i'm not sure why folks are hot to gelcoat the bottom of their boat. for me it's the part of the boat that gets run up on the sand/reef and is rarely seen. from my experience a nice carbon fibre stripe down the bottom wears alots better than glass or the super soft material known as gelcoat. also a graphite powder and aerosil epoxy bog makes a very slippery and hard surface.
my $.02
so jake, how is it going?
Jake is in Pcola right now for Alter Cup.
As for using gelcoat to repair what was lost, its only returning the boat to its previous, like new state. Its something that has to be done on all these beach race boats from time to time.
Smooth is fast, and I think the consensus is that gelcoat is the easiest to repair (making the hull smooth again). Other options may be more durable, but once they're scratched or gouged, it can be much more difficult to repair correctly.