GEL COAT CRAZING

[Jim Brener]

I noticed some gel coat crazing on the outside face of the toe rail, long horizontal thin cracks. I had this problem with my old C-22 and never found a good repair technique.  Has anyone had success dealing with this problem?

[SteveLyle]

Here's a Don Casey article on crack repairs:

http://www.sailnet.com/collections/gearandmaintenance/index.cfm?articleID=caseyd0042%20%20&coll_cat=Hull&Coll_name=Hull%20and%20Deck

[Stu Jackson]

Jim

Steve's idea is great and I'll bet there's quite a bit more on the web if you try a Google search.

There is also an excellent article in the April 2005 Cruising World magazine by Bruce Bingham, well written and with pictures!

[John Langford]

Interesting thread. I have a 1999 Mk 11 which has gelcoat crazing in a small area on the port side of the swim platform on the transom. The dealer insists that the problem is that the gelcoat is too thick in this spot and cracks or crazes instead of flexing.  I back into my slip and place a bumper at this point which has contacted the dock occasionally but certainly no harder than the kind of contact the sides of the hull have with the dock (via a bumper) all the time.

The Casey article suggests that crazing is always a sign of underlying structural weakness and that after the weakness is sorted out, painting the area is the only solution. That clearly won't work here. I don't think the stucture is unsound and I certainly don't want to paint. So I am not sure how to fix the crazing. Any ideas?

[Stu Jackson]

John

I don't particularly agree with Casey about underlying structural defects.  many of the crazed areas I have seen (other than some crew! ) are around stanchion bases.  One other place is near the traveler and dorade fiberglass assembly where the cabintop and the fiebrglass assembly meet - most likely from hull flexing on an almost 90 degree joint.  There surely is plenty of support at the stanchion bases, and at the traveler assembly.  The Mark IIs don't have the dorades, but there is some fiberglass build up for the traveler track.

Rather, I would consider that the gel coat may happen to simply be too thin at those spots or subject to more wear and tear, causing the crazing because people tend to pull on stanchions.  Consequently, it could very well be that the site of your crazing may be near the swim ladder connection.  I'm not that familiar with the geometry of the sterns of the Mark IIs, so can't tell without a picture.  Since the gel coat is merely the last thin surface coat, that could be your issue.  I would doubt that the dealer knows more about it than Don Casey.  How big is the crazing, and is it anywhere near the swim ladder?  Any chance of a picture?

All the best,

[John Langford]

Thanks for the thoughts folks. My transom crazing is quite far from the ladder attachment. I will try to capture it on my digital camera and post a picture.