When to repair canoe gel coat?

My friend is anxious to repair the gel coat of his Clipper Prospector. I look at it and don’t understand the concern. Yes, there are scratches, but I could only find one that actually gouged the surface. The rest I can hardly feel when I run my hand over them. Does this hull need new gel coat?



http://www.chipwalsh.org/Shop/ClipperHull.jpg



Second question: if he wants to repair it, should he just paint over the scratches with gel? Of the repairs, he says he isn’t worried about how it looks. My thought is, then why do anything?



~~Chip

I wouldn’t
The only time one really needs to repair gel-coat is when the damage is deep enough to allow water to get between the fiberglass/gel sandwich.



That boat just needs to be paddled more.

It’s vinylester, so even if the gelcoat
were cracking loose, one would not need to do anything about it. The gelcoat protects the underlying layers against wear and against UV damage. Those layers don’t need any other kind of protection. They don’t “soak up” water because the fibers are still encapsulated in resin. The condition of the hull looks very good.

I Wouldn’t Do A Damn Thing
Scratches build character and those don’t appear to hurting anything. Hell, my boats have more scratches then that one and still float and paddle just fine. I understand the idea of having a nice looking boat but I take my boats into a a lot of places that are not kind to hulls, it’s the nature of the beast if you paddle. You ought to look at the bottom of the Hogged Backed Saint, looks like a religious whipping session went on there but it did take 12 years to get that worn look!



dougd

show your friend how to …

– Last Updated: Mar-18-12 1:45 PM EST –

...... use a buffer with course compound , fine compound , wax and buff . Then they can feel they did some nice maintenace and will know what to do next year when they have some more scratches .

As for when to repair gelcoat ... repair it when it needs repair . Maintain it at all other times .

You gotta be kidding me!
I can’t think of a bigger waste of time.

Free to good home.
He should put it at the roadsie or curb with a sign “Free To Good Home.” Then go and purchase another one new. Have to keep the industry going strong.

This is another one of those situations
where the old adage comes to mind - If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.

Religious Whipping Session!!!
Whole lot of that go’n on there, it would appear.



I hear the Hog Backed one’s own operative, when not involved in lewd-n-loose acts down in steerage which guide his roto-molded Saint towards those firmer foundations built of Petrine Supremacy (“I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.” Nor a Cross-link 3 hull.), has devoted much of his existence to continuous acts of self-flagellation.



“Hell, the Energizer Bunny ain’t got nuthin on da Penacook Bantam!”



Oh shoot, the point of this whole thread.



Riparian scrimshaw,

the story of it all?

Many, many tickles dis courses,

the writing’s on the hull?






His psychiatrist might prescribe Lexapro
This psychologist would recommend that he wash his hands in his toilet until the scratches no longer bother him.