Small cracks in gelcoat near the shroud base - problem or benign?

[schmidla]

Hi, just looking for some opinions on small cracks in the gelcoat near the shroud base of a late 80s, heavy displacement 42 ft monohull, cutter rigged. Barring any major issues revealed in the survey, I will be purchasing this boat. The vessel is in overall very good condition inside and out, and has been owned by the same owner for the last 10 years and continually maintained and upgraded.

The current owner has disclosed some small cracks in the gelcoat so that there are no surprises.

Any thoughts on whether these look like normal cracks from 30 years of normal hull stress and brittle gelcoat, or if it represents a larger problem? The current owner is reporting that these cracks have been there since they purchased the boat themselves 10 years ago and have not noticeably changed or grown.

Thanks!

[Tetepare]

Looks like nothing. Deck saturation is usually caused by deck fittings that penetrate. That’s what always concerns me and had prevented purchases.

[George_SD]

i have a ton of small gel-coat cracks on a boat from 2005. UV + use = small cracks. Especially anywhere there is tension and flexing.

[JPA Cate]

I am not an expert, but what I see here concerns me.

In the first pic, the two cracks show that there has been quite a lot of movement there. One crack looks like it continues from the bottom right corner, under the white plate under the s/s cover for the deck penetration, and comes out in front of it to the left. The other crack there goes from the bottom right corner up to beyond the top right corner. In the second pic, maybe not so much.

I wonder if the owner ever marked and measured the cracks and kept a record of frequent inspection? so he could show someone. Any sign of water damage underneath, on the inside of the boat?

How one finds out how bad these are is to thump around with a hammer. Does the tap sound sharp, but then go dull as you approach the deck penetration? If dull, is it wet inside? If it is your boat, you might try grinding down one of the cracks to see if it stops at the gelcoat level. Gelcoat repair is fairly straightforward: there are repair kits, and you follow the directions. Getting the color match can be done, takes some practice, and there are instructions online.

If it is not your boat, but you want to buy it, get three fiberglass work people to give you estimates for the repairs.

What you don't want to happen is pull the chainplates out through the deck. Moisture in cored decks weakens them.

Ann

[Celestialsailor]

Good grief...nothing more than brittle gelcoat under a little stress and therefore cracking. I've seen gelcoat crack just because it was applied to thick. Gelcoat has almost zero flexibilty since it has no actual glass fibers in it.

[gamayun]

This is my non-professional opinion after almost 10 years of figuring what's happening with these sorts of things on my boat. It doesn't appear to be a big deal - right now - but it is a warning sign that there's flexing going on and that's never good for the long run. I'd check underneath to see if these are bolted through and if there's a backing plate (or large washers) holding down the base. It might be that they have loosened over time and just need to be tightened and that looseness is what is causing the fiberglass to crack. The concerning thing is whether these are just screwed into the fiberglass or if the bolts are captured inside that "tophat." I guess I'd want to know if they can be tightened or not.

[Don C L]

Gelcoat cracks, I got a million of them. BUT check for leaks! If those cracks are indicative of leaks down onto a bulkhead and there is some rot there...now THAT I'd be concerned about. I kinda doubt it looking at your photos. I think Bob's yer uncle personally.

[GordMay]

I agree /w those who say, 'no big deal', just normal stress cracks.
One feature I like, is the raised 'housekeeping pad', which insures that the penetration is never submerged in standing water.

[gonesail]

those cracks could be caused by the weight of feet walking on the deck in close proximity to the fitting .. causing microscopic flexing and thus you get the gel coat cracks. the surveyor should do a moisture reading there. your decision.

[tkeithlu]

Note not the size of the cracks but their shape. Their shape is consistent with their being due to the plate lifting at the after end. Without getting too far into the could bes and the shouldn't bes, I think that these cracks are a sign that further exploration is needed. They may be nothing, but they could be something, and the something could be pretty disasterous in a high wind. Don't dismiss it, don't immediately cry OMG, but find out whether there is a problem lurking here. Ann has given you a good guide to resolving the issue.

[Hartleyg]

Our 20-yo Tayana 48 has a number of similar cracks in several locations around the deck. The ones near the port chainplate were much more numerous, so I ground down the gelcoat to see why. What I found was that the intersection included a number of epoxy putty fillets and some gelcoat that was definitely applied long after the piece came out of the mold (it looked quite similar in form to yours, albeit larger). The deck was without any cracks, so I redid the cosmetics and let it go.

I would be MUCH more concerned with the state of the seal around the chainplate - if that breaks down, you WILL get corrosion of the chainplate SS. Remember that the chainplate is not affixed to the deck, but to the hull structure/bulkhead underneath, so some flexing of the seal is normal - and you don't want it breaking down. On our Tayana, the "seal" consisted of some sort of synthetic fiber packing with a thin coat of black goop on top of it - once the covering goop failed (at around 15 years), the fiber packing held saltwater against the SS chainplate, with predicable effect.


Good Luck!


Hartley
S/V Atsa

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Hartleyg

I would be MUCH more concerned with the state of the seal around the chainplate - if that breaks down, you WILL get corrosion of the chainplate SS.

Not to mention possible water intrusion into the core of the decks "if" the manufacturer did not remove the core in the chainplate area. And if they did (which is the proper way of construction) this causes a little more flexing than it would in a cored area...hence stress cracking.
You'll notice the replies from people here who have f/g vessels are not making a big deal of it.

[Searles]

Inspect from the inside ,how are the chain plates secured and to what ,if they are glassed over or signs of water ingress ,much more investigation is the order of the day,despite what others are saying there should be NO cracks or movement around chain plates .⛵️⚓️

[nortonscove]

In the second picture it appears some work has been undertaken before to the right of the plate. While it may be just cosmetic I'd consider a little investigation. If this boat is to ever experience freeze thaw cycles it might be worth rubbing something into these to protect against intrusion and expansion.

[bil56]

main question:
where and how are the chain plates tied inside ?