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If you sand all the gelcoat off which is a simple job with the right sander and paper, and then wipe down the area with acetone, you can patch with polyester resin and mat and or fab mat Then use marine fairing compound or a good quality bondo. Polyester resin is a lot easier to sand then epoxy, and cheaper. Epoxy will probably stick to gel coat better but its not the proper way to do a repair. You need to grind down to the original fiberglass hull.