Redoing the bottom of a boat help

[simba71]

A boat I really want to buy has a tore up bottom the gel coat is faded, cracked, deep scratchs.

Whats the cost and time to paint this myself? Do I have to strip all that gel coat down to the fiberglass or can I fill holes and paint over it? how about where its cracked? thanks for any help.

Also how does paint hold up to being trailered? How often do you have to repaint?

[simba71]

no help?

[gonzo]

Are you going to use antifouling (bottom) paint?

[simba71]

I dont know gonzo, i know nothing about this stuff.

[Ike]

It would be best to have a fiberglass shop do the repairs. However that would probably be expensive. With a little reading, and help from people here you could probably do it yourself if you're handy with tools and brushes.

The other way is to clean it up grind it smooth, fill with a body filler and fair the bottom. If it's flat you need to use a straight edge to get the bottom straight. Then paint it with a good epoxy or urethane paint. It will look like new.

But this is still not going to last as long or serve as well as having the bottom reglassed. The first time you beach it will get messed up.

Paint holds up fine being trailed. Painted boats have been trailed around for longer than you and I have been around with no problem.

[gonzo]

You can use hard antifouling paint made for trailer boats. The finish is semigloss but covers most imperfections and it is easy to touch up.