Stress Cracks?? Is this an issue? Pics Added!

[justcatchin]

New boat owner! After 13 years, I finally got the Boss to allow me to purchase a used boat. I have been reading the forums here for about a month and have enjoyed many of the posts. Just decarbed the engine last night and will do again this afternoon before heading to the lake. The boat is a 1987 AstroGlass 195V fish / ski with a 150 Evinrude. When purchasing I noticed some cracks in the gel coat. I asked the guy about them and he said they were just cracks as I had thought. Well, after a few trips I noticed one of the cracks had grown and even chipped out some. I can see the glass below the exterior / gel coat. Does anyone think this is a major problem or just cosmetic? The cracks are on the top half above the seam where the boat splits on the port side only. Will post some pics when I can figure it out! Thanks.

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Stress Cracks?? Is this an issue?

Re: Stress Cracks?? Is this an issue?

Hello JC.. and welcome to Iboats.

We await those pics

Im twitchen to answer..but I might be caught with the foot-in-mouth post..

So en lieu .. I would say you know more at this point then we do.. Look at surrounding damage. If its just in the gel then its no biggie at this time. However If its still spreading to more " technical " areas you may want to address it soon.

YD.

 

[justcatchin]

Re: Stress Cracks?? Is this an issue?

Re: Stress Cracks?? Is this an issue?

Here are the pics!

 

[ajgraz]

Re: Stress Cracks?? Is this an issue? Pics Added!

Wow, when you said "stress cracks" I was thinking some spider cracks...that looks like something more to me.

First, of all, I'd wonder what's causing that. Is that perhaps right below where maybe you step on the gunwale to enter the boat?

Second, I'd want to see how extensive that is. Can you get your head up under the gunwale and see the glass from behind, or is it an enclosed space or filled with foam? Can you see whether the underlying glass is flexing or creasing there? Or is "blistering" out like it's delaminating?

How ever you decide to repair that, I'd think matching up that metal flake gel coat is gonna be tough

 

[justcatchin]

Re: Stress Cracks?? Is this an issue? Pics Added!

Yes, it is right by the ladder and is the best place to jump in. It is a pretty tight spot, i will have to stand on my head to passibly see in there. I was thinking if it is not a big problem i would fill the cracks with epoxy or something and then, put a piece of slip resistant stuff over to keep the kids from slipping when they jump into the water.

 

[ajgraz]

Re: Stress Cracks?? Is this an issue? Pics Added!

Epoxy to fill the crack and something like 3M anti-skid tape to cover it would fix the cosmetics, yes, but I'd first want to know if the fiberglass is flexing or creasing along that crack when weight is applied.

 

[justcatchin]

Re: Stress Cracks?? Is this an issue? Pics Added!

Yeah, I don't want to patch anything until I determine the cause. I'll jump on it tonight and report back what I see. I have been on the water 3 or 4 times since I first noticed and it has not grown.

 

[justcatchin]

Re: Stress Cracks?? Is this an issue? Pics Added!

OK, looked under the gunwale and as far as i can see no cracking on the inside. The glass looks solid. I could only feel the part where the crack is and I felt no crack. I put all my weight over this area and could not see any movement. Then I pushed around the crack with my hand and still no movement. The part that is cracked is vert thin, I assume this is an exterior shell over the glass??? I really appersiate all the help trying to identify my problem and whoever fixed my giant pic!

 

[eyes4u]

Re: Stress Cracks?? Is this an issue?

Re: Stress Cracks?? Is this an issue?

I would not take a passive approach to these cracks. I actually bought a 1990 astroglass from a friend after we just about capsized over what looked like minor cracks. I bought the boat for the engine (also a 150 E-Rude) and trailer. It turned out that the "minor" cracks were just the surface of a larger problem. The hull turned out to be shot!!!! My friend was the only owner of the boat. It was meticulously maintained, not abused, and it ended up in the landfill. I sincerely hope that your problem is not even close to what we experienced.

 

[jonesg]

Re: Stress Cracks?? Is this an issue? Pics Added!

Look at pic#1 closely,

there are lateral cracks in the silver glasswork too and the rubrail is marked.
It looks like it took a whack.

 

[dls322]

Re: Stress Cracks?? Is this an issue? Pics Added!

Slap on a "No fat chicks allowed" bumper sticker over it and your good to go!!!

Joking!!!!

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Stress Cracks?? Is this an issue? Pics Added!

Hello JC..

Well the thing with clear coated metal flake gel is its basically Impossible to match..

There are "tricks" with the base you have to do and air pressure, size of flake, Clear etc..

Those bass boats ( or jets ) are a real PITA to fix where you cannot tell too much that a repair has been done..

Would it be possible to do the repairs ( with glass/fill type filler ) then prep that width around your boat and spray a solid color ( or flake paint ) that would look ok with your boat ?

Im tellin ya.. your gonna play hell with Cleared over metal flake gel repair m8.....

YD.

 

[justcatchin]

Re: Stress Cracks?? Is this an issue? Pics Added!

jonesg.. I believe you are talking about the black stripe below the red flake. This is only a pin stripe not the rub rail, it is about 4 inches below, (out of the pic). There is a crack there and may very well have taken a wack.

dls322.. Picked up the sticker onthe way home.

YD.. Not to worried about fixing the paint just yet. Most of the gel coat is gone and the paint is oxidized. Not a big fan of red anyway, may have to paint orange and black to suppoer my boys! Main concern now is if this a problem or not. Sounds like most of you guys have the same concerns as I do, just need to figure out the cause. Any more ideas? Thanks for the help.

 

[justcatchin]

Re: Stress Cracks?? Is this an issue? Pics Added!

Well I took the boat to a guy that does fiberglass repair yesterday. He was of the opinion that the cracks were not due to and structural issues and the boat was safe. The cracks are mostlikely from air voids in the exterior coat that did not connect to the glass. From use and age the the cracks are starting to show. He liked the idea if filling with epoxy and then covering with a non slip tape to cover the blemishes. Thanks for all of the input. Later