Whaler Central - Boston Whaler Boat Information and Photos

Posted by Kayaken on 09/15/17 - 12:54 PM

So I'm making a lot of progress on prepping my 15' whaler exterior hull. Had the bottom farrow blasted and now doing final cleanup before repairs start.

What I did notice was on the port side, there was a rather large area that had cracks:

http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o...6mqhg.jpeg
http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o...6mqhg.jpeg

Questions is whether I should worry about this and grind out all the gelcoat and go through a full repair or if this is okay to leave as is.

Edited by Kayaken on 09/15/17 - 12:55 PM

Posted by Joe Kriz on 09/15/17 - 1:01 PM

Can't view your photos.

Photobucket has taken your photos hostage.
http://www.whalercentral.com/forum/vi...d_id=24176

Posted by Kayaken on 09/15/17 - 1:07 PM

Thanks!

Let's try again with Google:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/oyB1GWmy78v...y78vFdMyv2
https://photos.app.goo.gl/gZXpRbJ7oTv...7oTvkKEx82

Just as a point of reference, the boat is flipped over and the rubrail lip is at the top of the pictures. :)

Posted by Phil T on 09/15/17 - 1:18 PM

Are they cracks or scratches? Never seen horizontal cracks like that.

Are they thin, in the gelcoat, or can you see the green of the fiberglass?

Posted by Kayaken on 09/15/17 - 1:24 PM

They are definitely thin in the gelcoat. Can't see the green of the fiberglass. The boat did have some damage along the length of the rubrail. Almost like the boat had rubbed against a dock along the length. I've fixed the areas along the rubrail but didn't notice these cracks until after the paint was completely removed. It doesn't look like there was any direct impact point where the cracks are radiating from either.

Posted by NJjohnmontauk17 on 09/15/17 - 3:16 PM

If they are scratches, can you sand them out? If they are real minor your barrier coat / high build primer will probably fill them with enough coats. If slightly deeper you could use a fairing compound. and sand smooth.
If they are cracks, you could grind with a small dremel tool to good gelcoat (not necessary to go to the fiberglass) and fill with Marinetex epoxy and then sand smooth.

Posted by Kayaken on 09/15/17 - 7:04 PM

They almost seem like stress cracks from an impact to the entire side. Doesn't look like it is significant enough to warrant grinding it out. Just wanted to make sure that I wasn't overthinking this. Thanks for your reassurances. Don't know what I would do without all the kind people on this site.