Bow repair recommendation

[MagicalArmchair]

In this post, my propeller parted company with the boat as we approached MDL Woolverstone berth. Poised for the perfect docking manoeuvre... engage astern... and there goes the propeller...

I am writing up the insurance claim, however, I think matching the 20 year old gel coat would cost more than getting a stainless tingle made up that could be attached over that area (should the propeller choose to part company another time in future!).

1. How do I make it safe whilst I wait for repairs? I see laminate poking through there and I don't want too much more moisture getting in. Gaffa tape it until I have tools to fix it or get it booked in with a local company? Gaffa tape a bag over the area? That will just attract condensation won't it?
2. Get a stainless tingle fabricated up, then sand the area, fill it, and epoxy it in place sound like a good idea?

 

[KevinV]

I don't see why matching 20 year old gelcoat would be any more difficult or expensive than matching 2 year old gelcoat?
I'd put dpc tape or silage tape over it while you wait for repair - amazingly sticky, and actually waterproof, which gaffa tape isn't. Everbuild DPM Polythene Joint Tape Black 20m x 75mm - Screwfix
Faithfull Farmer's Silage Tape 75mm x 20m https://amzn.eu/d/fXoN99l

 

[Tranona]

Its an insurance claim. Get it done properly. in the meantime fill with polyester filler and maybe white gel coat filler so it looks sort of right. A good GRP repair outfit will be able to match it.

You might do it differently if you were paying, but once you decide on an insurance claim do it properly. Had similar situation with damage to my Morgan after a loose cabinet door fell out of the storage rack in the garage onto the bonnet and wing. My excess was £400 which would have paid for a "dent man" which might have worked as the paint was not broken, but it would not have been perfect like the rest of the 20 year old car I have had from new. Proper job from an old style paint shop was £1500. Perfect match achieved by mixing because Morgan had lost the original paint code and the one on the car did not match.

BTW if they are paying for a new propeller you might want to consider paying the extra to have a Flexofold or a Featherstream

BTW did your diver have any luck?

 

[chubby]

Do a temporary repair with a pot of grp filler having sanded down the rough bit and enjoy sailing for the season and do a more permanent repair in the winter, don`t loose sailing time over it in a 20 year old boat!

 

[Buck Turgidson]

If it’s an insurance claim won’t you need quotes from professionals ?

 

[doug748]

Agree with the others, a plate never looks good and just telegraphs damage beneath. It's the sort of thing you do with a cheap, older, small boat.

I always now use a ramming fender at the bow. Folk on here have said it should not be needed, very true but shit happens.

 

[dankilb]

I wouldn’t worry about moisture getting in for now. I think the risks are vastly overestimated. Our refit project necessarily involved leaving exposed/damaged laminate sometimes for months at a time (thanks, lockdowns!). No harm ever came to it. At most I witnessed slight ‘surface degradation’ (I suspect more from UV than moisture) but this is removed in the first few seconds of any necessary grinding anyway.

Obviously fix it properly and as soon as you can - but something like bagging it (and creating a warm, high humidity, low oxygen environment) might make it worse!

 

[MagicalArmchair]

Thanks all. I spoke to Rob of Crowhurst marine, and he said to protect the area with white duct tape (not gaffa tape) for now until he had a chance to assess (I only found clear gorilla tape that will do at Fox’s chandlery). He also advised not to fill it as he needed to check for any delamination in the area.

The plan is: tape up and ignore until autumn . Get a couple of quotes and sort in the off season after agreeing this approach with the insurance company. I agree on reflection re the stainless plate. I have got to the stage where the bow would never, ever get anywhere near the pontoon as the engine and manoeuvrability of the boat is so good… well, so long as there is a propellor attached .

I have (in the garage!) the bow crash fender but I hate having another thing to stow and put out when mooring up.

 

[johnalison]

A similar thing happened to me in the Netherlands when my gear cable fractured. The damage chipped away the gelcoat and ground out a bit of glass. I bodged a repair with epoxy the next day in order to seal it and got a professional to repair it at the end of the season. I can’t remember the cost, but I didn’t think it worth claiming on insurance.