How long should one wait after a repair to be able to get back on the water??? Midwest temp has been around 70 degrees for at least a week.

total cure time is a month but thats the inside of the gel,as long as you put surface wax in it or pva over the top you should be good.

It also depends on where the gelcoat repair was done. The ambient air temp may be 70, but the hull may be colder if it sat overnight unheated. Gelcoat is very temperature sensitive for a hard cure, and most people do not realize that the structure temp is the key as it takes a long time to warm up.