Got the deck crack blues.

[partingclouds]

Along the edges of the recessed jib track are long cracks in the deck. Would grinding into them and filling the void with 3M 5200 be a sufficient repair, or do I pull the whole track, grind to glass along the whole thing and epoxy in a layer of cloth over it? There's lots of stress there when under sail and the devil's glue is flexible, so I thought it might be better than epoxy. Ideas are welcome.

[Bill O]

Not that it helps you w/your crack, but do you have any backing plates on your tracks? If not, you may want install them to help disperse the load, otherwise your stress cracks may return after you do a repair.

Pictures would be a great help, but it the mean time I'll just as a couple more questions. Was this the original track by the manufacturer or has the position been changed? Is the deck ply or something reinforced in the track area?

[partingclouds]

Bill O,
It's original track with backing plates beneath, solid fibreglass decks. It's a Doug Peterson built heavy, an ocean racer.

[Bill O]

Are the cracks deep or just gelcoat cracks? Are they on both side decks or just one side? If only one side, check for a structural issues.

Don't think I would use 5200. Would probably v out the cracks to see how deep they are then use high strength filler w/epoxy or something like the high strength vinyl ester putty for a fill. Give that a go and see how it works, then if needed may need to lift up the track and glass.

[SV__Grace]

Don't use 5200! I use Captain Tolley's or Magic Ezy for small cracks and G Flex epoxy or marinetex for larger cracks, painting the exposed surface to closely match the gelcoat or use resin pigment.

Be sure to check underneath for leaks or water damage that will tell you that you need to remove the track and do more than a surface repair.

[guyrj33]

If and only if the cracks are only in the gel coat you could simply repair the gel coat with gel coat.
But if the cracks are deeper a structural repair is called for.
I strongly suggest using filled epoxy to repair the cracks.

Since you have a solid fiberglass deck and there has apparently been some flexing, you may want to consider a couple of layers of bi-axial added to the underside of the deck in this area. taper the layers to reduce hard spots.