Fixing a scratch in white gelcoat- Opinions please?

[walleyeguy9]

Craziest situation I've ever heard of in my life. I'm fishing in my 94' Ranger yesterday afternoon in broad daylight. I'm by myself, working around a point, and I hear splashes behind me. I turn around in my chair on the bow, and there's a four person racing rowboat with all four people rowing for all it's worth with their backs facing me not 20 feet away from T-boning me.......I hit the trolling motor as fast as I could, but couldn't get out of the way.....BAM!!

Now, I've got about a 10-12" long scratch right on the side of the boat, all the way back by the transom (last 12" of the boat) on the port side. The owner of the rowboat (one of those long, skinny rowing style boats they use in the Olympics) is also the local rowing club President, and he's cool, and wants to make this right.

The scratch isn't deep, but it is into the gelcoat maybe 1/16th of an inch, and it's now whiter than the rest of the boat, and sticks out like a sore thumb, because there isn't a single MARK on my 17 year old boat until now.

I'd appreciate some help on a few things:

Does anybody know who I can take this to in the NW suburbs of Chicago (I'm in Crystal Lake) to get a repair estimate?

Also, any ideas on what this kind of repair is going to cost, and how hard will it be to make an invisible repair in Ranger white gelcoat.

It's cosmetic only, but I just put the boat up for sale, and this really upsets me to have this scratch on the boat, because it's an obvious blemish on the boat now.

Thanks for your help, referrals, and insight.

Jeff

[walleyeguy9]

Nobody can lend an opinion on this?

[PTRfishing_North]

You can take it to a body shop - there is a good one in Barrington on route 72. they specialize in restoring corvettes. Seen there work - really good.
I had a 4 inch long by 1/4 inch goudge in my ranger in the mid 90's. To have it repaired was ~ 800.00 and it was blue metal flake. I am guessing here that
a 12inch sub surface divot will run about 400 with fill in repair, sanding, clear coat,
and polishing. And that is because it is pure white or with no color flake.

Hope this helps.

[Northeast Bassin]

White is the easiest color to repair. You could probably fix it yourself. There are how-to videos on youtube and you can get the gel coat from Ranger. If not, you could spend anywhere from $200-$400 depending on the repair facility, but don't let them sell you. This is not difficult work.