Gel Coating '88 Kawasaki X2 Engine Bay and Hull

The ski was made in 1988. My wife recalls buying it in the later '80's -- early '90's. The previous owner apparently repaired a hole in the hull.

My Valspar Tractor & Implement paint with Valspar Enamel Hardener (applied with a Harbor Freight Mini HVLP gun with 0.8 tip) has revealed that the edge of the chopped strand mat repair did not adhere completely. Flipping the hull reveals that green PartAll Mold Release was used in the repair.

The repair was done aesthetically poorly and also likely structurally poorly if it is polyester resin on SMC (where the PartAll was used to cure the gelcoat? but it was not used in the inside repair...) or if it is epoxy resin on chopped strand mat (which is bound together into a cloth fabric by styrene monomer)? [I know epoxy resin was available in the late '80's early '90's but I was still using polyester resin on white water kayaks back then.]

What do you guys think happened here?
What should I use to redo the repair?
What should I use to fair the gouges in the hull?

 

Don’t know about your area, but where I live, used jet skis are about a dime a dozen, so I’d be looking for a hull that’s in better shape than that one, possibly even a turnkey unit.
You can dump considerable cash-and time on a project like yours, with unknown results, or you can get out and have some fun.
I’d opt for the fun!

 

kapnD: I appreciate your advice. Your words are wise. I have considered the sunk cost. This is a legacy ski from my wife's 1980's 1990's era stand up jet ski racing days. It was built by Eric Burton, a long time personal friend of hers. It has custom handlebar trim jet nozzle, a tuned exhaust pipe and a shaved head with a large Mikuni 44 carburetor. Unfortunately the guy she bought it from didn't do good work on it during the short time he owned it.

I just replaced the crank seals and had the head resurfaced and installed new cylinder to head O-rings on its 650cc 2-stroke.

An unmolested 1994-1995 X2 is $2,500 to $3,000 around here.

She water skis 3 times a week we jet ski another 2-3 times a week.

We have three cherry stand-up Yamaha and Kawasaki jet skis which are trouble free. The X2 and her old JS440 race ski are the two project skis.

We are looking for a 1997 Ski Nautique GT40 Cedar Gardens (if anyone has a garage queen for sale).

If I bought another jet ski, she would kill me.

So, I will practice my glassing skills...

The ski I really want, will be a newer hull design (much like the X2's btw but with a stand up pole) with a ~1,000 cc 2-stroke engine.