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February - March 2018
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all the old decals, stickers and striping had to be removed on the
port, starboard and stern sides.
Peel Away was again used to strip off the red paint. Under the
paint were many deep gashes and scratches especially on the
starboard side. Areas along the forward keel had quite a lot of
damage as well. All were repaired and the hull sanded. The owner
decided he wanted to do two color gelcoats on the hull rather
than the original four colors. Black and Oyster white were chosen.
I followed the original design line of the former multiple colors
under the rub rail and applied black gel. Below that I applied
Oyster white gel. Both gels were sanded and compounded. New
graphics were applied next and a new 1” silver stripe tape was
added where the black and white gels met. The transition line
came out so perfect we could have left off the stripe but the silver
was a nice accent on the white and black. It also set off the new
chrome “Mastercraft” decals. The hull was sealer glazed and then
waxed.
“Food for thought”
This is a good time of year to review your boat insurance policy.
Can you get a better rate? Worth doing some research! Our
current insurance company matched a cheaper rate we found,
a nice little saving! Many companies offer a “bundle” discount if
they insure your auto, home and boat.
What kind of coverage do you have? A customer of ours paid
on what he thought was 25K coverage for years, since his boat
was new. When a snow loaded roof collapsed and damaged his
boat he was told the boat was covered for Blue Book value of 8K.
The repairs to the boat amounted to 13K. He was very upset and
shocked as he assumed he was covered for 25K for years.
Best to repair those cracks asap!
Friends of mine bought a 42’ pre-owned boat three years ago in
Annapolis, MD and motored it up the coast to Albany, NY. Shortly
after it arrived they asked me to look at a series of gelcoat cracks
above and below a broken section of rub rail on the starboard
side just forward of mid ship. The previous owner damaged the
boat when he got caught in a cross current and the boat drifted
into a dock piling with enough force to crack the side of the boat
and destroy part of the rub rail. The impact started a series of
gelcoat cracks running parallel above the rub rail that grew like
cracks in a windshield.
Three years ago the cracks were approximately 5’ long and by
this spring they grew to almost 12’ in length.
I began to repair the boat by color restoring the undamaged
gelcoat surrounding the cracks so the new gelcoat would blend
with the old. Next I started grinding the cracked gelcoat surface
using vacuum assisted equipment to eliminate dust and debris.
The damage was severe and deep into the fiberglass laminate.
The repair required laying up new fiberglass cloth with resin.
With a plan in place I ground out the fiberglass deep enough
to accommodate the new fiberglass cloth lay up material and
enough room for the new gelcoat.
Multiple layers of fiberglass cloth and resin were applied to the
12’ long ground out area. When the resin cured I sanded the
amine blush off with a pneumatic board file using 40 grit paper
on the entire area. Flexible fiber fillers were then applied and I
sanded the surface again. The deck and hull had to be sanded
strategically so it was straight, free of moguls and the body lines
shaped back to original design and to accommodate a perfect fit
for a new rub rail section.
The boat was then covered with plastic. The surface was
prepped for new gelcoat and it was applied. The new gelcoat
surface was coated with PVA (Polyvinyl alcohol, a water-soluble
synthetic polymer essential for a good gelcoat cure) and left to
dry overnight. After sanding and compounding the new gelcoat
I installed a new section of rub rail and the work was complete.
It was clearly evident that once the fiberglass on this boat was
breached the damage became worse over time. I suggest getting
repairs done as soon as possible before the stress marks grow
into a major reconstruction project.
The look of the Mastercraft has been totally
changed and looks like it just left the showroom.