What your uncle had applied was not really a gel coat although it took the place of the gelcoat. Gelcoat is applied as the first layer to the interior of the mold that a fiberglass boat is made in.

Since what your uncle had applied was put on the outside it was more properly called paint or possibly clearcoat. Probably good quality stuff but not really all that different from the paint or varnish used on a strip kayak. You could probably use the exact same stuff on your kayak. It is probably quite expensive if it is a two-part product like AwlGrip.

: Why don't we use a Gel Coat on strip boats.
: My Uncle owns a Sail boat, and just had it re-gel coated.
: He asked me why I don't use a gel coat instead of varnish on my yak.
: I couldn't answer. Weight? Expense? ???