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Small Chip in Gelcoat


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I recently found a small chip in my gelcoat (about half the size of a nickel) on the port side of my boat right at the chine. According to one of my really good wakeboarding buddies (and I'm sure he'll read this :whistle: ), this chip seemed to coincide with the wake on that side of the boat being a little wierd (little more washy as compared to the other side).

What does everyone think of this? I didn't believe him at first, but he's been boating alot longer than I have, so I have to believe him to some extent. Let's see if we can confirm his suspicion :thumbup:

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I recently found a small chip in my gelcoat (about half the size of a nickel) on the port side of my boat right at the chine. According to one of my really good wakeboarding buddies (and I'm sure he'll read this :whistle: ), this chip seemed to coincide with the wake on that side of the boat being a little wierd (little more washy as compared to the other side).

What does everyone think of this? I didn't believe him at first, but he's been boating alot longer than I have, so I have to believe him to some extent. Let's see if we can confirm his suspicion :thumbup:

:rofl: Did it also alter the gravitational pull of the moon as well?

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Yep, I've got to call BS on that one.

:plus1: boating experience and overall knowledge don't always go hand in hand. Does it affect the wake? Of course it does, but it's like pissing in the ocean. Any chance he is in the gel-coat repair business?

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just made a similar sized repair on my chine (after letting it dry out real good). You can contact spectrum color to get a gelcoat repair kit (<$35 shipped) that matches the color of your hull. Being below the waterline, your diy repair will not need to be perfect.

I don't buy that the chip effects the wake. If more "washy" on one side, weight is probably not equally balanced. My late season skiing is done behind my buddy's SN 196. Without someone in the observers seat, the wakes are terribly assymetrical. Last time out w/ him, I donated a canvas beach bag with a bag of sand in it. Pushed up against the passenger side gunnel, it made a great improvement in wakes, as well as made the boat much easier to drive. (You may already have ballast tanks to accomplish same thing)

Edited by davemac
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Had a bubble in the gel on the starboard side chine. It chipped off and I went all season with it like that. The dealer just repaired it under warranty. It was about two inches long, I don't believe for a second it made any difference in my wakes but having the weight distribution in the boat did.

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I'll assume you friend will not post anything on this thread. He's probably embarrassed enough that he said it to you. :whistle:

That or he was just messing with me the entire time and I fell for it!

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Oh it's already been repaired. I didn't take it on the water till it was fixed. The repair shop did an excellent job though, can't even tell it was ever there!

So was the price of the repair worth the wake "improvement"?

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Okay I could be wrong but it also wasn't a small chip either. It was a hole in the gelcoat with a half inch void between the gelcoat and fiberglass. Whats funny is I ended up finding the exact same thing on my 2010 Vride. It's back at the dealership now getting repaired. There is absolutely no way I would have put my boat on the water like that because it would have allowed lots of water between the gelcoat and the fiberglass. Another thing to clarify is it wasn't causing the wake to wash out on that side it was causing and funky little ripple at the top of the wake that I hated riding. I wish I had a picture of what the wake looked like and we tried weight and every other possible thing to clean it up. If this repair didn't fix it I don't know what the cause of it was but I'll stick to the cleaner wake behind my Vride.

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Okay I could be wrong but it also wasn't a small chip either. It was a hole in the gelcoat with a half inch void between the gelcoat and fiberglass. Whats funny is I ended up finding the exact same thing on my 2010 Vride. It's back at the dealership now getting repaired. There is absolutely no way I would have put my boat on the water like that because it would have allowed lots of water between the gelcoat and the fiberglass. Another thing to clarify is it wasn't causing the wake to wash out on that side it was causing and funky little ripple at the top of the wake that I hated riding. I wish I had a picture of what the wake looked like and we tried weight and every other possible thing to clean it up. If this repair didn't fix it I don't know what the cause of it was but I'll stick to the cleaner wake behind my Vride.

Maybe our boats were made from the same mold! That chip in you V-ride was in exactly the same spot!

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Okay I could be wrong but it also wasn't a small chip either. It was a hole in the gelcoat with a half inch void between the gelcoat and fiberglass. Whats funny is I ended up finding the exact same thing on my 2010 Vride. It's back at the dealership now getting repaired. There is absolutely no way I would have put my boat on the water like that because it would have allowed lots of water between the gelcoat and the fiberglass. Another thing to clarify is it wasn't causing the wake to wash out on that side it was causing and funky little ripple at the top of the wake that I hated riding. I wish I had a picture of what the wake looked like and we tried weight and every other possible thing to clean it up. If this repair didn't fix it I don't know what the cause of it was but I'll stick to the cleaner wake behind my Vride.

Ahhh, the friend comes out of the closet. :tease2:

Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

Note: This is all in jest only. :biggrin:

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I recently found a small chip in my gelcoat (about half the size of a nickel) on the port side of my boat right at the chine. According to one of my really good wakeboarding buddies (and I'm sure he'll read this :whistle: ), this chip seemed to coincide with the wake on that side of the boat being a little wierd (little more washy as compared to the other side).

What does everyone think of this? I didn't believe him at first, but he's been boating alot longer than I have, so I have to believe him to some extent. Let's see if we can confirm his suspicion :thumbup:

ahhh no way........is not possible........question I have was it washy on his toe side and his toe side is weaker than he wants.....if so i think we have our answer....

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