OH @#$&!!! Dock Rash!!!

[2thdoc01]

I had the boat tied to the dock at a friends place, no corner pads.......

Some big wake came in and bounced a bumper out and the boat rubbed against the dock corner. I came out froma quick lunch and could here it rubbing from the cabin...I sprinted.

That is NOT a good sound, trust me.

It is about 4 inches by 4 inches, and more gouging of the gel coat than anything. It looks like it will need to be filled.

So what kind of body shop should I look for repairs and will it be able to be fixed and look like new?

[obski]

That looks like it can be easily sanded and buffed out with no filling needed.

Here is a link to a discussion regarding sanding and buffing gelcoat.

[2thdoc01]

I dont know, there is some pretty nice gouging, that looks deep. Imagine taking a flat blade screwdriver and scraping over and over on a 4x4 inch spot. Thats what it looks like.

[Bobby Light]

I dont know, there is some pretty nice gouging, that looks deep. Imagine taking a flat blade screwdriver and scraping over and over on a 4x4 inch spot. Thats what it looks like.

I can't even see it, can you post another pic? At least you have a white boat, try having something like that happen on a darker color boat. Sticks out like a sore thumb.

[vette-ski]

If you zoom in on the pic, you can see it....I think. The only time I've ever filled any damage on the boat was when my wife tagged a dock with the rear of the boat and I had fiberglass strands visible. So what you have shown looks pretty easy. Two things to think about. On relatively deep gouges, it can be difficult to just sand it out without ending up with some sort of ripply looking surface. IE, if you want it flat, use a sanding block or something and you will be sanding for quite a while. On the flip side, I'm sure a pro can do this better than me but if you decide to fill it, getting a perfect color match is crucial, or it will just be more noticeable than if you had just gone the sanding only route. Oh, and needless to say after hearing my input on hitting the dock, my wife doesn't want to pilot the boat anymore.

[2thdoc01]

I dont know, there is some pretty nice gouging, that looks deep. Imagine taking a flat blade screwdriver and scraping over and over on a 4x4 inch spot. Thats what it looks like.

I can't even see it, can you post another pic? At least you have a white boat, try having something like that happen on a darker color boat. Sticks out like a sore thumb.

I will take another. It is hard to see since its white, but from the side angle its pretty easy to see in pics. I think it def needs to be filled. My buddy owns a Chevy dealership and their body guys are pretty good...do you think they may be able to handle gel coat repair?

He seemed to think that since it was still white, it wasnt thru the gel coat. How thick are the layers in these boats?

[obski]

I dont know, there is some pretty nice gouging, that looks deep. Imagine taking a flat blade screwdriver and scraping over and over on a 4x4 inch spot. Thats what it looks like.

I can't even see it, can you post another pic? At least you have a white boat, try having something like that happen on a darker color boat. Sticks out like a sore thumb.

I will take another. It is hard to see since its white, but from the side angle its pretty easy to see in pics. I think it def needs to be filled. My buddy owns a Chevy dealership and their body guys are pretty good...do you think they may be able to handle gel coat repair?

He seemed to think that since it was still white, it wasnt thru the gel coat. How thick are the layers in these boats?

Exactly. If you are still seeing white, then it is not all the way through the gelcoat. If it is not through the gelcoat then you can make it disappear.

If you want to pick up a kit with color-matched gelcoat, go to the Spectrum Color site. They sell small and large amounts of factory color-matched gelcoat. They also have some nice instructions on their site and with their kits.

[WakeGirl]

If it were me, I'd take it to a guy that can detail it out. You won't want to see him do it because the sanding that they do is rough, but you shouldn't have to fill that. It's important to take it to someone that knows gel, it's a different sort of fix than a paint guy will know what to do with.

[chrisallenhogs]

2thdoc,

Had the same thing happen with a metal hook holding a tarp down blowing in the wind all day. It cost me 75 bucks to get it sanded and buffed at our local shop. I had two 1X2 inch sections that had to be repaired. They actually had to do some gelcoat on one of them. It is not expensive at all just find someone who knows what they are doing. There is a lady from Grand lake in tulsa who comes over to our boat shop once a month to do minor repairs.

[2thdoc01]

2thdoc,

Had the same thing happen with a metal hook holding a tarp down blowing in the wind all day. It cost me 75 bucks to get it sanded and buffed at our local shop. I had two 1X2 inch sections that had to be repaired. They actually had to do some gelcoat on one of them. It is not expensive at all just find someone who knows what they are doing. There is a lady from Grand lake in tulsa who comes over to our boat shop once a month to do minor repairs.

Thanks guys, I feel better. It ruined my weekend when I saw that happening. This is my sportscar, so id like it to look like new. So far its hit the rocks after some huge wake knocked it loose from the anchor and now this. Im not going anywhere near shore from now on!

[2thdoc01]

Here is a better pic....it def is a bit gouged....

[jshap]

It's nasty, but it still looks superficial.