planning on repainting my boat , its a 26 ft eliminator daytona, i wanted to do away with the rub rail, wasnt sure on what material to use to fill in the gap , also is it okay to paint over the gel coat ?

yes its ok to paint over gel. has to be prepped right.

this is the basic run down on prep

strip all hardware
mask off interior
do all repairs (stress cracks, chips,etc . . .)
spot prime all repairs with PPG's K-36 or equivelant
after primer drys sand entire area with 320 on a D.A and block repair areas
wash with grey scotchbright pad and water pull off all masking paper and tape than wash the entire boat
let sit overnight in warm shop
re-mask off stuff you dont want paint on
wipe down deck with PPG's DX-330 wax and grease remover

this gets the surface ready for sealer and paint but we need to know what color you want to spray to determine best sealer. i usually use PPG's DP-48LF. its white and is easy to cover when you go to color.

i usually let the sealer flash overnight and than lightly hit it with 600 grit wet but use the DX-330 instead of water. i use a spray bottle and like i said very lightly with the sandpaper. i do this to pull out any dust that may have set in the sealer.

wipe that down and you should be ready for paint
use PPG'S DBC basecoat for your color
DCU-2021 for clear.
wetsand with 1200 than 3000 trizak and buff to a shine

you should split the project up and do the deck and sides independantly

filling in the rubrail depends on how it was constructed. post a pic of the side and i will see if i can come up with somthing. it can be a complex project. boat has to be properly tabbed inside for it to work right,

thanks glassdave for the reply , that info helps alot, i dont think i can post a pic , only a basic member , if you go in the classified section under eliminator you should be able to see the rubrail all of the daytonas are the same, ive heard of people doing it , just not sure what material they were using. this weekend i will unscrew a section of the rubrail and take a pic. by then ill upgrade my membership so i can post it, thanks

a freind of mine has a early 90's daytona i think it may be a 26 i will have to take a look at it. to fill the rubrail you will have to be able to access the seam from the inside all the way around the boat, all interior panels need to be taken out. its very important that the strength be maintained by fully tabbing the seam.