Blue Peter Dinghy - Sanding back the Gelcoat Repairs

This was the moment of truth.... would the repairs look okay after sanding... well, they're "okay". There are still a few divots that need a second patch of gelcoat which is frustrating, but hull is looking better. It's nice to know there are no cracks anywhere for water to get to the fibreglass.

In my opinion, the photos make it look a better colour match than it is - I really wish I'd spent a full day extra refining the process so it was repeatable - and right!. But, I had so much to do, and I really want the boat to be useable this summer. I just wanted to get it done! The colour matching is a pain because I found the colour really did look very different once applied with hardener and sanded back than it did when just applied 'wet' without hardener. In addition, white is a strong pigment and I was anxious about making the patches too light - as it happens, they're too dark. 🙃🙄

The area behind the daggerboard slot needed a lot of building up, so I'm not surprised at how rough this is, I was really trying to sculpt it - the gelcoat is pretty thick here in places - I guess for the purposes of wear.

The area I've not even attempted to sand yet is the underside of the gunwales... looks tricky - might need a new tool - belt sander.... its a tool heavy expensive job!