1989 Catalina 30 Propella Shaft Strut Hull Possible Repair?

[rickmds]

Hi
I have a 1989 Catalina 30 and am stripping20+ years of bottom paint down to the gel coat. In the front and back of the strut supporting the propeller shaft there are some cracks in the attached pictures. The material is not fiberglass and appears to be playable almost like it was a waterproof barrier in the production of the boat. I am uncertain if this is normal finding or if

some type of repair is in order. The hull and boat is in excellent condition and does not seem to have been in any accidents or have hull repairs that I can determine. The strut and propeller shaft also seems to be rock solid. Can you please take a look and provide some feedback? Many thanks!
Rick

 

[BillyK]

i had similar cracking... inspect the inside and check the nuts. you should not see any cracking from the interior side... if you do, get ready for a larger repair. if it is mostly cosmetic, which is what mine was, you can take a dremel to the crack to knock it out and refill with a high strength filler. I used 3M High Strength Repair Filler. my cracks have not returned and its been 3 seasons since the repair.

 

[rickmds]

Billy
Thank you for this feedback! It turns out that this was an old repair that reappeared. There were 2 hairline cracks, each about 4 inches in length running port to starboard in the front and back of the propellant shaft strut. there was no visible damage on the inside of the boat, the cracks did not appear to be penetrated with water and moisture content was less than 10% (dry). For the repair, a large v-grove was cut in both cracks and the bottom of the grove was filled and smoothed in a similar fashion as yours. Additionally, several layers of thick fiberglass mat were aid across the V-grove perpendicular to the crack bringing it flush to the hull. I'm grateful that I stripped and sanded down to the gel coat this spring in order to remove 20+ years of bottom paint off the boat. If this had not been done, these cracks never would have been discovered.
Best
Rick