Hull Repair Question

[moombroo]

I'm new to the forum and to the boating world all together. I recently purchased a 1999 Moomba Outback L/S. This afternoon I noticed that the keel towards the front of the boat has some slight damage. Doesn't appear to be serious, but worrying none the less. It has two spots, one about 6 inches long and another that is about 1 inch long where it appears the boat was run up on concrete or something hard. It gouged into the keel, basically removing about 1/16" of the fiberglass and or gel coat. Doesn't appear to be anywhere near puncturing all the way thru or causing problems.

Anyhow, the question is, how can I repair these small spots? Can I scuff them up and use epoxy to fill in or can I use fiberglass resin or what?

Thanks ahead of time

[maxpower220]

You can buy a gel coat repair kit at West Marine (or similar) and do the repair. There are instructions on the kit. Your biggest issue will be color match. If you do a search on gel coat repair on youtube, you will probably find tons of videos: the internet is great.

I have had a little gel coat issue before, but I took mine to a shop and had them do the repair. It was cheap and turned out perfect. Check the Yellow Pages in your area for a boat fiberglass shop.
Good Luck.

[moombroo]

Thanks for the help. I'm gonna have it looked at when I get in from work. Hoping I can patch it myself and then I'm going to put a keel guard on I believe.

[Sled491]

the problem most do it your selfers have with gel coat repairs is not understanding why it cracks after. The gel stays soft under while hard on top. According to my repair guy there is a techique to doing it right. For the money it will probably cost you are better off getting it done by the pro's

[RobertJ]

MoomBro, I had an issue like this one of my previous boats and I found out it was happening because of one of the rubber covers came of one of the cross members on the trailer. I thought it would be impossible for the boat to hit one of the cross members but when the loading the boat the trailer is on an incline (ramp) so it was indeed possible. I bought a need cross memeber cover and I had a gel coat repair place do the work. It turned out great. Good luck

[moombroo]

Any ideas on how much the repair will run at a reputable marine shop?

[Sled491]

Depending on labour rates in your area, and if it has to come off the trailer or not I would say the range would be 200 - 400 on the high high side

[maxpower220]

Only slightly the same, but the repair to the fiberglass fender (attached) was $150. The scrape on my boat (similar to your issue) was $200.

Labor rates will vary. The economy had my guy needing work, so you should be able to get a pretty good deal on labor.

[Sled491]

Hmmm seems the model of the boat you show is slightly different than the model in your signature.

[DOCDRS]

I picked up on that too sled, he may be a two timer!