I plan to buy my first sailboat this spring. I'm looking (via the internet) at prospects, and one that is far away is reported to have "some gelcoat damage on the beam ends, both sides". Not being a sailor, or current boat owner, I have no idea what this means. Could someone email me with a site that explains this issue? Thanks, Mike Rollins mrollins01@earthlink.net
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Ron
Gelcoat
Gelcoat is the type of paint. Sounds like he's referring to paint damage on the sides (beams) of the boat.
Gelcoat is the type of paint. Sounds like he's referring to paint damage on the sides (beams) of the boat.
Could be cosmetic, could be more!
Mike: You owe it to yourself to get a survey. This is going to cost you about $250 for a boat of this size. This may trully be just some chips or scrapes in the gel coat. It may have been that the boat has been slammed into a dock/pier and has cracked some of the fiberglass below the gel coat. When a hull is built at the factory they will spray the mold with a release wax, then they spray on the gelcoat and then lay up the fiberglass in the mold over the gelcoat. This stuff is EXPENSIVE to repair properly. The cheap way is to fill it in with some bondo or other material and then paint over the damage. You may not really care if the boat is cheap enough. If you are paying top dollar it is a different story.
Mike: You owe it to yourself to get a survey. This is going to cost you about $250 for a boat of this size. This may trully be just some chips or scrapes in the gel coat. It may have been that the boat has been slammed into a dock/pier and has cracked some of the fiberglass below the gel coat. When a hull is built at the factory they will spray the mold with a release wax, then they spray on the gelcoat and then lay up the fiberglass in the mold over the gelcoat. This stuff is EXPENSIVE to repair properly. The cheap way is to fill it in with some bondo or other material and then paint over the damage. You may not really care if the boat is cheap enough. If you are paying top dollar it is a different story.
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Steve O.
more specifically...
Gel coat is the base coat of the fiberglass that is sprayed into the mold first to give the hull (and deck) its color and smooth finish. It can be repaired but requires color matching, which can be difficult do to fading of the original gel coat. I would definetly deduct for gel coat damage on any boat I was considering buying.
Gel coat is the base coat of the fiberglass that is sprayed into the mold first to give the hull (and deck) its color and smooth finish. It can be repaired but requires color matching, which can be difficult do to fading of the original gel coat. I would definetly deduct for gel coat damage on any boat I was considering buying.
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Jim WIllis
See Fiberglass Trilogy I for more on gelcoat
I worte a sort of "child's guide" to fiberglass (partly self education). As pointed out already, gelcoat is merely colored resin with not glass fibers that is used as the outer skin of the boat as a cheaper (better?) method of havig a shiny surface without painting. I would look at what sort of gelcoat damage there is. Could be minor and easily fixed (the odd stress crack) or areas that had been rubbed through by over enthusiastic use of a buffing wheel, rubbing against a piling etc. Trilogy II deals with the type of damage and how it is fixed, including color matching. If the gelcoat is generally shot, it may have to be re-gelcoated or hand sanded out and painted with LPU (usually expenseive if done professionally). Find out what the damage is, and how much it will cost and allow for this in the price. HOWEVER: The gelcoat is really only cosmetic above the water line. On the other hand, blisters (Trilogy III) , are a more serious matter. External, above water gelcoat damaged is less important than things like engine damage, structural damage, need for rerigging etc etc. The only excpetion is cracking due to insufficient structural integrity of the hull. Also consider whether you really like the model of boat and how many more are out there to chose from Hope this is of some help Jim W
I worte a sort of "child's guide" to fiberglass (partly self education). As pointed out already, gelcoat is merely colored resin with not glass fibers that is used as the outer skin of the boat as a cheaper (better?) method of havig a shiny surface without painting. I would look at what sort of gelcoat damage there is. Could be minor and easily fixed (the odd stress crack) or areas that had been rubbed through by over enthusiastic use of a buffing wheel, rubbing against a piling etc. Trilogy II deals with the type of damage and how it is fixed, including color matching. If the gelcoat is generally shot, it may have to be re-gelcoated or hand sanded out and painted with LPU (usually expenseive if done professionally). Find out what the damage is, and how much it will cost and allow for this in the price. HOWEVER: The gelcoat is really only cosmetic above the water line. On the other hand, blisters (Trilogy III) , are a more serious matter. External, above water gelcoat damaged is less important than things like engine damage, structural damage, need for rerigging etc etc. The only excpetion is cracking due to insufficient structural integrity of the hull. Also consider whether you really like the model of boat and how many more are out there to chose from Hope this is of some help Jim W
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Joshua Heard
Gel coat repair
Gel coat is the shiny outer layer of a fiberglass hull. Depending on the extent of the damage, you may just polish it or buff and wax it, or sand and refinish it. Have a professional inspect it or do some hull repair research on the internet. Check www.practical-sailor.com or www.sailnet.com for expert articles.
Gel coat is the shiny outer layer of a fiberglass hull. Depending on the extent of the damage, you may just polish it or buff and wax it, or sand and refinish it. Have a professional inspect it or do some hull repair research on the internet. Check www.practical-sailor.com or www.sailnet.com for expert articles.
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