Gelcoat cracks.....

[b.gagnon]

I am looking at a boat that is c1994 Boston Whaler outrage, and it has gelcoat cracks everywhere on the outside of the hull!
The inside is in good shape for it's age....Was this boat abused or just poorly made????
Thanks....

 

[southkogs]

First guess is that the boat has sat outside uncovered for quite some time. Cracks like that don't bother me unless there's a lot of them ... then I get concerned about what else is going on that I can't see.

Whalers are well built boats that can take a lot ... but they're not exactly "invincible."

 

[ondarvr]

Cracks like that are typicaly from thick gel coat and some flexing. If the foam in the hull starts to deteriorate it can allow more flexing to take place, this can put more stress on overly thick gel coat and cause cracks.

 

[Frank Acampora]

At any rate, that's a boat to stay away from. Why ask for drama in your life?

 

[metriccrescentwrench]

I've never seen cracks to that extent, in fact nothing anywhere close. I can't think of any 'innocent' reason for their existence, I'd be inclined to stay away from that boat.

 

[Frank Acampora]

While I did buy a 14 foot hull for 45 bucks and it did have cracks at least as bad as those, and I did repair them, I would still not buy your hull if I were you. Reason: The fiberglass was delaminating at the transom and the 14 foot hull was a foam cored hull where the fiberglass was delaminating from the foam core on the deck. Again, don't go looking for drama

 

[Texasmark]

I wouldn't worry about cracks in a conventional glass boat where the gel coat is sprayed into a form as a non-reinforced top coat followed by chopper glass or woven roving of some consistency backed up with stringers and all to provide the necessary hull strength. On a Whaler, and you might research this methodology on the www...aka check it out, they use foam as the supporting element between the outside and inside "plastic shells" making a sandwich. I believe that the outer shell is all that there is other than foam so if the shell fails, the structure failed. Not real clear on this as Whalers have not been part of my life, but I do recall digging into just how they are built one time and that is what I am basing my distrust upon. In short I personally would...................RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[shrew]

Those cracks would be evidence of sever flex. That is not normal. The gel coat is cosmetic, however the only way to crack the gelcoat would be a significant amount of movement of the structure below. This is most commonly from impact. Slow impact, like getting pushed against a piling during a storm, or hitting a dock at slow speeds while docking.

Those boats are foam cored. What would prevent water ingress through the cracks and into the foam?

 

[Texasmark]

Hey guys we aren't talking about jell coat and fiberglass roving and resin. We are talking about a foam sandwich made out of plastic bread......isn't that the way whalers are built? That's the way I was taught they were.

 

[bruceb58]

I would not be worried if cracks originate from openings drilled through the boat, screws, etc. Looks like there may be more than that. One possibility is a trailer that has the suspension/tires overrated for the weight of the boat.

 

[Scott Danforth]

is this boat in a location that gets below freezing? I also assume its heavier than heck. my guess is the foam is water soaked and the cracks are stresses from freezing

 

[w2much]

That hull looks to have been painted over already. Am I right?

 

[jbcurt00]

That hull looks to have been painted over already. Am I right?

It doesnt look that way to me.

 

[w2much]

Looks like brush strokes in the first picture especially. Just my opinion............or my eyes.

 

[b.gagnon]

No paint... just cracks!