Topsides look like cracked egg

[fred4936]

Hello! We are looking at an older Pearson 35. The boat looks in pretty good shape, except that the entire topsides and transom look like a cracked egg. I am told this is largely a cosmetic issue. There are a few spots that certainly took some sort of impact, not surprising for a boat well over 40 years of age. I do wish to do some water sailing">blue water sailing. I am OK with some cosmetic issues, but I am wondering if all these cracks could lead to structural issues. Any advice would be appreciated! The boat we have now is in good shape, but would like a little more room, and this boat turned up locally. Thank you!

[SailFastTri]

Some good detailed pictures would help, otherwise you're going to get a lot of generalizations that won't apply.


However, you wrote the boat is "nearby" your Brookhaven NY location, so you should consider that the boat has seen water intrusion into the cracks and many freeze-thaw cycles. So it's likely got some degree of structural problems and (if cored) possible rot.

[boatpoker]

Guess without photos .......This hull is not cored. Most likely cosmetic due to over catalysed resin and extremely difficult (read mega bucks) to repair.

[JC Reefer]

Mega bucks to fix is correct. The bigger issue is that it will only get worse with time. Maybe cosmetic this year but eventually water will get through and be absorbed by fiberglass and whatever core was used. On the bright side, it is a slow process and you might be able to use her for your purpose.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by JC Reefer

Mega bucks to fix is correct. The bigger issue is that it will only get worse with time. Maybe cosmetic this year but eventually water will get through and be absorbed by fiberglass and whatever core was used. On the bright side, it is a slow process and you might be able to use her for your purpose.

Remember, no photos. .....Sounds like gel crazing to me. Does not mean the laminate is compromised.... hire a surveyor.

There is no core in the hull of that model.

[guyrj33]

The hull is not cored, but the deck of the Pearson 35 is most likely balsa cored.
There is a very real possibility of water intrusion in the deck core around fittings on the deck and as others have stated the gel coat crazing (if that's what it is) increases the chance of water compromising the deck structure.
I suggest measuring with a moisture meter and sounding with a plastic hammer.

[Ken Z]

Most pearsons, that I worked on have marineply on decks and cabin tops covered with multi layered glass. A lot of times cracks start at bolt holes, lifelines, cleats etc. where there is water intrusion and the ply rots out , shrinks and allows the glass to be unsupported thus cracking. If its soft when you push on it its rotten under the glass. A picture would help.

[fred4936]

Thank you all for the tremendous replies! The hull is not cored, so at least that is not as bad as it could be. The deck issues are a good point. I did walk on them (back when it was warmer), and they seem fine. The PO did repair about a two ft. section of deck core issue. I will take your advice and call a surveyor. If the gel coat has to be ground down, then that is more work than I am willing to do. The asking price is very low, so some effort is expected. The Tartan 27-2 I have now is in the same boatyard, so I will take pictures next time I am over there. I will also look at all the deck fittings. Thanks again to everyone!

[Cheechako]

I doubt they are structural. Fine line Gel cracks are pretty typical. Some boats worse than others though. It could be age, or it could be too hot a gel mix when it was made. Ask yourself if you can live with the look long term though, painting an entire deck is not cheap!
Gel crazing alone is not going to result in water in the core. Every old boat out there has some.

[boatpoker]

If you decide to get a moisture meter, read this first Moisture Meter Mythology.

I wrote this some years ago and have been meaning to update as I have found a $40 meter that is better than most of the others shown in the article and the equal of $700 meters. Ryobi pinless meter from Home Depot. I have a collection of some very expensive meters but this is the one I rely on.

[thomm225]

If the topsides are not soft, it's probably fine.

My boat has quite a lot of cracks/crazing also on the topside/decks but they haven't moved much in last six years plus that I've owned it. My boat has no soft spots on the decks

[hellosailor]

If the deck repair got all the bad material, and the rest is just gel coat spidering, you have alternatives. Yes, a proper repair would mean grinding it down and recoating. But it might be sufficient to open up the cracks enough to clean them out, and then applying something like one epoxy coat to ensure moisture was kept out, followed by a textured anti-skid coat, which can hide a lot of cracking at a lower cost than all the regrinding.

That's a kludge, the cracks may still continue or telegraph through, but it all comes down to how you feel about it. Whether it is a cosmetic issue, whether you can live with whatever the appearance will be (cracks or not) versus the cost of the boat.

The only good thing about needing to recoat the deck, one way or the other, is that if you're doing it properly and stripping off all the hardware, you also get the chance to make sure it is all rebedded properly, and that stops all the usual nuisance leaks in an old boat.

[Cavalier]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

The only good thing about needing to recoat the deck, one way or the other, is that if you're doing it properly and stripping off all the hardware, you also get the chance to make sure it is all rebedded properly, and that stops all the usual nuisance leaks in an old boat.

