Fiberglass hull Damage

[Cigatoo]

My boat yard was moving a boat and damaged mine. About the size of a soft ball. The damage is into the glass. They are going to turn it over to their insurance. (I have contacted my insurance.) The boat yard owners and family are close friends. It is almost a 40 year old GB 36 in very nice shape. The hull especially is in great shape. Very few if any scratches dents or dings. All original gel coat. Nice shine to it.

Two questions:

Is this just a simple repair and spot gel coat? If so will it match in a year, or 2, or 3? Should I expect the whole port side to be gel coated? Should the whole boat be painted? Thoughts?? I am in no way trying to scam an insurance company but I do want a quality (invisible) repair.

What have you experienced with insurance companies in instances such as this?

Sorry for the picture being on its side.

 

[psneeld]

May take a bit of filler buy that would be up to the glass guy.

If good and the exposed fibers aren't loose, could be just a spray of thicker gel.

Good guys are a dime a dozen, the miracle guys are hard to find ( the ones that can make most damage almost disappear.

Depending on prep work, estimate may come in under a deductible.

 

[Pete Meisinger]

An expert can fix that gel coat so you will never know it happened. An amatuer will botch the job.

pete

 

[sunchaser]

A good yard would fix it right with no questions asked. Their fault their responsibility. No insurance BS.

A few years ago a waxer pulled one our high gain VHF antennas down. The yard called me and said they would promptly replace the antenna.

 

[psneeld]

In my experience, some yards have good glass guys, but the real magic makers usually know they can make way more in their own business and have flex hours.

Big expensive yards that specialize in damage repair, sure they will have really good staff.

Not all yards allow outside contractors so at least try and see what the yards glass guy's past work looks like.

 

[Larry M]

I had boat yard damage a few boats ago. I called my insurance company and they sent out a surveyor as did the at fault yard. My insurance company paid for the repairs then subrogated against the “at fault” yard for the repair costs. The at fault yard’s insurance paid my deductible directly to me.

Since your at fault yard is turning it over to their insurance, I’d try to have your insurance company be your advocate.

 

[Bacchus]

Hard to tell from the pic if the damage is surface / cosmetic or is more serious and might need repair from both sides?
In either case your concern is with who does the repair and is it to your satisfaction, with 2 insurance Cos involved.
If it were me I'd talk to my insurance re: what my options are: Can you & they take responsibility for repair and surrogate yard insurance for reimbursement?
Can they get yard / yard insurance agreement to have owner & yard agree on who does the repair?
Can they help you define the warranty period for the repair if it degrades in the future? I would expect difficulty getting cosmetic repair warranties for an extended period.
Bottomline, I doubt either insurance Co would agree to full side repair (gelcoat or paint) if industry (repair) standard is to do spot repair.

 

[SeaDogAK]

If you involve your company it may go down as a claim, which may impact your premiums. I’m no expert on how that works but I’d gather some information before calling your insurance company.

 

[Hippocampus]

Surface damage may not tell the story. Don’t know the layup schedule for your boat. Don’t know the resin used. Think we can assume hand not vacuum bagged or infused given circa. If deformed sufficiently fibers were broken and layers pulled apart. If not deformed by impact then totally cosmetic. If structural then need to grind back a fair distance so sequentially larger patches of glass can be laid in. Then a fairly large area to gelcoat to spray. If no structural defect a minor gelcoat repair. The most important thing you can do is get a really top notch surveyor. Only such a skilled individual will be able to tell what structural damage if any occurred. Gelcoat is fairly brittle so also look for stress cracks around the area. Lapstrake is a PIA to repair but hides minor defects sometimes. Depending upon layup and how nearby stringers/frames are hull may have oilcanned. Or it may have been just a surface scrape. Don’t think anyone here on the basis of information transmitted via internet can offer a real opinion. Saw a sailboat that was struck by a steel rod . Surface damage was the size of a silver dollar but extensive structural damage occurred. Seen scrapes feet long that are just cosmetic.

 

[mvweebles]

If I had seen this a couple years ago, I would have been much more pessimistic. My hull has strake lines in molded fiberglass too. The lines are cut-in after the repair is made, then faired smooth. Pretty straightforward and fast for someone reasonably skilled in fiberglass. Spending so much time in a yard (Mexico) and I've seen these types of repairs done a hundred times - half of which are on Weebles. I've moved thru-hulls, all sorts of stuff. A few hours of labor later and the old hole disappears. Magic if you find the right folks.

Personally, this looks fairly minor to my eyes. FIberglass is pretty foregiving and I just don't see this as a major indent. Is it weaker than it was? Sure - but so what. It will take some time just because there is an hour of work, then 8-hours of dry-time. That said, if you look very closely, you will probably be able to identify the ghost of repair. Maybe not immediately, but with time, you will. The old gelcoat is a bit more porous and will darken a wee bit faster.

Sounds like this happened in a yard, but they are not a boatyard with fiberglass repair talent? Whats up?

Peter

 

[twistedtree]

Not a big deal to repair, but I'd start looking for recommendations for the best glass guy in your area and try to line them up for the job. The gel coat will need to be matched, but skilled people do it all the time.

 

[psneeld]

Some gel manufacturers have the original OEM gel coat specs .... my bet matching GB gel coat may be ordered or may be in stock (at least some used to be) so a good gel guy knows what to add to have it appear much like the original.

