OK, crazy....

With down time due to slow work.....

I have decided to mess with the boat and made mistakes....


POSSIBLY. Lol

So.

Advise welcome.

I have demolished my seats & upholstery.

And have taken a belt sander to the outside of my boat.

Could I cut the bow open?

Could I cap the seam where the rub rail was?

Could I remove the old 1/4 stringers and install full ones?

Could I fill all the pits, channels and groves where the belt sander dug in?

Can I leave any old gel coat or does it all need to be removed before adding new?

How much gel coat will I need?

What is this clear gel coat?

Mainly I would like to know if anyone has done this before and increased the valve of the boat/hull?

About a week ago

WHOA WHOA WHOA!!!

Stop right there, please. 

When doing body work, you want to keep it as flat an straight as possible.  A belt sander is not the right tool for that job.  Chances are, it was fairly straight to begin with.

If you were just wanting to change the color, and it was straight, the best choice would be to block it out with 400 grit wet and spray the new gel.

You can NOT just sand out the belt sander grooves, they will need to be filled with chopped strand mat and polyester resin.  Otherwise there will be paper-thin spots.  Then body work it back straight.  Do not try to use body filler of any kind.  It will crack and fall out.

Hook up with someone who knows how to do this and get you pointed in the right direction.

Good luck,

Joe

Mainly I would like to know if anyone has done this before and increased the valve of the boat/hull?

I don't think you'll ever really increase the value of a boat.
With all the work you're going to be doing, you are basically paying for the learning experience.
It is a rare instance when somebody does work on a boat and is able to sell it with a profit.

OK, crazy....

With down time due to slow work.....

I have decided to mess with the boat and made mistakes....


POSSIBLY. Lol

So.

Advise welcome.

I have demolished my seats & upholstery.

And have taken a belt sander to the outside of my boat.

Could I cut the bow open?

Could I cap the seam where the rub rail was?

Could I remove the old 1/4 stringers and install full ones?

Could I fill all the pits, channels and groves where the belt sander dug in?

Can I leave any old gel coat or does it all need to be removed before adding new?

How much gel coat will I need?

What is this clear gel coat?

Mainly I would like to know if anyone has done this before and increased the valve of the boat/hull?

I'm just going to say it out loud.

You need to find a hull that suits your desires better.

The amount of hours of work required to do all the things you list and the materials needed is astronomical.

Just as an example, I'm building a 20.5 Carrera Elite open bow.

I have removed all the interior,  floors, hardware,  filled over 100 holes in the hull,  repaired beach damage, straightened the bottom and started building the floors and transom back up. I have just over 300 hours in it.

I expect it is requiring another 300 before it is completed.

I am not changing the bow configuration,  already has full stringers and will be regelled in one color. I fully expect the value to remain similar to what a mid 90's Carrera to be. But I'm building out for me, not an investment.

I don't want to discourage you, quite the contrary. Just know that the commitment you have jumped into is huge and if the boat is not exalting l exactly what you want, I would cut my losses.

You do not need to remove the old gel coat to paint it in gel. It just needs to be glass flat and a spray additive needs to be used in the new gelcoat.

You use an HVLP gun with a primer nozzle and a very warm booth (like 80 degrees). They lay down about like acrylic enamel. You still need to cut and polish.

Good luck in your adventure.

By the way, I have always wanted a Carrera Elite,  I found this one for $200. I did some horse trading for the trailer, which is a tube Extreme tandem with disc brakes.

Going to be cool. Should be done this winter in time for spring.

GT