Gel Coat Repair for my Ranger

[Steve KS]

Well I was stupid and scraped the bottom of my Ranger 690 pretty bad on the boat ramp. I scraped a triangle shaped spot on the bottom of the transom about 3"x3"x3" all the way down through the Gel Coat to the fiberglass. I called a local marina and they estimated the repair (without seeing it) at around $300 to $400. That sounded a little high and I was wondering if Ranger or anyone else makes a Gel Coat repair kit that could save me some money. My boat is a light gray without flake and since the spot is on the very bottom of the boat color match is not critical. Any ideas or help would be appreciated. Any thoughts on what will happen if I don't repair it?
Steve Ernest
Westphalia KS
sdernest@idir.net

[Dave S]

Call Ranger Parts at (800) 724-7273 or (870) 453-2222
with the Serial Number for your boat (Should start with RNG). They can type in the boat serial number in their computers as they keep records on the exact colors of gell coat used to manufacture every boat and can give you the gell coat color for each area of your boat. They sell the same matching color gell coat for approximately $8 for a half pint plus hazardous shipping charge. Half pint will more than fix your small ding. I have a Ranger and this summer while at their plant picked up half pints of gell coat to match the 3 colors of gell coat on my boat. It should be an exact match, the only difference being if the original adjacent gell coat has faided sligthly in the sun.

[RobertP]

If you are down to the fiberglas, fix it. You risk water intrusion in the hull which will result in hull delamination and eventually failure. I would not let it go. As for cost, check around for a quote from a competent marine repair. A good glass man should be able to match without problem and I agree that the best place to get the material would be from Ranger.