RE: [Paddlewise] Getting gelcoat to stick to MarineTex putty

Lisa and Steve,

I just had my fiberglass boat repaired because while launching in some
ugly surf several weeks ago, I wound up doing a "reverse pearl". As the
boat fell back on top of me, it was sucked off by the surf. The stern
then hit some underwater rocks, and took several chunks of gelcoat off
of the stern while the flexing of the hull caused a crack in all of the
fiberglass layers a couple of inches behind my skeg. In addition, the
gelcoat had been wearing off of the keel as a result of abrasion from
sand over the years.

After looking at the repair work necessary, I thought it might be time
for a professional. I brought it to a local shop who said they would cut
out the damaged glass and replace that with 4 layers and then use
MarineTex to fill in the gouges in the gelcoat and also cover the
fiberglass on the keel where the gelcoat had worn.

I have to tell you, the repair looks good-not quite as pretty as
gelcoat, but my boat gets used and is no longer new. And as the repair
person said, you're only going to be wearing any gelcoat off of the keel
again anyway, why not put something on that will last a little longer.
Besides, all of the repairs are underwater while I paddle. BTW, my
MarineTex is white (actually slightly whiter than my hull). I understand
it comes in two colors, a grey and a white and a fast setting version
that only comes in grey. I carry that in my repair kit.

Steve

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