# Taking Care of Oyster Skuffs/Scratches on Bottom of Hull



## TheFrequentFlier (Feb 17, 2016)

bump


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## Net 30 (Mar 24, 2012)

Check the owners section of the HB website. They offer a special "bottom repair/refinish" a couple times a year for owners and it's pretty good deal from what I've been told.


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## TheFrequentFlier (Feb 17, 2016)

Awesome, lead, man. Found it out their owner's website - the annual "Fluff and Buff". I like it.


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## Robby Stubley (Jun 1, 2016)

If it's small enough to flip, that's going to be the best way to go about it. If it's not...I've improvised by putting it up on blocks while on the trailer, as well as by lifting the transom with ratchet straps (or both).


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

When you get a chance and the boat has been out of the water for a week or two, just scuff the scratches that are through the gel coat with 100 grit sanding block, wipe them with acetone and give them a quick coat of neat epoxy to seal water out of the underlying glass. Don't bother to sand it afterwards. This is nothing more than a bandaid, but it is all you'll want to tackle under the trailer. Don't try to fill, fair and paint them at this time. You will find that working upside down under a boat on a trailer is a miserable experience. Most of the time, you won't have space to use a creeper. The prep work and repair for a small area on the bottom of a trailered boat will take almost as long as prepping and recoating the entire bottom on a flipped hull. 

You can use two jacks and a heavily padded 2x4 to lift one side of the hull at a time so you can place foam blocks between the hull and the bunks. This will get you just enough working space to make the sloppy bandaid I described above.

After that, just fish it until you can flip it and fix the entire bottom right. HB aren't wood cored, so there is no hurry. While it is do-able in your garage, I'd send it back to HB for a touch up once finances allow.

Nate


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## Action Johnson (Feb 4, 2016)

tgjohnso said:


> Awesome, lead, man. Found it out their owner's website - the annual "Fluff and Buff". I like it.


just a heads up i believe that the fluff and buff is only what they can reach while its on the trailer. they dont do the underside.


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## FSUDrew99 (Feb 3, 2015)

For small gelcoat scratches or chips you need to look into spectrum patch paste.

Just tape off the area, light sand, clean with acetone and apply the patch paste accordingly. Once it is dry then come back and wet sand it down, compound and finish. It will be good as new. I used it on my Beavertail, the fighting lady yellow color and it turned out perfect. Cant tell.

http://www.iboats.com/TideWater-201...-Repair-Kit-Spectrum-Color/dm/view_id.1099543


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## Vertigo (Jun 3, 2012)

Doing any kind of serious bottom work while the boat is on a trailer is almost impossible. Stripping and flipping the hull is the best way to do bottom repairs. Next best is tilting the boat on one side. If neither of these methods is possible, get a set of jack stands and get the boat off the trailer and up on blocks high enough so that you can work comfortably. Better still, let HB do it.


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## Net 30 (Mar 24, 2012)

Action Johnson said:


> just a heads up i believe that the fluff and buff is only what they can reach while its on the trailer. they dont do the underside.


Not sure of that...this was taken from the owners page. It might have changed since posted?

_"The Hell's Bay Genuine Service Department is proud to offer a "Fluff and Buff" Special. Bring your skiff in from February 4 to March 4 and have our HB Genuine Service Team remove the scuffs and scrapes from the bottom of your hull, followed by a new coat of wax

All of this work for the special price of $395.00. Call the Factory at (321) 383-8223 and ask for or Service Manager Paul Payne or email him at [email protected] to schedule your appointment"._


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