• We apologize for the somewhat convoluted sign-up process. Due to ever-more sophisticated attacks by chatbots, we had to increase our filtering in order to weed out AI while letting humans through. It's a nuisance, but a necessary one in order to keep the level of discourse on the forums authentic and useful. From the actual humans using WCP, thanks for your understanding!

Can I Put This in the Water Before Gelcoat Work?

Yeah, it needs a thorough drying, looks like. Once dry, then fix the holes and any areas where the glass is exposed Once water gets down into the glass, behind resin, then it will take forever to dry out.

Use epoxy.
 
I have done this before using clear packing tape, worked with no water intrusion. Just make sure you have a good seal around the damage area.

Those repairs are easily done with waxed gelcoat. As mentioned, be sure the Kevlar reinforcement material is dry. You will want to grind a bevel in the surrounding gelcoat, but try to avoid the Kevlar as that cloth has an annoying trait of fuzzing up.
 
semdoug said:
Those repairs are easily done with waxed gelcoat. As mentioned, be sure the Kevlar reinforcement material is dry. You will want to grind a bevel in the surrounding gelcoat, but try to avoid the Kevlar as that cloth has an annoying trait of fuzzing up.
I have never worked with Kevlar, so this is based on what I have read: doesn't epoxy wet out Kevlar much better than polyester resin? Or is that out of date info?
 
I am not sure if the epoxy v. polyester resin and Kevlar wet out info is outdated or not. My comments are based on what appears in the pictures as simple surface area gelcoat chip repair, this assuming there is no laminate compromise. Hence, there is no cloth wet out concern.

If the Kevlar is cracked or otherwise compromised then a little epoxy work may be in order.
 
Thanks, everyone, for the responses.

Does anyone have an opinion on using Evercoat Marine Polyester Gel-Paste for this? I'm just thinking that a thicker, paste-like, product might be more convenient to apply to the vertical surface of the damaged stern. I.e., I might not have to tie the boat to the railing of our loft and carry a ladder upstairs to reach the stern...
 
I was expecting your pics to show some tragic damage. Those are easy. I'd use waxed finish gelcoat. Maybe you were joking with the suspending the boat thing & I didn't get the joke. Just invert the boat & put the stern on a sawhorse or similar & the nose on the lawn. With the upward kick in the stern, that should put that damage in a near level position for work. And yes, just tape it & paddle for now. Clean area with acetone before patching. Congrats on the purchase. I love my Avocet.
 
Seadddict said:
I was expecting your pics to show some tragic damage. Those are easy.
When I look at those pics I see a 'classic' problem - voids between the gelcoat (sprayed into the mold) and the laminate (heavy boat cloth).
The chip on the hull bottom happened at a spot where there was probably a small bubble under the gelcoat - at any rate there wasn't good adhesion between the gelcoat and glass. I'd do a bit of 'firm but gentle' pulling at the gelcoat with a sharp awl and then repair with waxed gelcoat.
At the end/stern there's an 'empty space' under the gelcoat. I'd try to fill that with epoxy thickened with silica and/or milled glass fibers after drying it well. Use a wire/toothpick/something to work the thickened epoxy down into the void. You don't want the next impact to crack it open again. Use a piece of plastic and tape over the opening to keep the epoxy in there while it cures. Then top with gelcoat.
Alternatively, just 'fill 'er up' with gelcoat - that's the more common repair.

That 'void in the end' can happen even in otherwise well-built boats - I saw it in a Mariner Express I bought,and that was a vacuum-bagged boat. It's tough to push that glass and resin right into the ends of the boat when doing the layup.

EDIT: I knew I had a picture around here somewhere....
 
Thanks again! This site is a fabulous resource, and I'm grateful.

Really excited about the boat and will enjoy giving it some TLC.
 
If you are unable to find what is needed locally on the peninsula, Fiberglass Supply in Burlington should have what is needed.

http://fiberglasssupply.com/

A little food for thought:
The partial bummer about this type of small repair is that it is typical to have to buy a quart of gelcoat, way more than what is needed. Any one have a source that sells smaller quantities?

Recently, I've started buying a quart of base clear or base white surface gelcoat along with color pigments; saves from buying multiple quarts of different colors. This would work for you if you want to do both the white and yellow areas on your Avocet.

Since you'll be working on the bottom and playing with gelcoat, you could also use up excess gelcoat by installing a keel strip, if you're in to those.
 
Years ago I bought a repair quantity (4 oz or so IIRC) of gelcoat from Nova Craft Canoes in London Ont. Don't know if they still sell it or not but I'd be checking around with smaller boat building places. They may repackage like Nova Craft does (or did).
 
Re: The gaping chasm on the end of your kayak (jpg 2). It is a bit hard to visualize how far under the gel coat that the opening runs. I would be tempted to clean it out and scuff with sandpaper or a thin tapered file, clean again with acetone and then thoroughly dry out the hole. You might consider a blow dryer or heat gun on low. I would then stand and secure the boat with the damage pointing up against a 2nd floor deck, wall or building. Using a step ladder or standing on the deck, pour in a mixture of catalyzed Non waxed resin and allow gravity to fill the gaps and allow enough room to top with about 1-2 mm of catalyzed Waxed gel coat. An alternative to simply allowing gravity to fill the voids, you might pour the non waxed resin into a plastic syringe and using a large bore 2" tip, inject the resin to fill any gaps.

The other pic of a gel coat chip could be thoroughly sanded, Dremelled, cleaned with acetone and filled with matching gel coat until it is slightly above the surrounding level. When dry,sand and polish to blend in.
 
Well I'm satisfied.

I repaired the four areas of damaged gelcoat using Evercoat Marine Polyester Gel-Paste, which was easy to work with and stood very well in the near-vertical damaged surface in the stern, and then went over the hull with wet sandpaper in very fine grits and then with rubbing compound. It kicked on schedule and was ready for sanding after two hours.

(It wasn't clear from the photo, but there really wasn't much of a gap at all between the layup and the gelcoat in the stern--a millimeter or less and not deep--so I just packed it with the gel-paste.)

After I'd sanded the repairs, they were so much smoother than the rest of the beat up hull that I wanted to hit the whole thing lightly with my quarter-sheet electric palm sander, but the existing gelcoat is so absurdly thin that I didn't want to take any of it off. But just the wet-sanding and rubbing compound made a noticeable difference. Now it's seaworthy and more attractive, with all new deck rigging.

My only small regret is that I forgot to order the white color agent to go with the (clear/neutral) gel-paste, and I didn't feel like waiting around for yet another parachute drop before getting started. The repairs were on the bottom of the boat, after all, and I got some of the white Evercoat Scratch Patch, which I might use for a thin cosmetic layer over the repairs.
 
Back
Top