hit a piling, damaged new awl grip

[markxengineerin]

In one of my more expensive mistakes, entering a new harbor at night, sleep deprived, cockpit lights too bright, not paying enough attention, etc etc, I looked up and saw an unlit wood piling dead ahead. It did have a reflector on it, but wasn't visible from much distance in those conditions. I was not able to turn quickly enough, dragged it down a large % of the port side. The paint was 1 year old, beautiful awl grip that I roll + tipped. No structural damage, just scratches.

So, any tips on blending awl grip "spot repairs"? I have never had any luck in the past, so might have to re-do the whole side.

Any cost effective DIY yards in Maine? I did the original paint at "home", but transporting the boat is $600 additional each way on top of the haul out, prefer to do this in a yard over maybe a 2 week to 1 month timeframe, with some other projects thrown in

Lesson learned: turn off cockpit lighting, pay more attention when entering unknown harbors at night. A headlight might also be in my future. Are these legal/ anyone use one?

ps ignore the waterline in above photo, I am partially careened doing some prop+ zinc work.

[SailingHarmonie]

Awelgrip is notoriously difficult to patch well. Awlcraft, much easier.

One more lesson you might pick up: A good broadband radar (3G or newer) can see things like pilings at short ranges.

"Headlights" are certainly legal, although they can be really annoying to oncoming boats, for all the obvious reasons!