Cracks in the fiberglass

[rjwoodrome]

Can anyone tell me what causes cracks. this old boat has them every where?
It is a 1986 sea sprite cuddy. all along the waterline and under the dash pad there they are. and are they a danger of any kind?

 

[saildan]

Re: Cracks in the fiberglass

Can anyone tell me what causes cracks. this old boat has them every where?
It is a 1986 sea sprite cuddy. all along the waterline and under the dash pad there they are. and are they a danger of any kind?

Those appear to be the random cracks that develop in gelcoat if its not protected from UV and kept revitalized with anti-brittle agents (like wax does for a car's finish and ArmorAll does for other plastics. Gelcoat (cosmetic polyester resin) needs a good treatment at least once a year.

Eventually the cracks will grow to allow moisture down to the reinforced fiberglass level. That, in turn, can lead to delamination.

You can widen and fill the cracks with new gelcoat, sand back - prime & paint, or re-gelcoat.

 

[rjwoodrome]

Re: Cracks in the fiberglass

sorry about the photo quality. cell phone 1.3mp. everywhere water has touched. even under the dash there are cracks. I was wondering if it had been swamped then frozen.. isnt taking on water, just not very pretty to look at.

 

[jonesg]

Re: Cracks in the fiberglass

If its behind the transom the wood is swelling and cracking the glass.
Otherwise it might just be cosmetic.
Grind them out wider and fill with thickened gelcoat, block sand to fair.

 

[rjwoodrome]

Re: Cracks in the fiberglass

its actually every where the waterline is. and oddly under the dash pad as well. The guy that had it before used to load it on one of those hand crank type docks you pull into then raise it up. The bilge pump was spent. dont know if he pulled the plug now and then. or used a coffee can instead.. the gelcoat mentioned does it have a color? WTHeck was I thinkin.. the one thing keeping me from craigs list is the engine.. also the floors are origional and solid as a rock. the photo area was the worst spot.

 

[badbossyellow]

Re: Cracks in the fiberglass

I'm new at this but learning . You might find some help by looking at the web site called the rotdoctor they seem to have good information on things like this. As others have replied this gelcoat stuff needs maintenance a lot more than i ever thought. I have friends that have boats used all the time. but they do not keep in the water, just in for a day and out maybe a long weekend at the most. They only winterize the boat at the end of season throw a cover over it and thats it . beleive it or not they have done nothing else and some of the boats are going on twelve years or so. They all have one thing in common they make surethe boat is dry.