Gel / Fiberglass repair in NE Indiana area

I saw a lot of guys talking about the Ft Wayne boat show, so hopefully they may have some input for me. I didn't want to hijack their thread.

I have a 91 SN that I would like to have some gelcoat / fiberglass repair done. The P.O. had an incident once while loading her on to the trailer and drove up on to one of the wheel wells. The chine between the hull side and bottom is scarred up pretty good around the front of the SRP on the port side. The damage extends forward probably 6 or 8 inches and then there's another bit of damaged area further forward. It is deep enough that it is down in to fiberglass in places. I'm sure this could be a do-it-yourselfer, but I'm just no where near knowledgable or patient enough to do all the prep and finishing required and after all, she is my baby and I want her to be perfect!

Since I purchased the boat towards the middle / late summer 2010, I just really wanted to get some use out of it before getting work done, so I hope that wasn't a mistake. I doubt it was leaking water, but that's just an assumption.

My question is where is a reputable shop / marina that can do the work and do it right in the NE Indiana area?

I'm in Mississippi for work, but driving home this weekend, so I can get some pictures of the damage to post on here.

Thanks for your help!

Bill,
Gel repair is very easy and really can be a DIY project. It's easy/basic to the point where almost any marina will do it. However, it's the color matching that requires some skill.

If you do want to give it a try, gel repair kits are available. Tinting colors come with the kits. We can guide you through it. Get us the pictures when you get home.

Fiberglass Products & Boat Repair 260-337-5636. St.Joe IN st rd 1 N.E. of Fort Wayne - just east of Auburn. They have been there for over 40 yrs. They fixed the gel coat on my sport that was in bad shape when I bought my boat. There is also a place in Angola - fiberglass works -260-667-7931 but I have no experience with them. Don

REMOVEautique wrote: Fiberglass Products & Boat Repair 260-337-5636. St.Joe IN st rd 1 N.E. of Fort Wayne - just east of Auburn. They have been there for over 40 yrs. They fixed the gel coat on my sport that was in bad shape when I bought my boat. There is also a place in Angola - fiberglass works -260-667-7931 but I have no experience with them. Don

Hi Don,

I'm leaning towards having Fiberglass Products & Boat Repair in St. Joe fix my boat. Can you give me your opinion on how the repair turned out on your Sport? How was their pricing, pretty good?

I just don't feel like it will be something I can get done and be happy with myself. Where the damage is over the trialer fender, it will be difficult to actually work on it while it's on the trailer, and I really want to get this done before putting the boat in the water for the first time this season so I know that everything is dry in the repair area.

Thanks for your help!

Something else I just thought about. How old is your boat? if it is older than a 93, you most likely have wood stringers. The stress cracks and blisters you mentioned could be from wooden stringers. May want to look into it before you spend the money to gel.

Here's an interesting article I found regarding blisters in gelcoat:

I don't think he is overly busy right now. I just spoke with him last week about a stringer job and he told me 2 weeks to complete it. I decided to do it my self though. He does. Do great work, but I didn't think he was very friendly. Just my 2 cents.....

Maybe I caught him on a bad day. glad you had a nice experience. He really does do amazing work. I'm sure you will be happy with it.