need gelcoat repair advice as of today

[gumpus]

So today I've just shoved off for an upstream paddle with the dog so I turn the boat and start powering upstream and wham (more like KRUNCH KRUNCH) I drove the boat into a big piece of barely submerged concrete. I was totally daydreaming. The sound was not good. So it looks like 3 little holes the size of a bb or a bit smaller. The rest of the gelcoat scratches are not deep. The holes are above the waterline since I was heeled and turning as well as daydreaming.

My plan was to wipe the areas with acetone and then fill the holes with a little clear gelcoat. Make sense?

 

[deerfly]

I've never messed with clear gel coat, but I would try a small area first. I would be wary of bonding issues in those shallow graves, especially under flex. The holes of course will need some kind of thickened resin and should hold in place pretty well. That may not be gel coat either, could be UV inhibited epoxy or vinylester resin. Not sure who built that hull, but getting little slivers of resin to stay in those grooves could be challenging. You might have to sand down carefully and coat a larger swath of hull to get it to stick.

 

[gumpus]

Thank you deerfly. I should have mentioned that it's a Bell canoe and the holes are just in the gelcoat (I think it's gelcoat) and not the fabric.

 

[pblanc]

Yes, I'm am quite sure that Bell used some type of clear polyester gel on the exterior of the Black Gold canoes. I can't recall exactly what it was. Charlie Wilson or Ted Bell would know.

 

[Canotrouge]

If it was me, I would sand smooth with 80 grit to get rid of all loose/peeling stuff, clean well with acetone or alcohol and apply a few thin coats of clear epoxy, Ecopoxy is great for that cause it is UV stable....

 

[BWCA66]

I agree with sanding first, it will adhear better. Guess I would use clear gel coat but do you have any thing to thicken it up a bit in the holes? Could cut some fiberglass up as small as you can get it .

 

[stripperguy]

Are those three holes actually all the way through the hull? If so, patch them with 4 ox cloth inside and out with epoxy resin. Yes, sand and clean with acetone first. Just about any epoxy resin will work fine. Be sure to sand scrape the patch edges and add more resin as needed to blend. You should be able to make the patch nearly invisible.

Not an actual hull breach? Then just sand, clean, and squeegee in some epoxy resin.

In either case, be sure to add some form of UV protection, whether with varnish or specifically formulated resin.

If it were my boat, I would just shrug my shoulders and paddle on, every scar tells a story. BTW, my boats and I have lots of stories!

 

[PaddlingPika]

I'm in the process of attempting gelcoat repair on my placid flashfire, trying to follow instructions provided by Placid Boatworks: https://youtu.be/ljlghfoDwyA
Hard to tell from the pictures, but if the underlying fabric on your canoe is not broken and it is just gelcoat chipped off then chipping away remaining loose gelcoat around the holes and proceeding as in the video, using clear gelcoat, should work on your canoe.

 

[gumpus]

Thank you very much for all the thoughtful advice everyone. I have some clear stuff from Northstar canoes that was meant to fill in the production seam of a Northstar canoe so I need to check and see if it is compatible with an older Bell. Stripperguy, the holes do not go through...they are just little craters where a bit of the clear exterior finish popped out after a couple of big impacts...the carbon fabric underneath is untouched. For sure I will just shrug and continue paddling after fixing it! Thank you for the link PaddlingPika. Thanks for the specific brand recommendation Canotrouge.