Skater uses less gelcote than most manufacturers and is also why they all have "print-thru".

As far as the cracks, I'd say it all depends where the cracks are.

also stress cracks aren't necessarily a sign of a poorly built boat. lets face it some of us run these things for what they were meant for. you can only ask so much of that thin little layer of colored polyester and boats DO flex. I wouldn't write a boat off because of some stress cracks. just have it looked at by a professional (a glass guy if ya can find one), get a survey.

My PowerPlay has some, I took it to a structural shop and they said no problem. They pointed out a few interesting items, first some of my cracks are in the black paint, they said the sun cooks the gelcoat much more in the dark colors and they are more prone to cracking. Also, although vacuum bagging is good, sometimes in areas where there is a tight radius it pulls more out of the area than would a hand layed boat, hence those areas flex more and the gel just cracks after a while. Interesting what a qualified repair professional tells you vs. the marketing people at the boat companies LOL!! They suggested repairing the gel mixed with a vinylester resin instead of a gp resin because it flexes more (if I understood him properly).

22 mils max!!!(gel coat thickness) Thanks Brian !!

Right on the money Speed Doc, anywhere from 18 to 22 mils.
Yes, mainly strees crack occurs near or on an edge or radius, the less radius the more of a chance you'll have for stress.
One thing we do at Latitude Powerboats other than the right amount of gel we use Armour Coat Vinyllester resin (more money not everyone use this) and we also do the first lay up with vinyllester, and in top of that we bond our deck to the hull 360* plus everywhere we can get our hand to, like stringers and bulkheads. After all 99% of strees cracks are found on the deck.:cool: