In the hands of a skilled repair person, the structural repair and finish gel coat will be indistinguishable from the rest of the side of the boat. Note that the grinding back to get to a proper slope (to lay in new cloth) will enlarge the area to an alarming extent, for a little while.
![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
I have seen worse damage invisibly repaired on a Catalina. Problem, oddly enough, will not be the exact gel coat color match from the builder, but rather matching the new final surface to the "aged" color of the existing surface. OTOH, it
can be done.
So, as advised by Dave, get your insurer involved and find a surveyor and repair person. Only ameliorating factor is that you have none of the usual guilt that we all (often) have for causing it by running into something!
![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
Best of luck to you.
Aside: if you do not presently have an "agreed value" policy, be sure to get one before anything like this ever happens again.
![Frown :( :(](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)