New gelcoat or let it be?

[ak_weston]

Okay, I've been lurking here for awhile. I purchased a c-dory literally on a whim this summer. My Dad's neighbor sold me his 82 22' c-dory with a 98 honda 4 stroke. The issue? The hull is rough. I bought the boat in July and had a ton of fun in it. Fishing, sightseeing and taking out family and friends. What I want to know is, should I go for a gelcoat repair or just enjoy "as-is"? The gelcoat has MANY rough spots both above & below the waterline. Doesn't appear to have a soft transom or anything but I have been reluctant to post pics here because I haven't seen anything on the forum close to the rough shape my rig is in.

The looks of the boat don't bother me much but I am concerned that leaving it the way it is may cause the vessel to deteriorate quickly enough to cause concern. I didn't pay a lot for the boat but not a little either (Probably 1/4 of what it would cost new). I don't keep it in the water either. It goes on the trailer after each use. Sooo, any input or advice on how much $$ or worry I should put into spiffing the boat up? Rules of thumb on when gelcoat wear is cosmetic and when it becomes a serious issue?

Weston

[Papillon]

Hi Weston,
Re gelcoating a boat cost bucks...BIG BUCKS!

With that said, let me say on word......Awlgrip

It will keep the boat in good shape for years to come...and repainting every 5 or 6 years is a lot cheaper then gelcoat.

Below the waterline gelcoat breaks can cause problems that you don't want, so pay much more attention to that area right now if you don't worry about looks on the topside.

My 2 cents worth...take it for what it is worth...and enjoy your boat.

[therrick]

Weston,

I'm a relatively new C-Dory owner as well - since last spring. The gelcoat on my boat was pretty rough too. Lots of scrapes and gouges where the hull meets the dock. I spent some time researching the issue as well, thinking I was going to paint the outer hull. The main alternatives seemed to be to have the whole hull re-gelcoated, paint with one of the high-end paints (like the Awlgrip WhalerGoFar mentioned) or to do small repairs just to the damaged areas. I'm not interested in maintaining the perfect yacht; just a boat that looks reasonable and works.

So, I ended up doing lots and lots of small area repairs using a one-step gelcoat repair product. Other (probably better) gelcoat repair products require that the user keep oxygen from the newly applied gelcoat while it cures by covering it with plastic wrap. In some places, the original owner had used Marine-Tex to fill in the deep gouges. Marine-Tex is an epoxy-type product that had to be removed since the gelcoat products won't adhere properly. The biggest problem I've had with this approach is getting the proper color, though unless someone's inspecting the hull the color difference isn't real obvious. It does take some work to prep the scrape or gouge by sanding and wiping it down with acetone. I brushed on the repair medium, let it set up and cure overnight, then began wet-sanding it using a block and 320 grit. In some places where I over-did it I started with 180 grit, but was careful not to get into the area outside the repair. Mostly though it was 320 grit to get the surface pretty well faired out, then 600 grit so that I couldn't feel any lumps or depressions, then 1200 grit to polish it out a bit. Finally, I went over it with rubbing compound. Since I'm also cleaning up the rest of the gelcoat with deoxidizing and polishing solutions, I waited to wax the repairs until I'd brightened up the whole area.

Sanding the gelcoat repair so that it looks good - meaning unnoticeable - takes a bit of work. I also found that I needed to put more of the repair medium on than I originally thought because I'd end up sanding through it. It's a bit of trial and error, but for me seems to have been a reasonable choice. If I had any real money, I might well have opted to have a pro shop paint the hull with a tried and true marine paint.

Have fun with it.

Tom

[Salmon Slayer]

Congrats on your boat, I have an 81 that I bought in what sounds like similar condition. I have been slowly patching all the gel coat chips and dings and have done a lot for not much more than the cost of my labor. If you have rough spots that are spread over a wide area, you might check and see if the previous owner didnt just smear Marine Tex and never finished it. Thats what I found, when I started cleaning up the boat after I bought it I cleaned off large patches of smeared Marine Tex that only covered a small chip. Cleaning that up made a huge difference.

AWLGRIP as mentioned is probably the best finish but its almost impossible to find the conditions in Alaska that would allow it to be applied. I have had success with using INTERLUX (the exact code in listed in my picture album) which is an almost exact match for the older gel coat colour and works great for touching up.

The other issue I fugured out is that the house and huill are not molded together like the newer CDorys, the house is bolted on and is prone to leaks where the house and hull meet (it drove me crazy for a while). I cleaned up the area where the house and hull meet and then used 3M 5200 (various boat caulks didnt hold up) and I have had no more leaks.

All that being said, use the hell out of your boat and enjoy it!

Andy

[416rigby]

[SEA3PO]

I have switched over to West Systems Epoxy for all repairs ..... other than using a bit of 5200 sealant .... the epoxy is much stronger than polyester resin or anything else used to fill holes and scratches and it can be pigmented to match the white gel coat of the hull... it is really easy to patch chips with...dab it in the hole and use clear plastic tape to hold it in place until it cures... if you are good at it, you won't have to much other than remove the tape and you will have a perfect patch...it bonds to fiberglass super and is hard as rock...the trick is getting the right color match with the pigment, and don't put to much in the chip...(so you don't have to clean up much...it can be finish sanded and polished just like you would do with gel coat repair, yet is much stronger, harder and easier to use.

