My little boat has gelcoat cracks like that all over the place. They don't seem to be hurting anything, other than the appearance. I'm trying to learn to like them.
Repairing hairline fiberglass deck cracks
- Thread starter O_Barquinho
- Start date
Maybe, maybe not. I bought a cooler lid from a guy who's boat sunk a few years back. His boat was newer, the cream gelcoat was a little darker, and actually much more attractive. I wet sanded the area next to the lid and the original gelcoat on my boat was lighter. It seems there were differences over the years; a 272 at my club is a gorgeous, dark cream and it's original.
I appreciate everyone's helpful input. It sounds like the consensus is that this is likely just gelcoat and not underlying structural damage. One thing I did notice yesterday, after a rain, was a tiny bit of water in the v-berth under the starboard bow (photo below) and a very slight crack above (photo below). A previous owner reported a leak on the starboard bow section. I'm not terribly concerned about this, but wonder if anyone would suggest internal repairs to this area, if the gelcoat cracks seem trivial.
Again, thanks for helping out a newbie. I want to make sure I'm doing good preventative maintenance.
Starboard v-berth water: http://imgbox.com/2z0qAo6l
Starboard v-berth ceiling: http://imgbox.com/mMJd3BqS
Again, thanks for helping out a newbie. I want to make sure I'm doing good preventative maintenance.
Starboard v-berth ceiling: http://imgbox.com/mMJd3BqS
If you have water coming in, you want to address it. Otherwise, the core gets soaked, leading to delamination. A couple possibilities; it may be coming in at the bases of the pulpit, or other through bolts, or possibly at the rub rail. Given the stress cracks you showed, I would be inclined to rebed the rail. In fact, since it's a recent purchase, I'd probably set about with a plan to rebed everything on the deck eventually, from stem to stern, unless you are certain they've been done recently. It's not urgent to do so, but this is a maintenance issue.
O Barquinho, if you are not ready to remove the pulpit to check for leaks, you might go with Captain Tulley's. I have used it on some cracks I think were leaking but I am not 100% they were the cause of the leaks. For the most part, if they are the cause then Captain Tulley's will at least seal it until you can properly rebed the pulpit.
I would wet sand down (about 600-800 grid sandpaper) the gelcoat in the damaged area first. This will expose the actual colour of you gelcoat. Your local fibreglass store should have sample cards in RAL system, which has been used for years now (before WW2). This will allow you to match the colour and with some luck, buy a small quantity of correct gelcoat.
Again, I very much appreciate everyone's input. The surveyor advised that I install backing plates under the pulpit, to aid with leakage, so I'll look into doing that and/or re-bedding the entire pulpit.
hairline cracks in gelcoat
I would listen to Gunni and delochner Most likely a cosmetic situation Before you do anything check to make sure you do not have a through crack These cracks will appear due to flexing in the deck
I would listen to Gunni and delochner Most likely a cosmetic situation Before you do anything check to make sure you do not have a through crack These cracks will appear due to flexing in the deck
Thanks All for the info. I will have to add this task to my spring projects, since it will be to cold, to work with the gelcoat during the winter.