[Rhodes22-list] Need some help fixing my stupidity

[Peter Nyberg]

I know on my boat, it’s paint, not gel coat.  I scuffed the paint up when I moved my lower rudder gudgeon about 1/2” to starboard this spring.  I covered the damage by going a little higher with the anti-fouling paint in that area than I otherwise would have.  As it happened, I was using black anti-fouling, which isn’t that far off from the navy blue hull paint.  With all the clutter on the transom of the boat, you’d have to be paying very close attention to notice.

—Peter


> On Jul 4, 2020, at 7:08 PM, Graham Stewart <gstewart8 at cogeco.ca> wrote:
> 
> Rob:
> If you are so inclined, other than matching the gel coat color that does not
> look to me to be a difficult fix. Examine it carefully and put pressure in
> the area to determine if the damage extends beyond the visible crack. Can
> you see the crack from the inside? The fact that you have access to both
> sides also makes it much easier. 
> 
> I would reinforce the inside with a few layers of cloth and then grind out
> the crack with an 8:1 taper. Fill the depression with about 4 layers of
> cloth with each patch being about an inch larger on all sides than the
> previous one and finally fill and fair with filler. I use epoxy for
> everything but I am sure that polyester would be more than adequate.
> 
> The final step is to match the color with either gel coat or paint. That
> requires skill that far exceeds my ability. That is why I ended up painting
> the whole damned boat. So if you can't stan the idea of a blemish you will
> probably need a pro.
> 
> Graham Stewart
> Agile, Rodes 22, 1976
> Kingston Ontario