Damage to gel coat

[Sam the Sailor]

Hello,

I just got about 1 cm diameter damage to my bow when the boat next to me left the pier. He just left so I need to handle this myself. Luckily the damage is so small that there is no need to deal with my insurace company or police.

Since the damage is quite small (please see the picture with 1 euro coin) do you think it's enough just apply gel coat patch paste repairs like this. Also I'm in a relatively remote island at the moment and there is no boat supplies, so do you think it's a problem if the damage will be unrepaired for several day's of sailing? It's well (about 1 meter) above the waterline.

I would greatly appreciate your help and comments since all this is quite new for me!

-Sam

[bigpuff]

I carry a tube of gel coat repair, works great for small dings. I wouldn't worry about not fixing immedetly,but get on to it with in a month

[KDH]

Contrary to popular belief, fiberglass will absorb water. I suggest that if you have any nail polish aboard that you cover it with that until you can get it repaired properly. Before everyone jumps up and down because a woman suggested nail polish, here's why. It's relatively water proof (the good stuff anyway), widely available, easy to redo and can be removed with ACETONE. I would suggest white or clear as the pigment may not be as easy to remove. In future, keep a two-part gel coat filler on board such as that made by "Plastic Padding" of Sweden for even largish repairs. It is a great product and easy to use, and when used with glass mat can even be used for larger repairs.

[Sam the Sailor]

Thanks for the comments! I have nail polish on board so I will cover the damage using that before getting the permanent fix.

-Sam