This is a really good point - I'm just completing a similar process. Once i'd determined that the gel-crazing was just that, and that there was no obvious damage to the glass, I cleaned up the worse areas, dremelled out the cracks into a "V", filled, sanded and re-shot gelcoat on the worst-affected areas, and sanded back to blend into the original gel coat. If you're prepared, it doesn't take that much time at all - you also get the added benefit of removing, cleaning, and reseating all of the surrounding hardware!

[roverhi]

Except for a section of the foredeck center line, the deck of a Pearson 35 is balsa cored. My deck had some crazing and poorly repaired holes from long retired hardware. Fortunately for me the core rotting leaks that plague many other mfg's older boats was non existant on my boat. Most of the highly stressed areas like life line stanchions and pulpits were attached in non cored areas or only had one or two fasteners that could have leaked. Fortunately the PO's didn't use any sillycone so no leaks from that spawn of the devil either.

When I had the deck painted, started grinding the gelcoat down to fiberglass. The painter told me "no" need to mess with grinding off the GelCoat or otherwise messing with the crazing/cracks. He said that he used AwlGrip epoxy primer and that it filled the cracks and they wouldn't return. 5 years later still no sign of any of the crazing coming back.

As far as worrying about the crazing causing core issues, I wouldn't be. Have owned two boats older than 30 years and neither has had any issues from crazing/cracks in the gel coat. Fasteners are another story especially in my current boat where the PO believed that you cured leaks with sillycone and if it didn't work first time keep applying it till either 3M ran out of the nasty stuff or he died. Fortunately for the boat, the latter came first.

If you have the time and inclination, epoxy filling the core around all the fasteners will go a long way to ensuring the boat will out last you.

Epoxying fastener holes.

If you want to do a permanent fix for any fastener through a cored deck do this.

1. Drill your holes through the outer laminate only. You don't want to go through the interior laminate if you can help it. If you drill through the inner laminate you'll have to deal with the gap between the liner and deck that will allow resin to run out the bottom. If you do drill through and can get at the backside, use duct tape or other seriously sticky tape to seal the hole. Don't even think about using masking tape and you know how I learned that. If there is a liner, best thing is use a suitable hole saw and cut a large enough hole that you can use tape to seal the inner laminate closed. Fill the hole you’ve cut in the liner with plugs available from McMaster Carr https://www.mcmaster.com/#snap-in-plugs/=1a8svq4

2. Get a Dremel tool with a Dremel 199 bit.
https://www.amazon.com/Dremel-199-Hi...ds=dremel+1993.
Cut the Dremel bit into the hole at as close to a 90 degree angle as you can. This makes for a very minimal enlargement of the drilled puka to maintain deck integrity and hopefully the fitting will cover any damage to the gelcoat. Once the bit is cut in, raise the tool to vertical and rout out the core. I’ve tried the bent nail, sharpened Allen wrench, etc, without a lot of success. The Dremel 199 bit works way better, less damage to the gel coat and easy to do for fastener pukas. If you’ve other that just s fastener puka, the other tools might work better though not for me.

3. Once that's done, vacuum out the hole. Dill a syringe with epoxy resin and fill the hole. This soaks the resin into all the void to be sure the core is completely sealed. Have discovered that West Systems has a very slow catalyst (#209) that will allow you to fill a bunch of pukas without the resin kicking in temps over 70 degrees. Use the regular slow hardener (#206) if temp is much below 80 degrees or the epoxy will take forever to go off. If you need the fast catalyst (#205) it’s too cold to be working and wait for spring.
https://www.westsystem.com/the-105-s...ins-hardeners/

4. Suck out as much of the resin as you can and mix with a structural filler like West 404. Reinject the thickened epoxy into the puka.

5. After the resin has set redrill the hole. The thickened epoxy makes an incompressible base for the fasteners. Personally believe that most of the leaks into deck core is because the installer puts too much torque on the fastener and compresses the core.

6. Finish by chamfering the edge of the hole with a counter sink bit. The chamfer allows for a thick donut of whatever sealant you use around the fastener shaft. That goes a long way to insuring that the fastener won’t leak again. Whether you decided to do the epoxy thing or not, chamfering the edge of the fastener puka is a must for any hope of a leak free install of any fastener.

[scottydaum]

I am not quite sure if the "cracked egg" thing you are talking about is in the gelcoat, or if it might be the result of a really old, possibly poorly prepared and applied paint job.
If the surface was poorly prepared, ie not properly cleaned, not properly sanded, or maybe the paint itself was not properly mixed, or the proper chemicals used it can cause "craZing" where the paint does not expand and contract at the same rate as the substrate it is applied to, and it cracks or separates in the process.
I have seen some really nasty situations where someone tried to save a few buck and used the wrong kind of paint (house paint), or over-thinned the paint trying to stretch it out and the paint film thickness is not thick enough to perform the way it is supposed to.
If any version of this is the case it would still require a complete sanding and repainting but NOT stripping the gelcoat.
And then again I could be wrong.