Concerns over stress cracks

[gtochris]

Our 1999 Wellcraft Excalibur is a lake boat without bottom paint, For the first few years it was rack stored and the hull appeared to take some beating from forklift use (the strikes/ rear of hull are beat up) and then it was on a roller trailer and now, a bunk.
I've noticed a series of scratches, this one is the most concerning since it's a complete circle, it looks worse since when I took the photo the hull was still dirty so the scum was in the scratch, my fingernail doesn't get caught in it so it's not deep but it's there... This is under the engine area. I was knocking around with my knuckle and it sounds the same in this area as the other side that doesn't have this damage.

I'm considering sanding the hull and painting it with some type of white bottom paint/ sealer, I've also noticed some other imperfections popping up since it's in the water 6 months a year now, Any product or process recommendations?
Thanks,
-Chris

 

[gm280]

gtochris, I would certainly investigate that a lot further. I see the marks you talked about from the forklift and such, but that circular one is something different to me. It looks like a more serious issue under the finish. So I would do some more investigation to determine what other issues you may have. But that is my uneducated opinion.

 

[shaw520]

Yea,.. those stress cracks would concern me as well,.. could be that soggy stringers are flexing enough to crack shell,.. I would think that you would see the deck moving if it were that bad. I once took a 1979 Seville out for a sea trial and the stringers were so bad that the entire floor/deck would visibly flex on choppy water..

 

[gtochris]

I actually don't have any stringers under that area, it's the bilge which has a little bit of paint flake but nothing serious. My bilge is almost always completely dry due to the full mooring cover. The boat performs VERY strong, solid, and runs as fast as the specs when new (55), it sits level in the water so I don't think I have critical structural issues. It was abused quite hard before we bought it and required 20+ hours of sanding/ polishing to get it back to showroom condition. The roller trailer also had minimal rollers which probably didn't help.
Here is another photo from another area, Since this scratch I pointed out earlier is mild in terms of depth and nothing underneith I can do, what type of proactive protection and procedure should I do to the hull?

When growing up my father had a Regal and the dealer applied a protective type of paint that wasn't ablative, it was like a latex skin and worked well for protecting the hull.
On my Stingray that came with chipping black bottom paint, I sanded it and applied white ablative bottom paint, (I don't want that type of finish) but it was effective as a barrier coat for that boat.

 

[Woodonglass]

Roller Trailers, Forklifts, etc. can all contribute to these issues. How will the boat be stored in the future? In or out of the water? You don't need bottom paint unless your boat spends all of it's time in the water...Check this out...http://blog.boattrader.com/2012/03/bottom-paint-for-freshwater-boats.html
As for the cracks, The proper repair, IMO, would be to use a dremel with a V-cutting bit.to groove them out, then clean well with acetone and fill with Gelcoat paste.

 

[gm280]

I would totally agree with WOG. But if you don't take care of whatever is causing those stress cracks, your repairs will only be short lived. JMHO

 

[gtochris]

Roller Trailers, Forklifts, etc. can all contribute to these issues. How will the boat be stored in the future? In or out of the water? You don't need bottom paint unless your boat spends all of it's time in the water...Check this out...http://blog.boattrader.com/2012/03/bottom-paint-for-freshwater-boats.html
As for the cracks, The proper repair, IMO, would be to use a dremel with a V-cutting bit.to groove them out, then clean well with acetone and fill with Gelcoat paste.

Good article, thanks!
We have owned the boat for 3 years now and it spends May-October in the freshwater at the dock. So many choices in what product to use! From my experience, I want something that is user friendly, durable, white, doesn't rub off when putting the boat on the trailer, and going to create a barrier coat to protect the hull and boat.

 

[gm280]

gtochris, if you figure out what initially caused the stress cracks and remedy that situation first, then you can repair them and happy boating. But if you merely repair them and continue doing what you've been doing, I see more cracks in the future. JMHO

 

[Woodonglass]

Check out these paints...http://supermarinepaint.com/marinepaint/pc/Boat-Bottom-Paints-c3.htm
They are NOT inexpensive but from what I've heard, very durable.