Hey All,
Looking for some advice on what to do with these issues.
Have some spider cracks on an older 1985 Hull that had newer paint on it when i purchased it.
The spider cracks don't bother me but prob another sign so i'll attach a few pics.
Have a 3' (foot) paint splitting looking "crack" (pic attached) and two small holes mid to rear of the hull.
Boat does take on some water but most boats do, i'll run the bilge for 15 to 30 seconds with a 1000gph pump to rid some water after a 20 min planed ride and dont know if this is normal or not. Included pics of the billow cuz i know rotten rubber will allow water in but this one looks ok.
On the holes, crack i was told that 5200 would work and of course the other told me to redo the bottom asap/cant afford that expense right now.
Any help/ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks
Dave[ATTACH=CONFIG]533126[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]533127[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]533128[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]533129[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]533130[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]533131[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]533132[/ATTACH]

those look bad,, was it trailered?

Ouch/really....?....yes boat lives on a trailer - i've only hopped maybe two curbs since i've own it at slow speed...possible cause? And yes, as pics show had the tide sneak up on me while bar-en it up after Clearwater's offshore race a few months ago. Besides looking bad - Think this would cause her to take on water?[ATTACH=CONF[ATTACH=CONFIG]533136[/ATTACH]IG]533134[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]533135[/ATTACH]

some of that looks to have been 'fixed' before. Is the bottom flexing? what is the condition of the stringers/bulkheads? As for the bellows, if there is any question just replace them.GRanted its not a fun job, but when one fails and your boats half sunk hanging on the moring lines at the dock, doing bellows will seem like an easy job.

Oooohhhhh....

First, in my opinion, NO! Not all boat take on water! Actually they never should unless in the rain and cover gets soaked and so on... But being in water without rain, no water should come in, specially not from the hull!!!

Looking at. The pictures, im effraid your boat got wet in the layer of fiberglass, the transom wood, or stringer, or the balsa if any in the hull bottom...

So, before fixing, have a moisture meter reading done and see if boat has rot or delaminate... No need to fix outside if inside is soft and flexes or rotten...

Keep us posted, as i wish you don t have the problems i suspect you might have...

I hope im wrong!!!

yes will do the bellows soon. No, i don't know the condition prior to owning it but the last owner had many nice toys that he took care of.. he was heavy/couldn't even get in the small cabin, had a heart attack and his doc said lose some of the stress/toys so he sold this. Seats, all interior cockpit was painted and the hull looked amazing so yes, prob a cover up from prior issues. If had her high in the air a few times but smooth landing but yes the crack is conveniently right next to the mid bunker (see pics) - don't know if i can "fill this" with 5200 or it's worse than that/dangerous too. Oh, stringers are solid, ive put a trim pump in and spent many hours in the engine hatch. She's kept with a full cover on her and under a tarp that keeps most the sun/rain off the cover.

ok - sounds like good advice to me - will get that test done - thanks again for the advice...
Dave

is the "red color" a primer or is that what led you to believe it was damaged before..?

Hi I got your email on this and was finally able to see this pictures in this forum on another device. The photos look like typical gel coat crazing and peeling which is something that normally occurs over time. There may be a possibility that there is some previous fiberglass / gel coat repair, but that may be able to be confirmed with the use of thermal imaging (this would also confirm delamination or trapped water under the gel coat). I do have samples of thermal imaging on my website and the things it can find. Contact me if you want to discuss this further.

ok -thanks for the detailed feedback!
Dave