Gel Coat Guidance

[dr2owen]

As is the case, I guess, with a lot of Cape Dory's, my gel coat has suffered over the years. I have dug out these cracks in the cockpit and am filling them with Thixo-flex but what a massive and time consuming job. All of the cracks go only through the gel coat which in some cases was 3 or 4 mm thick. As I was working on the cockpit, I looked at what lay ahead of me doing the deck and realized that I may be doing this for the rest of my life. Any suggestions about a more expedient way to fix this and make my boat look like someone actually cares about her.

[Neil Gordon]

i'm looking forward to the simple solution to this one!

[gonesail]

maybe prime and paint? primer should fill those cracks. don't see how you can fill them otherwise

[Joegunz]

I think of the thin cracks as character lines. Sort of like wrinkles on your face that come with age. They've been earned though living a good life. Big gel coat dings are a different story. I've had good luck fixing those with Evercoat formula 27 and then gel coat above the water line, or epoxy and then gel coat below the water line. Formula 27 is generally white and is a polyester filler sort of like bondo putty. It's not totally water proof so the gel coat topping helps with that as well as with color matching. Getting the right color is the trick to making the repair look good. My boat is white, but as you know there are infinite shades of white.

[John Stone]

Here is how I addressed the many gelcoat cracks on my boat during a complete gut job six year rebuild of my CD 36 Far Reach.

I sanded off all the factory stipple non skid and then sanded all the deck and top sides. For the deep gel cracks I opened the cracks with a roloc and applied two part epoxy. To the remaining numerous spider cracks I left them be as I would eventually cover them with multiple coats of two part epoxy primer.

I rolled and tipped 4 coats of Awl-build two part epoxy primer. I sanded. Then rolled and tipped a finish primer—I like Awlgrip 545. I sanded. Then taped off the areas for where there would be non skid. To the parts of the deck and cabin top to receive finish paint I originally sprayed with Awlgrip. Since then however I have learned how to roll and tip Awlgrip. Not that difficult. Three years ago I repainted the top sides (hull above water line to gunwale) with Awlgrip roll and tip method after paint was damaged. A little learning curve but the finish looks sprayed from a foot away. Simply can’t tell the difference. Pictures available upon request.

Here is the thread on the forum for how we rolled and tipped the top side in the spring of 2017. http://www.capedory.org/board/viewtopic ... ip#p195323

To the parts of the deck to get non skid I applied a one part product called kiwi grip. Great stuff. Very happy with it. Easy to apply.

After 5 years and a little less than 10,000 NM of offshore sailing only a few cracks have reappeared through the finish paint. I don’t think any are visible through the kiwi grip. The link below tells the whole story in detail. Filling gelcoat cracks, primering, painting, etc.


http://www.farreachvoyages.com/projects ... erior.html

[Steve Laume]

Raven looks pretty good, overall. I did have cracking gel coat that was very similar to what you show, in the cockpit sole. I had no intention of painting the deck so I went for a simple solution in the non skid area where is was the worst. I sanded aggressively and then brushed on a coat of epoxy in the masked off non skid area. Once it hardened, I sanded again and applied Kiwi Grip. It has only been a year but it still looks great.

I have a CD-14 that had very bad gel coat crazing all over the hull. About 15 years ago, I sanded it hard and did the same epoxy coat to fill all the crazing cracks. It was then painted and is still holding up very well.

I think this treatment does two things. First it thins down the gel coat layer so it is less apt to crack anymore and tends to make the existing cracks a bit shallower. Then the epoxy, fills, smooths and binds things together as well as sealing off the underlying fiberglass. All of this creates a great base for the finish material, Steve.