thinking of buying a 2008 boat, but it has spidering in the gel coat. Any advice?

I am thinking of buying a boat that is several hundred miles away, so I had the owner take pictures of any issues. One of the pictures he described as scratches around the fuel fill looked like cracks in the gel coat to me. Is this normal for a boat of this year? Should I be concerned? i am new to boating and could sure use some advice. Thanks.

Re: thinking of buying a 2008 boat, but it has spidering in the gel coat. Any advice

What kind of boat is it? Cheaper boats use cheap gel coat. I am not the most experienced boater on this forum but it seems early for a 2008 to be having gel coat issues. My boat is a 1994 and does not have any gel coat issues.

I have been told that gel coat spidering is only a cosmetic issue, but I will yield my opinion to someone with more experience.

Personally, I would walk away from this boat. I have seen much older boats with perfect finishes.

I am interested to find out the make and model.

Re: thinking of buying a 2008 boat, but it has spidering in the gel coat. Any advice

It is a Bayliner 197 deckboat.

Re: thinking of buying a 2008 boat, but it has spidering in the gel coat. Any advice

It might have gotten hit in that area, I would ask for more pics showing the left side of the photo.
If that is all that is wrong with the boat and it is priced right I would not let that stop me from purchase. My 2 cents.

Re: thinking of buying a 2008 boat, but it has spidering in the gel coat. Any advice

Not normal but probably not a big deal. I personally would pass unless the boat was either a very good deal or otherwise perfect.

Re: thinking of buying a 2008 boat, but it has spidering in the gel coat. Any advice

Right by the gas cap ... don't know why but to me that says someone bumped the pier hard. I'd want a better look at that area personally.

Re: thinking of buying a 2008 boat, but it has spidering in the gel coat. Any advice

I would look at the big picture... I had a 2006 Bayliner which had more than its fair share of spidering, however she never gave me a problem otherwise... I sencond the opinion that it might be related to build quality. I have now a 1999 Chris Craft that has very little spidering... To me this would probably not be a deal killer as long as the rest of the boat is in good shape... it might just be cosmetics... my 0.02...

Re: thinking of buying a 2008 boat, but it has spidering in the gel coat. Any advice

My 2005 Maxum has a few of those but all are ABOVE the rub rail so to me it's no big deal. Below the rub rail and I would look elsewhere.

Is the person who owns it now the original owner? If so, just ask if there were any hard knocks or something dropped that might have caused that.

If the mechanical systems of the boat have been maintained and you like the boat and the price is right, then go for it.

Mark

Re: thinking of buying a 2008 boat, but it has spidering in the gel coat. Any advice

Spidering in the gel? Hope to never see that.

Re: thinking of buying a 2008 boat, but it has spidering in the gel coat. Any advice

From my years of experience, I don't think there is such a thing as "cheap gel coat". Gel coat issues are usually because it was put on too thin or not properly cured before the hull was laid. Or, the hull was flexed a lot when it came out of the mold and before it was fully assembled.

Did Bayliner screw up the boat when they made it? Possible, but probably not.

The only screwed up boat I ever saw personally was mfg. by a company months before they went belly up. You KNOW they were not minding the store at that point.

The other common issue with gel cracks is lack of common sense. MY buddy NEVER went anything less than WOT, no matter what the seas were. 4 footers...no problem...full speed ahead. His boat was spidered all over...his subseqent tinny had leaking seams after 2 years.

I'd pass - its either a lemon or the PO was a lemon.

Re: thinking of buying a 2008 boat, but it has spidering in the gel coat. Any advice

Thanks for your advice. After further research and your comments, I decided to pass. Now the search continues.