For that size repair, redoing the whole hull side is probably out of the question.

 

[Cigatoo]

If I had seen this a couple years ago, I would have been much more pessimistic. My hull has strake lines in molded fiberglass too. The lines are cut-in after the repair is made, then faired smooth. Pretty straightforward and fast for someone reasonably skilled in fiberglass. Spending so much time in a yard (Mexico) and I've seen these types of repairs done a hundred times - half of which are on Weebles. I've moved thru-hulls, all sorts of stuff. A few hours of labor later and the old hole disappears. Magic if you find the right folks.

Personally, this looks fairly minor to my eyes. FIberglass is pretty foregiving and I just don't see this as a major indent. Is it weaker than it was? Sure - but so what. It will take some time just because there is an hour of work, then 8-hours of dry-time. That said, if you look very closely, you will probably be able to identify the ghost of repair. Maybe not immediately, but with time, you will. The old gelcoat is a bit more porous and will darken a wee bit faster.

Sounds like this happened in a yard, but they are not a boatyard with fiberglass repair talent? Whats up?

Peter

This is a small family run yard. They will take care of me. They have a great glass guy who is a subcontractor. I have seen his work and am always impressed. Everything from small repairs to cutting out decks to replace fuel tanks. You never know he has been there after he is done. I have confidence in him. My only concern is the fading of the gel coat a year or two from now. I don’t think he can control that. I am confident there is no structural damage. I think I am over thinking this. Not unusual for me. Lol.

 

[Comodave]

If they match the current gel coat color it will probably fade similar to the rest as time goes by. Or not…

 

[koliver]

Before I bought my present boat, in 1994, someone had done a gelcoat repair of about the same size as you are contemplating. over the next many years, the repair colour faded differently from the surrounding gelcoat, but in the same time frame, my concern over the beauty of that panel lessened to an equal degree.
Do the repair, it won't cost much, then get over it.

 

[Aguyinak]

In my opinion this is a minor repair that a skilled glass guy could take care of in short order. The cost of this repair shouldn’t rise to the level where insurance should be involved, I know I certainly wouldn’t involve them. If the gel coat color is matched, if treated the same as surrounding areas it should age similarly.

 

[Hi Ho]

I had a similar repair done many years ago, I wanted a perfect color match not just real close so I had them use paint. My mistake, by the time fall comes around the gel coat oxides and the paint doesn't you can see the color difference. Polish it out it matches perfectly again. I should probably have chosen gel coat over paint, it was my choice so if I had it to do over....

 

[Cigatoo]

I had a similar repair done many years ago, I wanted a perfect color match not just real close so I had them use paint. My mistake, by the time fall comes around the gel coat oxides and the paint doesn't you can see the color difference. Polish it out it matches perfectly again. I should probably have chgel coat over paint, it was you choice so if I had it to do over....

Thanks for that. I had a trusted glass guy look it over. Will patch and re gel coat.

 

[Mike Lowthian]

Fibre glass hull damage

This post got my attention because I need a not so small fibre glass repair job done but cannot find a good repair man. Any know anyone in the Tampa Bay area of SW Florida?

 

[Captgary175]

Fiberglass work

I had a Safe Harbor Yard put an 18" gash through my hull, just below the rubrail while hauling the boat a couple years ago. They brought it inside and patched, reinforced and gelcoated about a 2x3 ft section of my hull. Two years later and I can't tell exactly where the damage was. There is obviously a lot more to the story, but a talented fiberglass guy (or gal) can fix even a fairly significant crack with no trace.

 

[CarlF]

The repair will be invisible to everyone but you (maybe not even to you too).

The gelcoat in the repair won't fade differently. The challenge is to get the new gelcoat to match the old faded gelcoat. But after you do, you're set. If their glass guy is good - and wants to put in a bit of extra effort - it will match.

So this is what I'd do:

1) Call the insurance company and say it's so minor you're not filing a claim. Boat insurance is such a nighmare these days that I only use it for major repairs. Even though it was the yard's fault you will have to say on any insurance application for the next five years that you had a claim. Of course, you'll then explain but why have any "blot" on your record. Don't give the insurance company any excuse to give you a higher rate at renewal.

2) It sounds like this is a great yard that you want to keep using. You are a lucky man. A good boatyard relationship is hard to find. It's worth using this incident to strengthen your relationship with them. They will remember favors done now - filing insurance claims isn't good for their business either. And they are undoubtely embarrassed that this happened to a good customer.

3) Do you have any other spots that could use a gel coat touch up? Just about everyone does. I'd go to the manager and suggests that you'd like to combine the repair of the yard mistake with some other gelcoat work. If they could do both jobs together for a good price, you'd really appreciate it. I guarentee you that the manager will not only give you a great price but you'll get other small favors done for the next several years. Things will get mysteriously left off your bill. When the travellift breaks somehow your boat will still get launched on time while others don't.

4) Finally, be sure to go see the job whlie the fiberglass guy is at work. Tell him he's an artist. Tip him $40. Ask about his kids. For some reason everyone tips the fuel dock guys but never the ones in the yard. They really appreciate it. And the gelcoat repair will come out perfect.

5) Sometime offseason when things are slow at the yard, invite the yard manager out for lunch at a local sandwich place. My manager told me I'm the only owner who's ever done that. For the cost of a club sandwich I get great service all year and some hilarious stories about life at a boatyard.