If you love your boat, it might be worthwhile to fix it up, especially if you'd like to keep it for a while longer. Be sure to get solid estimates before you make your final decision, though. If the fixes cost too much, you may not like your boat as much as you thought you did.

However, the repairability of fiberglass is one of its best characteristics. The most horrifying hole in a fiberglass hull is quickly healed with a bit of glass fabric, a supply of resin, and equal parts skill and care. And the repair is less patch than graft — a new piece of skin indistinguishable from the old.