Is this something I should be worried about?
- Thread starter bgstar19
- Start date
Of the 6 or 7 "blemishes" I see in the pic, I would be concerned about the one that appears to be exposing the glass strands. Can't really tell how deep it might go, but I'd fix it regardless.
Actually, I'd probably fix them all. That one would be first.
Actually, I'd probably fix them all. That one would be first.
If it doesn't go too deep, or spread out further than the earlier repair zone, that will probably be fine. You'll have to do a little exploratory surgery on it to be sure. Something hit it several times, so I would want to be sure the hull is still solid beyond the visible damage. It's probably fine, but keep your eyes on it while you're grinding. Look for cracking, delamination, etc. if you can grind back to good hull without going too deep, you're fine.
I don't suppose that area is visible from inside?
I don't suppose that area is visible from inside?
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You have a void beneath your gel cote. Dremel it out with an angled high speed cutting bit. The one with the rounded tip.
Dremel it out in width til you get to good gelcote. Dremel it in depth til you get to clean fiberglass. Then you decide whether you want to paint or gelcote. Look up YouTube videos on those topics.
Dremel it out in width til you get to good gelcote. Dremel it in depth til you get to clean fiberglass. Then you decide whether you want to paint or gelcote. Look up YouTube videos on those topics.
I wouldn't worry about it, but I would fix it. All the above advice applies.
-Will (Dragonfly)
-Will (Dragonfly)
Just curious... how big are these spots? How many are there? They appear to be tiny based on the size of the glass fibers .
If it’s small and there are several similar spots, then it’s not damage from a collision.
If that’s the case, it looks like a small, surface blister between the gelcoat and the chopped Matt layer of cloth. Chopped strand mat was laid over the gelcoat in the mould for the first layer, on a lot of boat brands. Chopped strand mat is difficult to saturate with resin, and (though it's hard to tell from just one picture) the picture appears to be chopped fiber mat that wasn’t completely wetted out. When the fibers aren’t completely saturated, they can absorb water through the gelcoat and local blisters form.
Blisters between the gelcoat and the mat the are almost always cosmetic, not a structural concern. So, it’s not a big worry.
In contrast, if the deeper layers of woven glass weren’t saturated with resin, then I would worry, That would be a structural concern.
Gelcoat isn’t waterproof, it’s very slightly permeable.
The usual repair for surface layer blisters is to grind the gelcoat and dry mat away until you to saturated mat. Then fill with waterproof two part marine putty, and then paint or gelcoat.
If it’s small and there are several similar spots, then it’s not damage from a collision.
If that’s the case, it looks like a small, surface blister between the gelcoat and the chopped Matt layer of cloth. Chopped strand mat was laid over the gelcoat in the mould for the first layer, on a lot of boat brands. Chopped strand mat is difficult to saturate with resin, and (though it's hard to tell from just one picture) the picture appears to be chopped fiber mat that wasn’t completely wetted out. When the fibers aren’t completely saturated, they can absorb water through the gelcoat and local blisters form.
Blisters between the gelcoat and the mat the are almost always cosmetic, not a structural concern. So, it’s not a big worry.
In contrast, if the deeper layers of woven glass weren’t saturated with resin, then I would worry, That would be a structural concern.
Gelcoat isn’t waterproof, it’s very slightly permeable.
The usual repair for surface layer blisters is to grind the gelcoat and dry mat away until you to saturated mat. Then fill with waterproof two part marine putty, and then paint or gelcoat.
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