Hair line cracks in gelcoat

Indysailor · Mar 16, 2012

Welcome to sailing!

The first thing you want to know is whether the cabin top around the mast is soft. If so, the core will need to be addressed. If not, you may not have to deal with those little cracks right now, as they are fairly common in areas where there is stress. If you know someone who knows something about testing for soft decks, ask them to help, but generally the top of the cabin should be rock solid right at the mast, with no sponginess or any depression where the mast rests.

When I bought my boat three years ago, I had a lot of things that looked like problems, but on the advice of more experienced sailors, I only dealt with the stuff necessary to get the boat sailing and didn't let cosmetic stuff keep me from splashing the boat as soon as the marina was open.

gunkh-O-lin · Mar 16, 2012

Hairline cracks in gel oat at the mast foot are common, but shouldn't be ignored! If the deck is too soft, your mast could turn into a very effective anchor. Keep in mind that shroud tension pulls the mast downward at all times, and sailing forces can be extreme. Give it the old heel test. Any give or spoungines under your full weight means reinforcement and or core replacement is necessary.

Awfully embarrassing when your mast drops through the cabin top, and you limp into port... I saw an Oday 28 do this once...

kpgraci · Mar 16, 2012

Chris Bogle said:
Can electric plugs including coax receptacle located at base of mast be replaced? I can't seem to get to them from inside cabin. I am new at sailing.

You can't get to them from in the cabin? They do enter the cabin, yes?

Any such fittings were likely installed by a previous owner, that is, the boat did not come that way, even so, they of course can be replaced...

When you remove the fittings make sure the core is dry before replacing them, then seal them properly (butyl tape?).

You should pick up a copy of Don Casey's book 'This Old Boat', it has lots of tips and tricks on repairing and refurbishing most stuff on a boat, including spider cracks (and wet core).

Oh...post some pics!

Ritdog · Mar 16, 2012

I have a 25, which had a lot of hiarline cracks- DO get "this Old Boat" like the man says- GREAT book. It will tell you to scratch or moto-tool the cracks out- make them bigger , clean with acetone, and fill in with gelcoat- you might have to match the color, carefully.
Buy all your solvents and such in gallons- you will be going through those I did a LOT of cracks on mine, but they are GONE now! Worth the job, and it's not hard.
Your plugs on top may be "solid" . What I have seen about 25s at least is that they ran the wires before putting the top on, and glued the whole mess in. I had to replace my mast connections last fall, and wound up just drilling a hole next to the old one, putting in a flush mount receptacle on the deck and running a short surface wire along the head bulkhead to the port side, heading aft on top of the headliner. NOW would be a good time to think about upgrading the number of connections - I went from 2 to 4. If you have trouble finding multi-plugs and connectors, try RV/trailer places- they sell some rugged stuff, and 4/5/6/ strand wire. I used 4000 to fill the hole and seal the deck.

Joe11688 · Mar 16, 2012

Most sailboats develop hairline cracks out in the cockpit where portions of the side decks meet the companionway bulkhead. My 86 O'Day 222 has had them for years. It's really no big thing.

It may or may not be a big thing under the mast tabernacle. If you can find evidence that water is getting into the cabin from under the mast tabernacle, you need to check it out by removing the tabernacle and take a sharp instrument like an ice pick and prod the edges of the bolt holes for soft punky rotten core. You could take a long finish nail and put a short 90 degree bend at the end and use it to prod the bolt holes. If the inside surfaces are hard, you have nothing to worry about. Most of the time if the tabernacle leaks, it will be coming in around the bolts.

One way of finding out if a leak exists is to go into the cabin, close the hatches and have someone run a garden hose over the mast step. Tiny leaks can take as long as 10 minutes to show up in the cabin even after the water is shut off.
These boats shouldn't leak at all. If you ever find a leak you should address the problem as soon as possible. If leaks are allowed to continue, the water can get entrapped in the core of the fiberglass and cause rot.

By the way, welcome to this forum and to sailing. Let us know how you make out.
Joe

Scott B · Mar 17, 2012

Hey Chris, welcome aboard.

We're in BayMoorings.