Hull cracks - Please Help!

[ml8163]

I've been working on replacing the decking/partial stringer replacement in my boat and I happened to look at the bottom side of the hull and noticed the cracks in the picture below. I think this was caused by me walking on the hull and not the stringers... The inside of the hull looks fine. How do I fix this?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Coors]

Re: Hull cracks - Please Help!

Is the 2nd pic from underneath?
If so, not enough lap on the repair.

 

[ml8163]

Re: Hull cracks - Please Help!

The second pic is of the inside where I've taken the decking out. The purpose of the pic was to show that there is no noticable damage on the inside.

 

[Pursuit2550]

Re: Hull cracks - Please Help!

Doesnt look that bad. Your going to have to grind out from th inside and outside till you get to some good fiberglass and then just glass back.

 

[Solittle]

Re: Hull cracks - Please Help!

I am not completely comfortable in offering any advice or input on this but having said that - - This could be serious. It looks like a structural weakness or failure. I would have a pro look it over before I did anything.

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Hull cracks - Please Help!

It seems odd that it would have cracked this hard with just you walking on it... didn't you hear a lot of loud crunching, or gunshot like cracks?

I walk on my hull with the stringers removed, and it just flexes a bit... and I'm over 300 lbs.

I suspect this damage might have been there before, maybe related to having rotten stringers, and it may have opened up more as you've been doing the work.

In any case, start grinding the loose stuff away and you'll see how bad it is. It's not a show stopper unless you've completely destroyed a large section of hull, and even then it's fixable.

Erik

 

[mcleaves]

Re: Hull cracks - Please Help!

Looks like it's following the stringers to me. I'd say it was tied into bad stringers and long term stress. You may have just exposed the damage by cracking the gelcoat

 

[oops!]

Re: Hull cracks - Please Help!

reinforce the hull (inside) by adding layers of glass till you know its strong

then fix the gell coat as you would any gellcoat crazing...

its a larger repair.....but do-able.....

and no....walking on it shouldnt have caused it

 

[ml8163]

Re: Hull cracks - Please Help!

Thanks for the replies guys. The cracks aren't located where any stringers sit, so I don't think it was caused by that... And now that I think about it more, you all are probably right, in that it wasn't caused by me walking around on it. My guess is that the cracks where there when I bought the boat and I didn't notice them.

What is the best method and what are the steps for fixing gelcoat crazing underneath like this?

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Hull cracks - Please Help!

Follow oops' advice. I would grind out the inside until almost thru (the cracks go thru), and fill the ground areas with several layers of cloth, to build up to the original thickness. Start with a small piece of cloth, then a larger piece, followed by a larger piece, etc. After all cloth is saturated with epoxy resin, overlap a couple of sheets of heavy roving on the inside to span the repair and two+ inches on all sides. Saturate this well with the epoxy and it will be stronger than the original. If you have any doubts about the stringers, reinforce them. Dig out the cracks on the outside with an awl, and regelcoat or putty them.