Joel
SEA3PO

[ak_weston]

These are some really helpful tips. I've swallowed the pride and posted a few pics of the c-gull. The last one in my gallery shows a close-up of the type of gouges I am dealing with. This boat originally had 3 wooden skegs running down the length of the bottom. In the photo you can see where the middle skeg is gone. I am also debating whether I should remove the other two, replace the middle or leave out the middle and repair the holes where it was.

Thanks again for all the valuable info.
Weston

[Salmon Slayer]

Weston: You will definitely want to get that hull damage repaired. Many of these boats have similar damage up in Alaska becuase they get beached a lot. Personally, just for that one patch on your bow, I would pay to have that professionally repaired (mostly because I am still learning epoxy and fibreglass techniques).

You will also want to replace the skeg (or strake); they help with tracking and also protect the hull when you beach it. Once you get that bow repaired look at a Keel guard which will further protect your boat.

Your pics are great and it looks like you have a good boat, many of us on this board do not have new boats and yours is a welcome addition to the Classics. Keep posting pictures, we enjoy seeing everyone's boats and getting ideas from them.

Andy

[ak_weston]

Any insight on why c-dory dropped the strakes? I don't have any plans to put the boat on the beach intentionally even though it is obvious it has been done many times before with this boat.

From the advice here, I am leaning towards have someone professionally repair the main gouges and apply a paint below the waterline and then do my own spot patches/fixes above the waterline as time & $$ allow.

Weston

[oldgrowth]

Weston – there is nothing to be embarrassed about that boat. There have been members here that have started with rougher boats. Yours looks solid and has the makings of a good solid classic C-Dory. The sky is the limit on what you can do to it. You will find lots of good ideas in the members photo albums.

[thataway]

You have recieved many of the proven techniques to consider. I think that your boat looks fine--and that the repairs will not be all of that much of a problem. Looking at the bow, I would probably put on a bit more mat, since it appears as if some has been worn off. We replaced a small amount of glass on an RIB each year since we beached the boat on the rocks several times a day to walk our dogs.

If you do decide to paint the boat, the biggest work is to fill and smooth all of the dings. Generally this is best done with epoxy, then an epoxy primer is put over the entire hull. Spraying Awlgrip is definately the best techinique. However, it takes a very skilled person to do a good job. Other options are brushing with one of the two part urethanes (they all have a special brushing reducers). Sterling is also a commonly brushed two part urethane. There is also the possibility of the single part brushed paints--like TopLac, Bright Side etc. These don't last as long as the Awlgrip, but are much easier to apply.

Once you get the technique--and it is well explained above--filling fiberglass dings is fairly easy. Spectrum color has "exact" matchs for gel coats--but gel coat has faded with time--so often the match is not perfect.
White is a difficult color to match precisely.

I prefer to use epoxy for repairs--since the secondary bond is much better than polyester resin. I also find epoxy slightly more predictable in hardening times. But these repairs are limited to areas which are to be painted over.

If you were to "Restore" the boat to its origional gloss, probably spraying with Awlgrip would be the best. Most practical would be to build up and fill areas which need to be reparied, with polyester and then gel coat. I would avoid cheap fillers such as "Bondo"--for it does not hold up well in fully wet applications. Also thick fillers tend to crack and not do well with time, best to use mat in areas which are thicker.

The last route I would personally take, would be to re-gel coat the entire boat. I would repair those scrapes and gouges, sand with 1200 wet and dry, and compound and wax the rest of the hull.

[Chris Bulovsky]

I don't want to call your damage easy but...... You could repair that with a two part epoxy and silica filler (stronger than original glass) for damaged stuff below the water line. Then a primer coat followed by a barrier coat. Would only cost you the materials. Looks totally fixable. If you have a heated shop you could have have that handsome rig tip top by break up.

You could do it if you have the time and desire to get it done.

Chris Bulovsky
Washburn Wi

[oldgrowth]

Weston – Chris is a very modest person. He is a person you want to listen to. Check out his photo album "resuscitation of a boat" Here. This will give you some inspiration. This is not saying the others do not have valid points.

[patrick and linda]

I'VE BEEN FOLLOWING THE ABOVE LISTED POST, and ALWAYS LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR, B-reak O-ut A-nother T-housand SPORT. SO, I CHECKED OUT CRIS'S "SCOUT"! NICE JOB!
WHAT'S THE STORY BEHIND THE DAMAGE?
I'M A NORM ABRAM (NEW YANKEE WORKSHOP) TYPE GUY, BUT WHAT CRIS ACCOMPLISHED, EVEN NORM WOULD BE IMPRESSED.
BEST REGARDS TO ALL
PAT

[iggy]

There was a very thorough article about the Awlgrip process in PassageMaker Magazine about 3-4-5 months ago. An outstanding resource.

The author included a description of fiberglass curing at different temperatures, and the effect of this process on possible print-through of the underlying weave. This should be long since over and done with before fairing the hull and applying the Awlgrip, especially with an older boat. However, the author describes several owners who wanted dark blue or black hulls, in areas with high summer temps. The dark hull led to temps considerably higher than those previously experienced with the white hull, leading to more curing and ultimate print-through.

Point is, this article discussed all kinds of issues: substrates (wood, glass, steel, aluminum); cleaning; fairing; application, etc. When it's done right, Awlgrip is a phenomenal solution, but it must be done right. At the very least this article provides a lot of ammunition for selecting an experienced, competent shop to do the work.

e.g.