Hi, I’m a newbie to IOM sailing and have recently bought a very tidy early widget, sail no. 1579, from a club member. It’s a glass hull with a flush deck (no raised foredeck).

It’s in good order, but does have a couple of minor cracks in the hull finish which I’d like to address. My question is whether the finish is likely to be gel coat or paint. I’m guessing I’ll need to gently sand back the crack to where the finish is adhering better, then fill, sand and re-coat. Any comments or advice would be very welcome.

The flush deck ones were mainly if not all moulded by Ken Robert's (Martin's Father), they were chop strand and gel coat.

Many thanks Graham, I think you’re right. The finish is very smooth, glossy and even. I’ve been sailing and fixing dinghies for decades and the small crack has all the appearance of a gel coat issue. If I sand it down and it’s one colour through the thickness, I think that will confirm it. The hull is a little flexible on the bilge area, so I may put a small glass repair inside. But for now I just want to get sailing and racing, so I’ll probably put a small piece of clear tape over and tackle the job in a few weeks time😉.