82 Natique Rubbing against trailer

[Murphyslaw82]

I bought a 82 Natique and it has some pretty bad gouges in gel coat. The wheel well shrouds didn’t have carpet. I know trying to match gel coat is really challenging but I am worried about water getting in and damaging gel coat further. I am new to this and I did try some searching but I couldn’t find anything this bad. Any suggestions or direction is greatly appreciated. It is about a 2-3 ft section like that. It also looks like previous owner pushed the boat back further by adjusting the front mount to decrease tongue weight so I’m assuming that needs to be addressed as well. Thank you.

[Murphyslaw82]

[Murphyslaw82]

[NautiqueJeff]

That's bad enough that I would have a professional repair that. I use North Lake Fiberglass for my gelcoat work here at Lake Norman. That's a bit of a ride for you, but they would do an excellent job.

Oh, and carpet up those wheel wells!

[Murphyslaw82]

Thank you for the quick response. How urgent is the issue? Boat is not stored in water. Any idea on a ballpark of what that cost would be?

[NautiqueJeff]

I would guess less than $500. It isn't a terribly difficult repair. The color matching will be the hardest part.

I suppose you could run it as-is for a while. I wouldn't wait too long to fix it though.

[Murphyslaw82]

Should I throw anything caulk over it in the meantime or is it pointless? I’m assuming the water will eventually penetrate and create bubbles under gel coat? I honestly think it has been this way awhile as it was there prior to guy I purchased from who had it 3 years. He was just dropping it in occasionally.