Unfortunate hull damage
 

Went out for an afternoon cruise today from raouls cove. Just as I was getting to the channel MP came blasting thru with sirens going. Full speed. Whatever it was..it was serious.
I veered away from channel and ran hull along some rock. Ugghhh.
Prop fine but decent amount of gel coat scraped along keel with a couple of small areas of exposed fiberglass.
Question: how soon does that need to be repaired. Can it wait 2 weeks (or more)?
Thanks

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First Suggestion...
 

Inspection for structural damage (insurance concerns, what is "a small area of exposed fiberglass"), aside:

If the boat is still in the water, I'd raise it out of the water, apply a heat lamp overnight, then apply a coat of the gelcoat-substitute, "Marine-Tex".

"Marine-Tex" is a two-part white substance which is spread like peanut butter, can be smoothed using a credit card, and cures to a very tough surface overnight. Post season, when sanded (and sanded :eek2: ) smooth and painted, this could become a permanent fix! :) (But inspect after a freeze).

Exposed fiberglass will draw in water under the good gelcoat. Depending on the age of the boat, a professional gelcoat repair should be considered—even then, a perfect match in color shouldn't be expected.

Disclaimer: This suggested repair can increase the expense of a later professional repair, so it depends on insurance, the value of those extra 2 weeks, but especially the age of the boat.

For a post-season professional repair, I'd allow a period of weeks-long drying-out after the Marine-Tex is sanded away.

Was this in the narrow channel just past Blanchard? I noticed a couple weeks ago that the middle black marker is on top of a rock that angles down into the channel more than I thought it did.

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Yes. It was the channel just past blanchard. But I veered away before being in the channel as MP was zooming towards me. I should have reversed. It was not my best thinking.
Any idea what the emergency was?

Will bring boat over to marina today to evaluate. These are the two weeks we have our kids and friends coming up so timing is not good.
But don't want to cause long term damage. It's a 3 year old boat in fine condition.

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That stinks--sorry to hear. I don't know what the emergency was, we were packing up to head home for a couple days. Good luck with the boat--hope you're able to limp it along these next couple weeks. If you see Boatie Two, throw us a wave--we're right next door in Hanson Cove.

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Post some pics. Also what is the boat/value involved?

Fix could range from a $300 DIY job, up to several thousands of dollars, depending on how severe the damage is, and how much it is worthwhile to try and maintain resale value.

The urgency of a fix would also depend on if the fiberglass was laid up using a vinyl ester resin or a poly ester resin (poly is cheaper and more likely to allow water intrusion). Better brands or boats built for harder use would tend to be vinyl ester.

Marine Tex is good stuff, I have used it before, however, I just went through the decision process of what to get for a "large" repair. The only difference between what you described for damage, and mine is that my boat was taking on water...fast!! I had a good 6" long gash in the hull right in the middle of the boat. It is an older boat, but has high sentimental value, and I was really bummed out that the boat was junk because it just wasn't worth putting the money into with a professional repair. I went on line to look at different options for fiberglass repairs, and my research narrowed it down to Marine Tex, or 3m Marine high strength repair filler. The only reason I went with the 3m filler is because it has fiberglass in it as well, and I just thought it would "bond" better, fiberglass to fiberglass. It has been about a month now, and I have been out on the boat 3 or 4 times, and I can't speak highly enough about this stuff!! It's hard as steel, I mean rock solid, and haven't had a drop of water come in, and seems to be good as new!! The patch is right on a chime that goes over one of the roller's of the trailer when the boat is launched, and retrieved, and it is holding up just fine. It dries a greenish color and really stuck out on a white hull, so I got a can of white flex seal and sprayed about 5 coats of it on the patch and it matched great!! I feel very good about it being a permanent repair, but will be keeping a close eye on it... I would definitely recommend for a temporary fix for a 3 year old boat, but I would consider getting your's fixed professionally for a boat only 3yrs old, that's up to you... BTW, this 3m stuff cures in about an hour!!

Thanks for all the info. I can't post any pics since boat is in the water.
Boat is a four wins h230. Hopefully constructed with good quality fiberglass resins.
I spoke to marina today. They thought running it this week while the family is up would be fine.I'll bring it to them next week for professional repair.
I am not going to DIY on this. Not so much to preserve resale value as to maintain boat in best quality possible.

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Sorry
 

Our place is on that channel. Sorry that happened. Have not head what the emergency was

Odds are you'll be fine. The upside of doing professional repair is that if they see any issues, they will likely just grind back a little more of the fiberglass to enlarge the area enough to get to a clean section. Additional cost would be minimal at that point, as it would not take much extra labor or materials.