I have a Betsie Bay kayak (www.bbkayak.com) that needs refinishing. Alas, I can't do it myself, I'm talking to someone who may do it for me. He works on sailboats, and is talking about putting gelcoat on my boat. Does this make sense? I don't know a lot about building boats, but what I've mostly heard is that people put marine paint on it - I've heard about two-part Interlux paints being the best.

Actually, two different people whom I've talked to have mentioned putting gelcoat on the boat - spraying it on.

Gel coat is a finish applied to a mold before fiberglass when making a fiberglass boat. It is not appropriate for refinishing a boat, let alone a wooden boat. It is not something that can be applied to a completed boat of any kind.

I believe Betsie Bay kayaks are now made with fiberglass over the wood, but if you have an early one it may be different.

Whether or not your kayak has fiberglass on it, you want paint. The choice is how good/expensive you want or need. A 2-part like Interlux or Awlgrip would be very high quality and it would be more scratch resistant and maintain its gloss longer than a more traditional 1-part paint. Two-part paints are very expensive and require special equipment and skilled craftsmen to apply well, making it even more expensive.

One-part paints are excellent. Even if they are not as excellent as the good 2-parts, they are probably plenty good enough for a kayak that is stored inside when not in use. And if you can paint a room in a house, you can paint a kayak. While it takes skill to get a flawless job, it is not that hard to get a good result.

A 1-part paint will scratch more easily, but since it is cheaper to apply you will not care as much as if you just paid $400+ for a professional 2-part job. If you keep a can in the house you can touch of scratches easily by yourself.

Bottom line: get "gelcoat" out of your mind and concentrate on choosing what kind of paint you want. Any good quality marine enamel is suitable as are other less expensive options.