Do it y'selfers and those that have taken boats into shops, what are you looking for in a bottom job.I dont want to make any input until I here from a few of you guys or gals.Thanks ....Bob

It all depends on what kind of shop I take my bottom into. If I take my bottom into a prop shop then I want my prop done. If I take my bottom into a sail shop, well, then... I probably want my sails done. What kinda shop are you takin' your bottom to? (jk)

I hear liposuction is fantastic for reducing wetted surface area!

Basically a three step process

1) surface prep (most of the work tbh)
2) gelcoat application (doesn't take a long time but you have to know what you're doing)
3) Finishing (wet sanding, rubbing, buffing, polishing)

I was quoted $1500 when I wanted it done on my half and half N20.

Thank you for a general response. I assumed when a boat that is brought in from wear and tear and I say bottom job I am looking at the bare fibreglass that needs to be glassed and sanded this could be portions of the hull but the gel work should run from stem to stern and as wide as the boat sits in the sand for that kind of money not just a bit here and there.Just trying to define Bottom job and Patch job. Thanks again.

Generally a bottom job encompasses the whole bottom. It accomplishes a couple of things. From bow to stern it fills in gouges and dents in the bottom. It also re-applies gelcoat to the bottoms where repeated beachings have worn away the original gelcoat.

i just had my mystere in the shop getting a "light" bottom job. He filled in some real bad groves, and hand painted on several coats of gelcoat to seal in the new (and old) glass.

He charged me $150 (but he works pretty cheap). He did not sand much and left that to me. I would not expect this type of price in most shops.

You should get the TOP 1/2 of the next boat you share.. that way the other guy has to pay $1500

Andrew: I own my boat outright.

How bad are the bottoms of the hulls? Here are some things to look for and to test the hulls:

Do you see glass? If you press on it hard is it rigid? Is the glass ground flat or does it still have the original shape. Can you see if you have worn through any layers of glass? Do you see any cracks or major gouges? Does the glasswork look smooth and glossy or is there any white or frayed looking glass? Does the boat take on any water? If you put a little water (and I don’t mean fill it up or you may crack the hulls) in the hulls do you see any moisture come through the hulls. If you tap on it does it sound hollow (it should sound like the rest of the boat)?

If the answer to any of the above questions is yes then you may need fiberglass work to repair or build up the hulls. I had an old patch, where the bottom wore through, come loose once and visually it looked good but it was taking on water. When I had some water in the hull I put it on trailer I could see where it was seeping. I stuck a screwdriver in there and the whole patch came off.

I’m not saying that a glass shop is going to rip you off but remember they make money like a body shop get them in and get it out as fast and cheap as possible. Check out your shop the cheapest bid is not always the best, Do not accept any “bondo” type fillers to be used they will absorb water at some point and offer no structural support. Grinding fiberglass sucks.

Good Luck

What Mike said. A bottom job is what it takes to get your bottoms back to basically factory specs. That may include glass work and filling, and will most always include gel coat work (fairing, and polishing). Most bottom jobs from our fiberglass shop go from between $500 and $1500. One A class I remember was around $2500 due to the Kevlar construction and Awlgrip finish. That's a different beast though.

Jeremy that sounded like fun Kevlar and Awlgrip!

Andrew I just caught the part of your post where you had several coats. The boat in question had what is normal wear, a little more near the boards.Out of the molds with a dump gun you could get 10mils and more I think,so what is adequate really.Does several coats equate to when I open the deck ports and look in I should not be able read the catsailor in there?Would that be a good gauge as to how much gelcoat the bottom needs.I ask these questions only as a self-check of the obvious thanks all for your responses....Bob

Mysterio, unfortunately i am not the right person to answer your questions, Jeremy (surfcitycatamarans.com) does this for a living, and Mike has been building his boat from scratch.

These guys have MUCH more knowledge than i, and you should ask them to respond... I just break em/ bring em to my 74 year old repair guy and go break em again... however this year i started to learn how to work on glass/epoxy..