I would take it to a few good fiberglass repair guys and get an estimate on it Lynne. Ask to see his work first because some of these guys aren't too good at matching Gelcoat or applying it.
We have a guy at a local boatyard up the river from our club that can do a repair and match the gelcoat so well that you couldn't even tell it was damaged. I'm sure that there are others who are just as good as him.
The damage isn't that extensive. It's an easy repair for someone with the right tools. Probably the hardest thing for an ordinary DIY sailor, me included, is trying to match and apply the Gelcoat.
You could probably make the repair yourself with a West System Fiberglass epoxy repair kit, a Dremel Tool with the grinding wheels, Acetone, sandpaper, and a respirator. You don't want to breath in that dust because it's carcinogenic.
After the repair is made, you'd need some Gelcoat or a Gelcoat repair kit. Gelcoat is different than paint. It's best to spray it on and it needs a wax barrier over it so that the Gelcoat can cure from the inside out. It's a very involving process and I'm not good at it.
If you weigh the cost of the tools and the other items you're going to need to do this job with having a fiberglass repair guy do it, it may be cheaper to have him do it, and I say may be. What you could do is make the repair yourself and have the guy do the Gelcoat.
At any rate you're going to need some instructions on how to do it and you may want to check your local library for any books by Don Casey on Fiberglass repair like "Sailboat Hull & Deck Repair" or "This Old Boat." Drawing these books out and studying them won't cost you anything and it will help you to decide whether you want to tackle the job yourself or bite the bullet and have someone else repair it.
Myself,--I hate doing fiberglass repair and I have a full woodworking shop down my cellar with all the tools needed to do almost anything. I must have about five books on fiberglass repair including the two mentioned above which I inherited from my late pal Walter, and I know that I'll never be good at fiberglass repair because I don't have the patience or the proper equipment to do a professional job. I have about eight screw holes on my deck that I filled in with fiberglass and they stick out like a sore thumb because I'm poor when it comes to matching Gelcoat. I'd like to try and Gelcoat them myself, but I keep putting it off. There's a nonskid surface on my deck where these screw holes are. I really don't know how I could duplicate that surface of my repair even if I were to match the Gelcoat perfectly.
Good luck Lynne! Let me know how you made out.
Joe
