58 - 60 Cathedral Hull repair.

Got my boat up on the car hoist yesterday to have a good long look at the underside. Have a few places that I think will need repair. One for sure. The others are deep scratches (for the lack of a better word). Would I be able to use gel coat on the scratches or something more filling. And what would I do for the star crack, which by the way is not all the way through. I thought about cutting the cracks wider and then filling. Thoughts please. Not sure what to do on a boat repair. Thanks.

If the gouges are just in the gel coat, you can fill them with fairing compound and then do the last layer in gel coat. Some look a bit deeper.

For the star, you can do as planned or grind the whole thing out and build it back up with a few layers of cloth, depending upon how deep it goes.

There are LOTs of 'how to' articles on many marine www sites. Probably plenty of books at the local library, too. Final thought - many of the "epoxy makers" have how-to's on their www sites - think West systems has the basic with the detailed steps in a book.

Thanks for the reply and suggestions. Will do some more homework before I start.

I've repaired many fiberglass hulls and I can tell you that gelcoat is designed for "in the mold" application. Now I'm not saying it can't be applied afterwards but in requires much more work and buffing. If you prepare the surface properly ( which is the bulk of the work) a good spray of Dupont Imron will produce a great long lasting finish. Now unless you're you have experience with this you need to get a professional to spray it for you. Like I said you prepare it for painting and the pro's price shouldn't hurt too bad. The entire paint process will take about 30 minutes.