Repairing Fender wear on hull

[eebygum]

Apologies for re-posting, but hopefully my picture has come out this time after choosing a new hosting site (funny it appeared in the preview). Welcome any suggestions in order to progress at the weekend.

........ the previous of my Contessa 26 had left the boat tied up too long to the marina with the thinnest fenders I've ever seen.... resulting in the fender on the port side has rubbing right through the white gel coat (see below) - it's about 6" long by 3" wide.

(and if it does'nt appear ! it's at http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c225/eebygumcaptain/rub.jpg)

How do I 'simply' repair this to (a) protect from future damage (b) fill the wear so it's smooth with the surrounding hull and (c) painted to match as far as possible the rest of the hull which is in very god condition for the age of the boat.

Thanks again

 

[xstucker]

I repaired some fender and other dings on a Bene 35s5 I bought from Sunsail, but none was this large or deep. What I did was:

1) Cut back with a sanding disk and chisel to get a reasonable edge and to abrade surface.
2) Then mixed some gelcoat to a similar colour. I used Blue Gee White Gelcoat repair pack and their 3-colour Off-white pigment pack.
3) Taped over the area to flatten it and keep the air off. You need the tape ready when you put the gelcoat on.
4) Leave overnight and then do another layer as required to bring the level up.

After a week, I rubbed down and polished. I don't have a spectrum analyser or a perfect eye for these things, so I didn't get the colour perfect, but it's only me who notices.

One word of caution... if the hull is painted over the gelcoat, try to find out what paint it is. If you can fill out and then paint into the hull colour then it might work.

The way I would do it now with a ding of this size is to get a fibreglass specialist repairer to do it. The cost might be a couple of hundred pounds, but the results would be great.

 

[eebygum]

Thanks, that gives me a good idea on what is required. I guess I will have to wait for these frosts to pass before making a start.

Cheers