Vince,

The gel coat is just dead weight. It is useful for leveling the surfaces if you are diligent with a sanding block. The block is key (a valuable lesson from Bob Smith). You can hand-sand the gel coat away, but you will lose the benefit of leveling the low spots. You will end up with a wavy surface. You need that hard surface of the block to bridge the gaps.

I have a "before" weight, and I will borrow the work scale again to get an "after" weight. I am curious to see just how much weight that I have removed from the fuselage. It definitely feels lighter, but I want a number to back that up.

-Robert