Older Trojans with spyder cracks

[Spivy30]

After the loss of my 31' Roamer I found a nice '74 Trojan F26 Express. Its actually a very nice boat it just needs to be cleaned and the wood work redone which there is a lot of. The boat has a lot of cracks in the gel coat and I was thinking of either fixing it, getting it fixed, or having the boat painted. My questions is, will it crack again? I'm assuming the spider cracking was from the fiberglass flexing or maybe the original gel coat is so much stiffer then the new stuff and doesn't give. Either way I got a good deal on the boat and wouldn't mind either running it as is or spending some money to fix all the cracks. Most of the cracks are the hull and if you stand back about 5-10 feet you don't really notice them.

 

[Spivy30]

Re: Older Trojans with spyder cracks

Also I was wondering if these old trojans were good boats? I always thought them were solid old boats they also have an interesting hull its like the early version of a step hull.

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Older Trojans with spyder cracks

Hello Spivy..

When you say the Hull.. are you talking about Below the waterline ? Like you hauled out and saw these transverse cracks ?

Or are you talking about "spider cracks" ( looks like a spider web center out thing ) ?

Or are they Impact cracks...more ovals around ovals ( like you have on your swim platform edge ) ?

YD.

 

[Spivy30]

Re: Older Trojans with spyder cracks

YD,

The are spider cracks on the sides above the water line. Just like any typical spider crack that you see on fiberglass boats just seems like a good amount of them. I have been around boats for most of my life and havent seen them like this. At the sametime thyre not deep they remind me of clear coat cracking on a car paint job. If you stand back 5-10 feet the boat looks almost perfect.

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Older Trojans with spyder cracks

If the cracks are extending from a central location then its probably pressure from the inside. Lets say from a bulkhead or deck.

pictures would really help out on this one.

Different cracks mean different things happening.