i have had a leaky hull for a while and finally found all the leak points. some epoxy and silicone fixed most of them... but i have a leak in the top of the gelcoat, i thought it wouldnt pose a problem, but after sailing in tahoe, it is, how can i fix this leak in the gelcoat? could i just use a simple gelcoat repair kit? will that keep water out?

If a soap bubble forms when you cover the area with soapy water and slightly pressurize the hull, the leak is in the fiberglass matrix and not just a crack in the gelcoat. In the message "great fiberglass repair techniques" you will find a link to just that. Best of luck. -Matt

is there a... cheaper fix to this? will sealing the gelcoat work as a temporary solution?

no, sealing the gelcoat will not work as a temporary solution. it will only waste your time. you could save a lot of money and hassle by not re-gelcoating the repair. it would look pretty sloppy, though. if you're going to sail hobies, you might as well get the hang of fiberglass repair!

Hi Matt.
With regards to checking whether to gelcoat or fibre glass. A boat hit me this weekend, and the bolt at the front of the bows (for the bridle cables) scratched off the gelcoat on my upper deck. Took the gelcoat off in a 3 inch scratch. I was just thinking of replacing the gelcoat. Should I also do the bubble test Matt?

It never hurts to do a pressure test on the area. Can you see strands of glass fibers sticking out around the damaged area? Is the area caved in? If the answer to both of these questions is "no", then I would just clean it up with some 150-200 grit sand paper, wipe the area down with acetone, and patch the gelcoat. If your boat hull is white, you could use marine tex to fill the scratch. After it hardens, it can be sanded very smooth and looks o.k. Later, when you have more scratches to fill, you can buy a gelcoat patch kit and do them all at the same time. If you have a digital camera, you could post some close-up pics, which would make it easier to determine the best course of action. Good luck! -Matt

well, i decided to do another pressure test and found out the bubble were coming from the lip underneath where the top and bottom connect, then the bubbles were just sliding up on top of the hulls, where the happens to be some very thin cracks in the gelcoat... i just tossed some silicone over it, easy fix, thanks for all the help though guys

yeah I hear the seam between the top and the bottom is a popular place for leaks. Since I have some fiberglass resin left from doing my hull bottoms I was thinking about running a thin layer along the seam all the way around just to be safe. what do you guys think?

My hobie 16 is starting to come apart a little at the joint between the hull and deck, too. I think that in the fall I am going to try to fix it in this manner: first, flip it over and dremel a notch in the joint... V shaped, if possible maybe an eighth or a quarter inch deep (or until the fiberglass-resin matrix looks solid). Then, lay a thin coat of polyester or vinylester resin in it. As that begins to set, cut a sheet of fiberglass so that the strands are about a quarter inch long and mix them into enough resin to fill the notch with the resin-fiberglass mash. Next, pack it in really well with a popsicle stick and toothpicks to get out the air bubbles. Finally, tape off both sides so that the tape extends about half an inch above the sides of the joint and pour resin over the repair all the way around (just slightly above the ridge). After it sets, sand it down to a nice rounded lip. If anybody has tried this before and run into problems, please let me know. Thanks!

I flipped my boat over last year and ran a simple bead of epoxy all the way around the hull-deck joint and the amount of water I drain after a sail now is much less.

yeah, my hull desk joint isn't actually comming apart yet, it's just old and I suspect a leak or two. I guess i'm going with the resin bead all the way arond. thanks

I sealed that seam as well but do yourself a favor. Flip the boat upside down then put a strip of masking tape that is just about an eighth of an inch higher than the lip. This will catch the dripping that will want to go down and mess up the top of your boat. Don't wait until the epoxy fully cures before pulling the tape make sure you pull it after it gets a little firm and no longer tacky to the touch. Also check for any larger drips that may make it over the tape barrier.
What you'll find is that the tape kind of molds the epoxy and fills in those little nicks and cuts as well.
Once cured go back with sandpaper and sand off the sharp edge that will be left over. If you have larger pits like I did you might want to mix a batch with microbubbles and use a syringe to inject it deeply into the larger pits then do the above.

yeah, i'm definately going to do it with the boat upside down. I already have it flipped because i've been doing some more serious fiberglass repairs on th bottom of one of the hulls. I made the mistake of leaving the tape on until after the resin cured though. I spent days sanding back the layer that was over the tape to get the stuff off. Next time i'm using blue painter's tape so it doesn't leave sticky stuff, and I'm pulling it off as soon as the resin is tacky enough that it wont drip.