Usually done from the outside.
Ted: Most of the time I have heard of this being done was from the outside. The just take a dremmel type tool and cut out the deck area that needs repair. The core is replaced as required and the 'skin' is set back in place and re-gelcoated. Depending on the amount of area that is being repaired your price does not sound out of line. IF you do this yourself, you want to be sure that you can do a professional job when patching the gelcoat. If you do a lousy job, you may cost yourself the money you saved if you try to sell the boat. Your other option is to do what you can yourself and hire someone to do the gelcoat repair. When you repair the port, be sure to seal the entire core area around the port. This should prevent this from happening on THAT port again. I think that most owners use something like an epoxy putty. I did not mean to imply that this could not be done from the inside. It would just seem that working from the outside would be a easier solution (especially if you do it yourself). Good luck with the repair, let us know about the final outcome of your project. Project pictures would be helpful too. Did you get a discount on the purchase price to offset the repair?
