Hairline Gelcoat Cracks/Leak

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Barry Calhoun

Greetings, I recently discovered a number of leaks in my "new" 1984 C30. One of the biggest is in the Galley, directly above the ice box. It appears that one of the PO's decided to hang something there, but it either failed to work, or he changed his mind. Anyway, there are about 4 empty screw holes through which water drops quite rapidly when it rains hard. The holes appeared to me to be directly below the cockpit seats, but when I went up on deck to find the holes, I found nothing. Closer examination discovered what might possibly be hairline cracks in the non-skid/gelcoat on the cockpit seat. My guess is that the PO didn't consider the length of the screws he was using and just barely penetrated the gelcoat. So, my question is: What is the best way to repair this? Or, perhaps I should rephrase that: What is the easiest, satisfactory way to repair this? ;-) I know nothing about glasswork (but guess I have to learn sooner or later). What I'm a big worried about is that this is not only a highly visible area, it's an area with a lot of traffic (the primary way in and out of the cockpit to the deck. My initial thought was just to squirt some silicone or something similar into the holes to stop them up. I'm sure this would stop the leaking in the Galley, but would probably just divert the water elsewhere, possible causing more long term damage. I thought I had read somewhere of some sealants that have capillary action designed for sealing small cracks, etc., but am not sure if this is the proper application for those or not. Any advice? Thanks, Barry
 
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Waffle

The water could be coming from anywhere

More likely the water is traveling in the core from another location, like the handrail screws. You should rebed all the hardware on the entire deck. This is a lot of work! You should also end seal all the penetration into the core. Darn Boats are a lot of work...
 
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A.C.

Wet Core

Most likely your core is wet and water is finding it's way out through the screw holes...
 
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Barry Calhoun

Bad News

Nothin but bad news! Thanks a lot, guys! ;-) What you say makes sense. I don't have the time or energy to rebed all the hardware on my boat, but I guess I'll fix the windows first, then try to track down the other leak...Not looking forward to that.... Barry
 
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