Bottom repair while in the water.

[SummerBreeze]

Yesterday I skimmed over a rock at almost 0 speed. When I put on a facemask and went under the boat to check the damage I found couple of 1 foot scrapes that did nothing but remove bottom paint from the gelcoat. However there were also a half dozen chips out of the gelcoat, each chip about half the size of a pinky fingernail. They were all on the lowest part of the bottom. Until the next time I have the boat out of the water to redo bottom paint can I use an underwater epoxy to keep any moisture from permeating those exposed chip areas?
If so, what product would you recommend?

Thanks,
Jeff

[yorkcoparamedic]

You are probably best to have the boat pulled so you can inspect the bottom. If there is more than one spot of damage you dont want to miss any. Plus you will be able to sand the bottom in the area of the damage, apply a two part epoxy, re-sand, apply a barrier protection primer, and then reapply some bottom paint if you use it. The barrier primer is the most important, it will keep the hull from slowly becoming saturated over time with water. Then you will have a real problem.

You should be able to do this yourself over a day or two (drying times). The most expensive part will be the haulout and launch depending on the size of the boat.

Hope this helps.

[seapuppy]

I agree with capt charles here on hauling the boat and doing the right way...other wise your gonna be in for a lot more costly repair bill..


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