# FIberglass repair



## Red (May 23, 2017)

New to the forum and looking for a place that is decent priced for fixing fiberglass hulls. I have a very old gheenoe that is getting a lot of spyder cracks and chips out of the fiberglass. Is there anyone that could help me with this? Thanks


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## yobata (Jul 14, 2015)

Do it yourself? Or trying to find a shop? 

Your location?


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## CodyW (Jan 26, 2016)

It will be well over $1000 if the whole hull has spider cracks.Your best bet would be either buy a new gheenoe or put the time and effort in and do it yourself. Since its a gheenoe I would sand the old gel coat off and put a new layer of glass then re gel coat.


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## Red (May 23, 2017)

I would like to find a shop to do this professionally, but if it is going to cost over a $1000 it looks like I will have a summer project to do. Did not know it was so expensive to repair fiberglass, the gheenoe is in workable condition and I have fished it regularly on the weekends. Just getting to that point where if I don't fix it now it's starting to get a lot worse. Thanks for the responses


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## Red (May 23, 2017)

Orlando location


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## CodyW (Jan 26, 2016)

Red said:


> I would like to find a shop to do this professionally, but if it is going to cost over a $1000 it looks like I will have a summer project to do. Did not know it was so expensive to repair fiberglass, the gheenoe is in workable condition and I have fished it regularly on the weekends. Just getting to that point where if I don't fix it now it's starting to get a lot worse. Thanks for the responses


Fiberglass repair is not cheap because it is time assuming and a lot of steps. I gotten appraised for a 2 ft by 5in crack along side my boat and cheapest I found was 400 bucks. You could try and give Glasser a call, he's about an hr from orlando I think.


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## yobata (Jul 14, 2015)

The cost for a shop is mostly in labor, think about how long it would take to sand the entire hull. Doing it yourself is rewarding although you will be without a boat for a while. 

Maybe consider purchasing another gheenoe in better shape, they are relatively inexpensive and plentiful in the central FL area...


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## predacious (Sep 1, 2016)

cheap work isn't good

good work isn't cheap


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

x2


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

If you want the entire hull done, $1,000 will get the job started. A reputable repair shop should tell you not to do it and to apply the money to a different boat.

If you want to do it then go a different route. Instead of re gel coating the entire thing, fix the cracks and paint it with epoxy paint. You could do this as a first time project in a couple weekends. Sand and fix the cracks, then paint it with Rustoleum garage floor epoxy (leave out the flakes) - job done in two weekends for $150.

If the cracks are cosmetic it is an easy fix. If they are structural, you have a different problem altogether.


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## predacious (Sep 1, 2016)

funny thing happened a few days ago:

gentleman was asking me about repairing the deck of his bass boat.i gave him a considerable amount of good advice.he was shocked,when I gave him a rough price,to have the job done correctly - "correctly" being,using composites.

old saying - "only get what you pay for"

when it comes to fiberglass repairs - there's things you look out for,when visiting a shop - example,you see cans of "bondo" - RUN !!!


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

Bondo, lol. Can't tell you how many times I've seen that in shops. Gives me the willy's thinking about how fast that repair will fail.


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## Vertigo (Jun 3, 2012)

Spider cracks are almost impossible to repair without removing old gel coat and applying new. It's an expensive, messy operation and one requiring a little skill and some equipment. I'd think that $1000 would be an exceptionally good deal to have it done right. The up side is that spider cracks and gel coat chips aren't hurting anything and there's really no need for repair unless you can't bear the looks. If that's the case, I'd compare trading on a new hull to the cost of a proper repair. It may be cheaper to go new(er).


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

If it's just spider cracks and they aren't structural you might consider coating the interior with kiwi grip or bedlinen to hide it all.


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