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Picked up an old 11' whaler. Going to get it cleaned up for the kids to drive around next to our 170 montauk. The rear bench had a plastic swivel seat mounted and the fiberglass has pulled out. I have worked with fiberglass a fair bit building kayaks, model boats, other projects etc. However I have never had to patch something with existing gel coat. I have a couple gallons of west 105 left from a previous project.

Can someone suggest steps to effect this repair? Ultimately will probably paint interior and cover with a piece of wood, but need to get surface flush.

My instinct is to cut out the damaged square, put some aluminum plates behind the existing fiberglass, add a piece of thin plywood and fiberglass over it. But I am sure there is better approaches than this. Would appreciate any input or contributions with specific products to use.

Thanks much
Brian