Baught a new boat (fiberglass/gelcoat cracks)

[cnthinkoname]

I picked up a 1993 Sprint 289, when I got it at sunset it looked good, but in day light it has some cracks. Are any of these a large problem or purely cosmetic? The one with orange color is the floor, the black are the top of the boat, and the white is the front hull.

 

[cnthinkoname]

Re: Baught a new boat (fiberglass/gelcoat cracks)

 

[cnthinkoname]

Re: Baught a new boat (fiberglass/gelcoat cracks)

Any ideas? Does it look structural?

 

[tswiczko]

Re: Baught a new boat (fiberglass/gelcoat cracks)

the cracks in pic #4 in your second and first post look pretty scary.

Where are they at on the boat?

the others don't look too awful, Have you inspected the floors and stringers to make sure they are in good order?

My boat has a few gel coat cracks but none under the waterline. I figure that since it's been beating waves for 20+ years and lives outside in a climate that gets 90?+ in the summers and down into the teens in winter that they are bound to happen especially on surfaces that are get a lot of sun.

If you have any under the water line I would get a gel coat repair kit and take care of them.

 

[DuckHunterJon]

Re: Baught a new boat (fiberglass/gelcoat cracks)

I wouldnt' worry too much about the ones top side (in the metalic), but the ones on the bottom of the hull should be dealt with. Prior to doing that, however, you need to address the last picture - are those cracks in the floor? If so, they look structural. They need to be addressed before anything else.

 

[cnthinkoname]

Re: Baught a new boat (fiberglass/gelcoat cracks)

Thanks guys. I took the boat to a marine mechanic today. He said the cracks in the hull are "stress cracks" from the boat pounding rough water and that they are not a worry. He also had me jump up and down on the floor and said it was solid. He said he could grind out the fiberglass and put in new glass to prevent the floor from rotting. Does this sound about right to you guys?

 

[oops!]

Re: Baught a new boat (fiberglass/gelcoat cracks)

the marina guy is wrong........

the pics of the hull showing a large area on the outer hull are stress cracks....however they are not caused from waves......that is major impact damage.
the fiberglass under the cracks is cracked as well.

the pics of the upper hull on the starboard aft deck are nothing...

....that boat is expencive to fix because of the metal flake.

please give us more pictures .....of a larger size.....there are detailed pic posting instructions in the non boating technical forum.
upload to photo bucket....resize to 640x 480 ...copy the img tag and paste it in your reply....

start a new thread in the restoration section..(dry dock)...sorry....this boat needs major help.

quite frankly......there are also other issues with this boat besids the gellcoat cracked......we have to find out what happened to the boat, and a full blown investigation/examination is the only way.

on the bright side.......we can get you fixed up, and on the water with out worries....this is nothing i/other pros have not seen before....but this does require your immedate attention

 

[oops!]

Re: Baught a new boat (fiberglass/gelcoat cracks)

in post 2 pic 4 ......where on the boat is that?.

btw...someone has allready tried to fix the gellcoat....and sanded right thru it in areas.....then just buffed it.....or should i say....muffed it.

 

[cnthinkoname]

Re: Baught a new boat (fiberglass/gelcoat cracks)

That is the floor under the carpet. Very bottom next to the console. It is like that around the whole perimeter.

 

[cnthinkoname]

Re: Baught a new boat (fiberglass/gelcoat cracks)

Also if you click on the images they get quite large. The photo was taken very close up.

 

[oops!]

Re: Baught a new boat (fiberglass/gelcoat cracks)

where is 5 of 5 in post one?......that is really wierd cracking....that will be an under catylist situation...

but the hull is not good my friend

 

[cnthinkoname]

Re: Baught a new boat (fiberglass/gelcoat cracks)

5 of 5 is on the console. The same type of cracks can be found on many horizontal surfaces. The mechanic said it is due to heat expanding but from what you guys are saying he doesn't know a whole lot.

 

[oops!]

Re: Baught a new boat (fiberglass/gelcoat cracks)

no....he was guessing.....

heat will not do that to gellcoat/fiberglass.

gellcoat is basicaly pigmented polyester resin so the expansion rate is the same as the fiberglass under your gellcoat......this is a really fantastic marrage and it is also the reason boats can still be trouble free sitting in the land fill after 50 years.

the hull on that boat was pushed hard against something.....kinda like it was up against a log boom and got sandwiched between the boom and a large boat...
not a sharp violent impact.....but more of a fast squeeze.

i would also look in your ski locker......look at the edges of the hull where it meets the stringers.....im willing to bet the fiberglass is cracked there.

 

[cnthinkoname]

Re: Baught a new boat (fiberglass/gelcoat cracks)

Oh man, this makes me laugh but makes me very sick at the same time. I was going to hire the same guy to do a Pre-Buy, at least I saved that $. What is the Ski Locker? How would I access the stringers?

 

[oops!]

Re: Baught a new boat (fiberglass/gelcoat cracks)

oh oh.......what is the ski locker.......that means you dont have one.

oh well.......looks like you are going to add one.......lol

in the center of the boat....is a hole in the deck (floor) that is for wet stowage.....this is referred to as a ski locker.......usually a 3 foot long hatch by about 15 ins wide.

this hatch (sometimes carpeted) goes between the stringers.

from there....you could access the stringers by either examinimg the gellcoat in the hatch or by pulling the carpet up and look at the bare glass.

 

[cnthinkoname]

Re: Baught a new boat (fiberglass/gelcoat cracks)

Well, what would be the next step?

 

[oops!]

Re: Baught a new boat (fiberglass/gelcoat cracks)

hang on....i have asked another pro to look in on this as well.

but to restore the boat back to good......i see some grinding in your future......that metal flake is gonna be a pita

 

[cnthinkoname]

Re: Baught a new boat (fiberglass/gelcoat cracks)

Oh no worries on the metal flake. I was thinking about repainting it with some form of Interlux paint. The previous owner does body work for a living and said he could take care of the "stress cracks" in 5-6 hours, would you trust that? The floor really does seem solid. You can jump on it all day and theres no movement, it's just that crack around the whole perimeter of the bottom floor.

 

[oops!]

Re: Baught a new boat (fiberglass/gelcoat cracks)

actually....car guys doin boats is one of my pet peeves.

the materials they use are not for boats.....the are for cars and the two are totally different.....i fix 10 "body jobs" on boats a year.....the all look good till they fail.

i see bondo on the bottom of boats all the time......
if a car rubbed the dock the way a boat does.,..it would be toast in a week.....hit a car door with a shopping cart and theres a 200 repair....well....a boat hits the dock every day of its life.

if he is going to glass it and re gellcoat it......then no problem......but you best be sitting beside him when he does it....and 5-6 hours on that repair is just not possible.
and if the bondo comes out.....start screaming......nothin on the boat except fiberglass and gellcoat....forget the bondo kitty hair as well.

(if i see the pics correctly)....it looks about 4 feet long by 2 feet high......that means the repair is six feet by 3 feet.
the cracks in the glass will make the repair longer than what you can see.

 

[cnthinkoname]

Re: Baught a new boat (fiberglass/gelcoat cracks)

Thanks for your help so far! What did your other expert say?
So I would grind it down until I see no cracking, fiberglass it, sand it to match the level of the rest of the glass, and paint it?