DaySailer.org Forum

Hello,

The little lip towards the back of our daysailer has a couple decent 2-4" chunks bitten out of it, potentially from an outboard being dropped on it, I'm not entire sure. Any suggestions for how to repair this? Should we bother with fiberglassing, or just use some kind of epoxy filler? Any suggestions on what product to use?

On a half-related note, any suggestions for cleaning product for getting all the pretty intensely built up yard and tree scum that has cemented itself to the deck? A good power wash and dish soap was enough to get some of it off, but there's still a decent amount of dark brown scum and overall discoloration on the decking and sides.
Thanks!

Photos posted here: http://imgur.com/a/BsEfm

If you mean the bump, or ridge, I would simply pry off any weak and splintered gelcoat and then use a structural filler.

For moderately tolerable optics, something white would be preferable, for example the epoxy-based paste called MarineTex. It should bond well to the existing material and cure to a pretty strong and durable repair, and the white will (almost) blend.

For possibly even better strength, but unfortunately green in color, I can recommend 3M High Strength Marine Filler - that one has fiberglass strands embedded and cures into something really strong, even in thicker layers. The 3M product is polyester based, so if you want you can cover the repair with fresh gel coat from a gelcoat repair kit; the polyester base means you should not have adhesion problems.

Gelcoat, unless it is prepared with wax dissolved in it, will not cure if exposed to air. If you have a kit that is not designed to cure in air, you need to cover the repair entirely with plastic foil. If you can find some that is reasonably stiff, but still bendy, you can use it to help "mold" the applied gelcoat, giving it a nice flat structure which can be sanded easily.

The stiff-ish plastic sheet trick can also be used with the MarineTex or the 3M filler, to reduce the need for sanding these materials which become quite hard when cured.

The little notch in the transom can be dealt with in a similar fashion, or left as is, it appears simply cosmetic.

pboulanger wrote:Hello,
On a half-related note, any suggestions for cleaning product for getting all the pretty intensely built up yard and tree scum that has cemented itself to the deck? A good power wash and dish soap was enough to get some of it off, but there's still a decent amount of dark brown scum and overall discoloration on the decking and sides.
Thanks!

If the stains aren't REALLY bad, you could try Starbrite Non-Skid cleaner -
It really works pretty well - Scrub it on, leave it sit a while, and rinse off - It sort of magically disappears most stains :~) :

http://www.starbrite.com/item/non-skid- ... -with-ptef

OTOH, sometimes the discoloration does not remove with normal means -
We have an AMF Puffer (tiny 12' sloop), when we got it, it had sat a LONG time under some trees or something.
The topside was stained with some kind of brown tannin color - It would not come out, even with bleach-type cleaners.
In desperation, I tried some "The Works", toilet bowl cleaner -
The result was amazing - The brown stain just sort of dissolved, leaving whiter-than-white shiny gelcoat !

Although I could see no bad effect on the gelcoat at all, keep in mind that this is NASTY stuff -
It has acid in it that will burn your skin, if you don't wear gloves using it !
So, use at your own discretion - But it DID work ...........

Always use the least aggressive method first. Some products will make the gelcoat more porous. You won't see it, but it will be more receptive to dirt.

The StarBrite product that Tom mentioned contains some kind of surface sealant to counteract that effect - however, I would caution against using it on areas that you want to repair or paint, as the sealant may interfere with adhesion.