hull repairs

[tarrington2484]

I have a 1990 Dyna Trak 181 STE that I bought three years ago. When I bought the boat the bottom of the hull had several places filled with an epoxy but whoever filled them just put the epoxy over the spots without sanding them down smooth. There is also a number of scratches on the bottom, none appear to be very deep though. I was wondering if these patches could be slowing me down by any signifigant amount or if it is just a visual problem. If they are affecting the performance of my boat what is the best way to smooth out the bottom of the hull. All patches seem to be holding up well but they are very rough and feel like smooth concrete instead of being glassy. The patches are approx. 3-4 sq.inches in surface area and probably 4 or 5 of them. The other scratches are very shallow but it is too many to count. Looks like the boat was beached several times on a rough bank. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[BASSCAT7]

Tim the patches won't be slowing you down, just a cosmetic issue. To smooth them out get some sandpaper ( grit according to roughness of patch 400 - 800 ) and work them smooth keeping the paper wet. Final sand with a smoother grit, compound and wax.
Patches applied to a hull generally won't " slow " a boat down, they would have to be really ugly patches that stick out at varying angles from the hull a significant amount to create any speed issues, and even then they would need to be a lighter weight hull boat, also could cause some handling issues, but they would have to be larger patches that stick out create a hook in the bow or on a chine.