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I'm new to all of this, so please bear with me. Tops on my bucket list was to own a Boston Whaler for fishing and cruising. I just purchased a 1978 15' Sport that has some spider cracks on the interior. Is there a common fix for this?
Craig in windy Kansas

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Craig -

Congratulations on your purchase. You will love your Sport 15.

Spider cracks are normal and expected for older boats. My 1976 Sport 15 has some of these on the gunwales and a few other places. They are cosmetic and have no structural effect as they only affect the gel coat. This happens because the gel coat contains no tension members whereas the fiberglass does (i.e. the glass fibers). Another factor is that polyester resin shrinks as it cures and throughout it's lifespan. The only way to permanently repair these is to sand off the old gel coat and either reapply new gel coat or another finish such as Interlux or Awlgrip. I'm a perfectionist and initially wanted to take this approach; however, I also wanted to try to keep the boat as original as possible during my restoration so I ended leaving them and learning to live with them. Good luck with your project.

Bill

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I had a few small spider cracks on my 1996 13' Sport.
I took a small drimmel and widened the cracks with a tapered bit.
Then just brushed in Gel Coat, sanded and polished.
Gone, looks good.

Doug

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Thanks, Bill. I read many articles when I was researching Whalers and was concerned that the cracks would contribute to getting the hull waterlogged. Your answer put my mind at rest. I am one very excited fella...expect to put it in the water tomorrow.
Craig

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Thanks, Doug. By the way, how do I get my boat and motor information below my posts like y'all do? Again, remember I'm a newbie.
Craig

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There might be a small possibility that the underlying fiberglass wasn't completed saturated with polyester when it was laid down allowing water entry but I think the chances of that are small. If the gel coat is damaged/cracked and the fiberglass is exposed on the underside of the hull I would definitely repair that. You can repair the spider cracks as described by Doug but my understanding is that they will tend to recur. Others here have more experience with this than me and will likely comment.

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You have to go to your profile I beleive and it's part of a signature option.

Find the signature option and input information you would like to show at the bottom of your posts.

Also, click show my Signature in post.

Doug