| Fever502 |
I have a 1992 27' Fever. I am the second owner of the boat.
I noticed at the beginning of the season a crack in the gel coat behind the drivers seat next to the the windshield.
I was cleaning the boat after using it today and I found a small piece of gel coat missing where the crack started.
I also found a small spot of gel coat missing below the rubrail.
This is directly below the crack by the side of the windshield.
Has anyone seen this before?
Does anyone have any experience with repairs done by Fountain?
Can anyone recommend a reputable shop in Maryland who can fix it? |
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| u4ea32 |
Gel coat cracks. Its much more brittle than fiberglass.
Wherever the boat flexes, the gel coat will crack.
Its very easy to fix the gel coat, its impossible to keep it from cracking in places where the fiberglass flexes much.
Gel coat has only two purposes: make it easy to get the fiberglass part out of the mold, and as a cheap way to finish (paint) a fiberglass surface. Gel coat has absolutely zero structural contribution, and it also does nothing to keep water away from the laminate: gel coat is less waterproof than most resins.
Therefore, ignoring gel coat cracks until you find a good gel coat repair person, or develop the skills yourself (very easy) will result in ZERO problems later.
Gel coat is similar to other resin systems in that its two part, and there are additives to alter the final material somewhat. Gel coat can be mixed so its more flexible. That's probably what you should do.
It is easy to fix, and so should be inexpensive to fix. Call boat dealers, as they need to have gel coat fixes done all the time and so will have someone they can recommend.
Also, call a local fiberglass fabrication shop. A guy who built Robbie the Robot for some movie did some work for me once, it was great and cheap.
Or read up on it, buy some, play with a couple of batches, and you can do it yourself.
Its like working with thick paint or thin plaster. Grind out the cracked material, sand it smooth, mix gel coat, spread it on, let it harden, sand a little, polish it smooth. |
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| 32storm |
| Something needs to be reinforced. Check to see where flexing is occurring in that area. Once you fix the cause of the flex, the gelcoat will be simply a cosmetic repair from there. |
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| sunsation98 |
remember ............. ah....never mind!
Drive it like you stold it! |
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