good but these thing's happen I'm sure he didn't do it on purpose but he could have been more considerate, Just get some cutting paste and spend a quiet hour or so and I'm sure it will cut out and polish no problem, It will be as good as new before you know it, Remember never panic it's done now lets get on and fix it, Cuts that are into the gelcoat that you can feel usually can be cut out by spending a little time, Good Luck.

 

[itsdgm]

@dansshin thats a bummer. Sorry to hear about the scratches. Sounds like you took it pretty well. I'm sure the glass experts have already pointed you in the right direction.

This is exactly why I don't go boating on holiday weekends. Launch ramps are full of idiots on a regular Monday - Friday. Factor a Holiday into that equation and it just doesn't make sense to me (where I usually boat). However, I do realize that results may vary

 

[dansshin]

@Geoff Cooper Yes, I'm focusing on getting it repaired.

I will order the Spectrum Color product and follow the below guide to try and repair this on my own before I try to get it repaired at a shop.
https://jetboaters.net/threads/gel-coat-repair-with-spectrum-color-match.1641/

I have no doubt more scratches will happen so knowing how to do this would just put me in better situation to deal with it.

 

[dansshin]

@itsdgm I was pretty bummed when I pulled the boat out and saw the scratch. I saw the guy with his boat in the parking lot but all I could say to him was that he needed to be more careful because he scratched my boat. He came over and looked at the scratch, said sorry and left. I probably should have said "give me your contact info because you are going to pay for the repair cost" LOL.

I did skip yesterday because I thought it would be too crowded and hectic.

 

[Geoff Cooper]

@Geoff Cooper Yes, I'm focusing on getting it repaired.

I will order the Spectrum Color product and follow the below guide to try and repair this on my own before I try to get it repaired at a shop.
https://jetboaters.net/threads/gel-coat-repair-with-spectrum-color-match.1641/

I have no doubt more scratches will happen so knowing how to do this would just put me in better situation to deal with it.

Just some normal cutting paste that you use on your car should be sufficient and should do a perfectly good job without going into the realms of fantasy with exotic products, That should be the last resort if normal cutting paste doesn't work but i think you will be pleasantly surprised, Scratches happen that's boating you just need to be on top of the job.

 

[Wayloncle]

I learned from my incident, https://jetboaters.net/threads/my-boat-damaged-by-drunk-teenagers.6190/

I will never let the person leave until the police arrive and report it again.

I'm still fighting to get payment for my damage, the lady that took responsibility at the scene turned everything over to the kid and his parents, but they aren't cooperating and the kid is a punk and I don't have the parents info, yet.

I called Law enforcement and reported it while we were out there but the lady swore she would pay for damages so I didn't have marine patrol come out. If I would have known I was going to be dealing with this punk, I would have made them wait till LE came out....then she would be in deep crap for contributing to minors.

 

[dansshin]

@Geoff Cooper I think I would want the Spectrum Color product to match the black on my Yamaha. I'm no expert on this but getting the matching color would be the key to making it look new again.

 

[rkluck]

Sorry to hear about this. I used to boat in Savannah and when at the ramp people were so nice. You had bad currents and if anything happened out on the water you could have serious issues so people helped people. I moved to Atlanta and started going to the lake. The first summer I got into two aggressive situations at the ramp and had several people drive between me and the skiers. These people had no idea what they were doing and had not courtesy for anyone. Most of them were so drunk it was unbelievable. I sold my boat at the end of the summer and didn't get another one until I had a slip for it. I still watch everyone closely especially on holidays.

Luckily no serious damage was done and no one is hurt. I know how I felt with my first few dings and just like a car you realize later the world won't end and you will still enjoy your boat. People that don't have really nice boats don't understand what the scratch means to you since theirs is either old and not taken care of or aluminum. Funny how you rarely get issues from other similar boat owners.

 

[Geoff Cooper]

@Geoff Cooper I think I would want the Spectrum Color product to match the black on my Yamaha. I'm no expert on this but getting the matching color would be the key to making it look new again.

When you use the cutting paste you will cut the scratch out and the gelcoat is black all the way through, I did the same to a Black 230 over here a few months ago, He had a large scratch about a foot long you could click your nail all the way along it and it all came out by hand and the black gelcoat polished up really good you couldn't see where the scratch had been, Only a suggestion it's entirely up to you how you tackle the job, Good luck with it anyway.