Crack in top coat

[lrdchaos]

Question for you a friend that just bought a boat. He found a Monterey that seems to be in excellent condition, it ran good and looks great so bought it. Once he got home and started loading and cleaning the boat he noticed a small crack in the top coat. Any guess what might have caused the crack, and what it might take to fix? He and I crawled in a compartment and looked at the back side and it doesn’t appear to the cracked all the way through. Just the gelcoat is cracked. The crack stops at the cushion.

 

[Scott Danforth]

gel coat cracks are common. especially on many newer styled boats with lots of compartments. if the boat is about 15 years of age it will really start showing cracks.

in the hull restoration forum stickies is a guide on repairing gel cracks.

 

[mickyryan]

looks like it is at a stress point , boat twist can cause it someone jumping on that exact spot could cause it , i wouldn't worry about it just Dremel out fill and sand and polish done.

 

[lrdchaos]

gel coat cracks are common. especially on many newer styled boats with lots of compartments. if the boat is about 15 years of age it will really start showing cracks.

in the hull restoration forum stickies is a guide on repairing gel cracks.

The boat is a 2015. That’s probably a spot where a lot of people stepped because that’s the start of the sun pad on the rear of the boat. Probably a lot of foot traffic in and out of the boat.

 

[Scott Danforth]

The boat is a 2015. That’s probably a spot where a lot of people stepped because that’s the start of the sun pad on the rear of the boat. Probably a lot of foot traffic in and out of the boat.

could be, however Micky's comment on hull flex/twist is more like it.

most boats will crack where the gunwales meet the transom.

 

[lrdchaos]

Could be, that’s also right in line where the engine compartment starts so there could be come flex in that general area. Either way I think he’s going with a guy that does fiberglass repair to patch it for 350. The first company he sent pics wanted 1500-2000, seemed a little high.

 

[Scott Danforth]

just coming into season, fiberglass guys are busy, most putting in about 80 hours a week.

 

[Zippys Gelcoat and Fiberglass Repair]

Easy fix. Take a black crayon and scribble across the crack the opposite direct of the crack first goes out about 2 inches on both sides. Then take a rag or shop towel and wipe or smear it in. What you're doing there is looking to see if there are any smaller cracks that gavent been seen. Take an 1/8 drill bit or router, find the very end of the crack and slowly drill down to where you see fiberglass. That alone will stop the crack from running any farther. Route out the rest of the crack the same way. Put about a 45° edge along both sides of crack. So basically bevel it. Sand it with 400inside the crack and beveled edge. And along the top edge of bevel especially. If it has a sharp edge coming off the good gelcoat you're gonna see a discoloration. Put tape down 2x ontop of each other about 1/8th of an inch around. MAKING SURE THAT EVERYTHING INSDE THE TAPED AREA IS DULL LOOKING AND SANDED. Wipe with acetone. Get your gelcoat and putty knife dab some in crack from top to bottom and then put enough gel to start at top and work down and completely fill the crack making sure you do it in one stroke and keep your blade flat. Make sure you /put just enough on there that when you dry you blade it from top to bottom you havent put soo much on there that you are covering the tape. Their shouldn't be much on the tape and the crack should be filled and even with top of tape LET IT AIR DRY. Let it cure by itself which is 24 hrs. When dry, wipe with acetone to remove the sticky, which is called styrene. Get your buffer, yes I know it's not sanded yet. Remove tape if yr a hadn't yet. Buff that repair spit. Make it hot, but dont burn it. Now scribble over it w crayon to find edges . Sand with 600 . Sand until Mark's on outside are gone. Buff . Should look good. Chalky gelcoat, sand it with 600 and buff. It willl belike new. Good luck. Oh buffing the gelcoat before sanding. it shrinks. Itll shrink to almost flat with you top edge. So 2 pieces of tape is what it normally shrinks down too. Take pics please!. It's actually about a 30 min repair