"mgarvie" wrote in message
. ..
The last day of the boating season on the river my boat broke free from
the dock and was pushed up the boat ramp. Before I could get to it, the
bottom of the boat under the transom was scraped down through the gel
coat. It seem the damage is just past the gel coat and not on a very wide
area.

Since my wife has LOTS of plans for my money other than on my boat, how
serious is it to get repaired before I use it again? I no longer use it
in salt water and never leave it in the water for long periods. Now days
it only gets used once a week over night to go fishing.


This is not a major repair. What type of boat is it?
Providing there is no structural damages you can start by removing the loose
gel coat and do a little exploration by hand sanding. Once you have
established that it only the gel coat you can start using filler.
Bearing in mind that this is under the waterline, I suggest two part epoxy
mixed with micro balloon powder. After progressive hand sanding from 100 to
180/220 grit to match the surrounding area. Then you can prime the repaired
area with an two part epoxy primer. Finally you apply the antifouling.
On the other hand I have seen people doing the same type of repair by only
using auto body filler and antifouling.
It is for you to decide. If you have structural damages the procedure is
quite different.