Burnt laser repair

AlexKakolyris

New Member
So, a few months ago my sailing club caught on fire and suddenly my boat was burnt a little. It was as terrible as the other 2 boats that were completely burned down. I removed the burned fabric and replaced, I also replaced the foam inside of it and there some detailing left for it to be completely levelled, any tip on this part would be helpful! Anyway here is a pic and I wanna know how to paint the fixed part of it because I can’t find any vela grey gel coat! It’s a 192*** laser.
 

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You might want to make a template from the opposite side of the boat with thin plywood to be able to duplicate the shape in that section, if that makes any sense. You can use it prior to applying gelcoat to gauge the shape prior to gel coating and to fair down any high spots so that the gelcoat will be pretty even across the repair. When you finally mix the shade of grey you want in your gelcoat you will have a screed board (cement talk) to run over the wet gelcoat prior to setting, and come pretty close to the shape you want. Always put more gelcoat than needed so you can sand it down to the shape you want, versus not having enough and it is very thin or none at all. I am interested in seeing the after pics, what you have done so far is pretty darn good, exceptional really;). If the color doesn't match well, you can always put a big sticker or graphic or even advertising over that :cool: ! Best of luck, thanks for sharing.
 
The main thing is how do I duplicate the other side so it can match the other! It’s not a small repair to do and that’s why I get anxious about the outcome:’) Also I’m located in Greece so it’s a bit difficult to find grey gel coat or grey pigment for gel coat! I don’t if this is accurate but you can mix gelcoat with acrylic paint to match the colours. I don’t really know if this is false Let me know!
 
Not sure if you can order through the internet from other countries, but if you can, there are some sailing chandlery sites that sell gelcoat with standard pigments (you would only need a little pin drop or two of Black). If you get desperate, let me know how much gel coat you need and I can work something out with you to ship some.
For the template, cut cardboard or thin (1/4 inch) plywood into 3-4 inch wide, and about 6-inch long strips, and lay the strips on their (straight) edge (not on the broad or wide side), and tape/glue them together. Watch the attached video starting at 9:16, and you will see how he makes a template around the beams inside the boat, same concept except you are trying to replicate the curve or shape of the hull. Might need to use a sharp blade/knife to cut the cardboard/plywood as you start to get the shape you want. I would also start at the seem or very middle of the boat and work my may down to the gunwale so you have fixed reference points.

Hope this helps explain what I was talking about. It is just my approach, there may be a better one out there, hopefully, they reply here!
 
Thank you very much, I appreciate your help and information! It’s a tough ‘project’ so even these little things are worth it. I’ll try this method and hopefully I’ll get an even result. I hope they reply too! It’s my first sailboat to be bought for racing and all suddenly it was burned! I really want to see it back on the water where it belongs
 
Thank you very much, I appreciate your help and information! It’s a tough ‘project’ so even these little things are worth it. I’ll try this method and hopefully I’ll get an even result. I hope they reply too! It’s my first sailboat to be bought for racing and all suddenly it was burned! I really want to see it back on the water where it belongs
Περαστικά.
 
Another approach: Make a female copy from another boat. With this, make a male piece, cut out the damaged piece and glue in the new piece with premolded backing along the edge. Grind the fissure, cover with gelcoat. The new piece can be molded with or without gelcoat. Pict from mast repair.
 

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