Our boat (B32 2004) is now out of the water for the usual winter maintenance. Having made a close inspection of the hull I have discovered a small hole in the gelcoat about 300mm above the waterline. It is approx 10mm by 4mm, so quite small and difficult to find.
It seems that after the gel coat had been laid on the mould, the resin was then applied and this may be the result of a very tiny dry patch in the grp.
Before purchase 6 years ago, the boat surveyed very well and moisture levels in the grp taken by the surveyor were very low.
Should we be concerned, can anyone recommend a suitable product for the repair and will we have a issue regarding colour?
Topsides are foam (not balsa) so no problem with moisture. It's difficult to say much by just looking at the picture, but whatever needs to be done, the first step will be to grind off any damaged gelcoat/laminate/core to inspect. Colour matching is not super easy, but with a repair of that size I would not personally worry about it. Alternatively you can let a professional colour match the gelcoat.
I have successfully used Plastic Padding white gelcoat repair on a number of occasions and it's a very close match to original colour, around €10 for a tube. Build the repair in stages and on the final layer pace a strip of clear tape over the repair and allow to cure. Sand off excess very gently with very fine wet and dry sandpaper.
Plastic Padding gel coat filler. Works fine and is a pretty good match.
Looks like a layup void, which are quite common (mostly in corners and edges though) and harmless. Just clean up (rotary multitool with small grinder bit), wipe with acetone and fill with gelcoat. Make sure you mix the catalyst ratio exactly (2% usually - outside 1-3% you get either permasticky or yellowing after a few months - pharmacists scale helps). Can buy some yellow pigment and sprinkle some into a small cup of resin until the color matches. Just brush onto the hull next to the hole and wipe off until it matches, then add the catalyst and fill the hole. Sand level and polish and it'll look like there never was anything.
Thanks to you all for your advice.
I will give the Plastic Padding a go when the weather improves and I will report my findings.
Thanks again
Fenders