Fixing hail damage...help

Oct 30, 2017
183
Catalina c 27 Lake Pueblo
our catalina 27 suffered some hail damage leaving tiny visible holes in the deck (I am sure there is more damage deeper)

Is it safe to assume that I should fill these with some thin epoxy? Some are needle point small.

What should I use?


Thanks in advance.
 
Mar 1, 2012
2,182
1961 Rhodes Meridian 25 Texas coast
well, there is Marine Tex. colored epoxy filler. unfortunately it will yellow over time, so needs painting. But that would be my choice
 
Oct 30, 2017
183
Catalina c 27 Lake Pueblo
Can it be applied with a syringe and needle?

The discoloration would not bother me so much due to most of the holes being so small.

I am really hoping to not have to grind anything down. Just patch.
 

SG

.
Feb 11, 2017
1,670
J/Boat J/160 Annapolis
The epoxy will be UV sensitive & needs to be covered with a UV barrier. Paints MIGHT do that.

Do you have some pictures with some objects to provide "scale"?

You say "tiny holes" and that there's "more damage deeper". What leads to believe that that's so?
 
Jan 11, 2014
11,324
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
If it is only gel coat damage, then fill with gelcoat. No need mess with epoxy.

Photos of the damage would help. Are the holes penetrating or just chips?

What kind of unseen damage do you suspect? Have you sounded the deck with a hammer?
 
Jan 19, 2010
12,362
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
What if you went with a combonation of this stuff



and gel-coat repair.

You would only place the mats where you presently have anti-skid surface...
Like this...



This would drastically reduce the amount of chips you have to repair.
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,995
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
I agree with @dlochner . Use gel coat in a color matched to your damaged area. Clean the area with acetone. Let it dry. You can use one of the clear plastic syringes to inject the material. Or use a small painter’s brush like used in car detailing. Dab it in and let it dry. Will take care of the water intrusion. Then you can clean the deep holes/spots that need more GelCoat and give them coat #2.
 
Oct 30, 2017
183
Catalina c 27 Lake Pueblo
I will get pictures next weekend.

All of the damage is on non skid areas.

I will try the gel coat.



Oh... and the belief that the damage may go deeper is based off of projectile wounds/damage. Frequently the damage is come shaped with the smallest point being the point of impact.

I do have insurance and we are looking into that as well.

Thanks
 
Jan 11, 2014
11,324
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
All of the damage is on non skid areas.
This is a good news/bad news thing.

The good news is that since the damage is limited to the non-skid areas it is likely that there is no structural damage for 2 reasons, non-skid areas may have small voids between the gelcoat the under lying substrate. The hail may have simply exposed those voids. Second, because the non-skid is textured, the force of the hail stone hitting it is highly concentrated on thin areas which are easily fractured. Think of an icicle, the tip of the icicle breaks off easily, the base of the icicle not so much.

The bad news, is that it is harder to repair nonskid than flat sections of hull. Andy Miller on Boatworks Today has several videos on repairing non skid. Also there is product called Flexomold that can be used to repair the nonskid.

Keep us posted.