How do I repair the small spider cracks on my 272LE? I don't think they are stress related. Some are above the windows.
Chuck
Chuck
Small spider cracks on my 1987 O'Day 272LE?
- Thread starter Chuck Powell
- Start date
I repaired the gelcoat cracks on my previous O22. They were all on the deck, toe rail area. I used a Drexel tool to grind the cracks. You have to enlarge the cracks preferably into a V shape. I then used 3m premium filler to fill the grinder areas, then sand flush. I used 220 to 400 wet paper. I then shot gelcoat through a spray gun. I thinned the gelcoat with acetone in order to spray it. Several light coats. I used gelcoat that had wax added. I prefer the wax added that way the gelcoat will harden on its own. You could also use a marine paint rather than gelcoat. The difficulty is matching the color.
I've never tried it but some people thicken the gelcoat and use the thickened version to fill the grinded voids. I think they call it peanut butter. You can research that on YouTube.
I attached a picture of the filled cracks and another after shooting the gelcoat.
That repair was 5 years ago and still looks great, no additional cracking.
I've never tried it but some people thicken the gelcoat and use the thickened version to fill the grinded voids. I think they call it peanut butter. You can research that on YouTube.
I attached a picture of the filled cracks and another after shooting the gelcoat.
That repair was 5 years ago and still looks great, no additional cracking.
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I just watched a video on the Magicezy. Very interesting. I'm curious about the longevity. It says guerenteed for 3 years. Sometimes the easy way isn't the best way. I'm curious to hear from those who have used it and how long it has lasted. My current boat has some hairline cracks. Unfortunately most are on the non skit areas so I don't think the Magicezy would work in that case.
Nice, I went on there site and checked out some before and after shots. It does seem to look better on the non skid areas. I may give it a try.
Chuck, I can't say on a 272, but you do say there are cracks above the windows. My inexpensive daysailer 192 has surface mounted fixed plexi windows. They are basically glued on with silicone structural adhesive. To do this, the factory drilled oversize holes in the plexi, and screwed into the cabin sides to hold the windows in place while the silicone cured. What I learned about my window leak, was that they set these fasteners into the fiberglass without any countersinking of the pilot holes in the gelcoat. This allows for stress risers, which over the years became small cracks in the gelcoat fanning out from the fastener holes. In my case, the cracks migrated up from the hole, underneath the still firmly attached silicone sealant, and out a very small bit past where the silicone stopped. Thus, water would pool on the edge of the plexi, and work its way into the very small 1/32" of exposed crack, and run behind the sealant, into the cabin. It was a slow drip, but enough to let water inside. I did not see the small bit of crack until after I had removed the window.
I suspect the 272 is somewhat similar, but there is probably a recessed plexi fixed port with maybe an aluminum frame screwed in over the plexi. I believe this is standard manufacturing in mass production boats. So, it's quite possible the screws have slowly cracked the pilot holes, allowing radiating cracks to form.
I have read people with other fixed frame windows to take them apart and use "sex bolts" or "barrel bolts" to drill oversize and mount where existing screws were just shot into the fiberglass. Again, I'm not saying this is how the 272 is constructed, but it would be my guess this is an area where you should start looking into.
What I wound up doing was getting new windows from D&R Marine, and filling in all the existing fastener holes. I attached the windows to the surface with 3M VHB acrylic foam tape, and filled the gap with black Dow Corning 795 structural adhesive silicone, as per this article: http://www.sailmagazine.com/boatworks/replacing-fixed-portlights The end result is fabulous looking, without any screw heads marring the smooth, clean line of the windows.
Here in this pic you can probably see some of the fastener holes after I had to basically cut the silicone seal to remove the old windows:
And here is probably the best shot I have of the finished new windows with no fasteners. I never actually took a pic after I finished the project
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