crack aft of the shaft strut

[Tom Glennon]

This weekend I had the opportunity to check out "Slowdance" my 1987 vintage 34, after being hauled for the Winter.  During my inspection of the hull, I detected a hairline crack aft of the shaft strut about 5 inches back, running port to starboard, on the rounded part of the "skeg".  What brought it to my attention, was the presence of water droplets, which I thought were coming from the crack. Later, before leaving, the area seemed to dry, no drops.

I scraped away the bottom paint about two inches either side of the crack, felt the shaft strut.... which appeared to be tight with no movement.

My question is... has anyone else experienced anything like this? Does this crack warrant grinding out? Just hate the thought of having to grind thru the gelcoat... but will do if necessary.

[dgill]

I too have a 1987.  Last winter the same crack appeared.  I ground the area down enough to allow room for West System Epoxy to be applied.  Then I primed with Primocon from Interlux and two coats of bottom paint.  At haul out last week, no crack is evident.  I was told by some that the crack was nothing to worry about, but filling it seemed like the right thing to do.   :)

[Ray & Sandy Erps]

I had a similar experience with my previous boat and it turned out to be a crack developing in the fairing compound around the bronze strut that was cosmetic only and not structural.

[Tom Glennon]

Thank you gentlemen for your replys.... I assumed that it was just the "fairing" around the strut, but, wanted to get some feed back... I'll grind it down in the spring and refill with epoxy...