We had a little mishap with the ODay 222 this afternoon. She was run forward into the boat parked at the dock in front of us. She ran up on the outboard motor in front of us. A dent on the very tip of the bow was made, about a quarter of an inch through the gel coat and chip the fiberglass, about 6 inches about the waterline. What do we need to do to repair this? What is the potential problems we may encounter? Lynn
Dented Hull through Gel Coat/Fiberglass-Repair?
- Thread starter Lynn Ocean
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Fiberglass repair
Lynn,
If it's just something that will require a small repair, you'd be better off taking the boat to a good fiberglass repair guy in your area after the season is over. They have the equipment to do the job and do it so you would never know that it was worked on. I've tried to do repairs of this type through the years and have never been able to match the Gel coat. I was told by Rudy Nickerson of D&R Marine in Assonet MA, that the 222 O'day hulls were built with Epoxy resins and unless you use fillers made with Epoxy, other resins and fillers will not adhere to these hulls. You could buy a small West Systems Epoxy Kit and make the repair yourself, but applying and matching the Gel coat is a difficult job to do without the right equipment. Gel coat repairs need to be sealed with a mold release wax, or Cellophane so that it can cure from the inside out. I would ask around and find out who is the best fiberglass repair man in your area. If someone you know has had his boat repaired in your area, ask if you can see the repair. We have a guy who runs a boatyard not far from our club who does excellent work, where you wouldn't even know that it was damaged. I've seen work done by other guys in the business that left a lot to be desired. I have a small nick on my rudder blade that I will repair next spring with an epoxy repair kit that I've had for years. Fortunately, I only need to paint it with a small dab of bottom paint. Good luck, Lynn!
Joe
Lynn,
If it's just something that will require a small repair, you'd be better off taking the boat to a good fiberglass repair guy in your area after the season is over. They have the equipment to do the job and do it so you would never know that it was worked on. I've tried to do repairs of this type through the years and have never been able to match the Gel coat. I was told by Rudy Nickerson of D&R Marine in Assonet MA, that the 222 O'day hulls were built with Epoxy resins and unless you use fillers made with Epoxy, other resins and fillers will not adhere to these hulls. You could buy a small West Systems Epoxy Kit and make the repair yourself, but applying and matching the Gel coat is a difficult job to do without the right equipment. Gel coat repairs need to be sealed with a mold release wax, or Cellophane so that it can cure from the inside out. I would ask around and find out who is the best fiberglass repair man in your area. If someone you know has had his boat repaired in your area, ask if you can see the repair. We have a guy who runs a boatyard not far from our club who does excellent work, where you wouldn't even know that it was damaged. I've seen work done by other guys in the business that left a lot to be desired. I have a small nick on my rudder blade that I will repair next spring with an epoxy repair kit that I've had for years. Fortunately, I only need to paint it with a small dab of bottom paint. Good luck, Lynn!
Joe
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