stress cracks
 

Anyone get those nasty stress cracks over the cabin door?
Anyway to permanently fix them?
Anyway to avoid them (besides slowing down)?

They all get them, it's a bad design it should be a 45deg. angle not a 90.

Just put a nice bead of silicone on it.

dont sweat it!!

I was just thinking about posting a question about this.
I had a crack repaired last winter, it was located between the bottom of the cabin door and just to the left of the ice box, if you were standing in the cabin looking out the door.
the glass guy cut it out and reglassed, and gel coated the area, he also filled in the area between the cabin liner and the deck with resin and mat to "make it stronger" I also made a new door frame. It came out great.
This summer I hit one wave midships, and not only did the crack come back, worse than ever but it cracked the windshield as well.....so the boat must have flexed quite a bit.
I went back to the guy and got "well you know these boats bla bla bla......"
Does anyone have any insights as what to do from here??
Thanks
87 30SS

Buy a bigger Sonic!!! :D

Love- Gee I hadn't thought of that (NOT)
I am planning on it for 2005 season, but I want to finish up a couple of more projects on the ol'30 first. (and the house)

My '97 doesn't have any (yet-knock on simulated wood) and I run in rough stuff frequently.

I have a 42 and it's cracked at the top left.

That's what I'm talking about, Lapse. My 42 is cracked at the top left. Its like patio furniture. I cover it in the winter and it reappears in the spring.

They fixed mine for free and told me in the same breath that it wont last. It hasn't got any worse so I don't care but when I go to sell it I will touch it up some. I have had mine in some big chit where I was wondering if In was going to see my kids again and it stays the same so don't sweat it. My buddy who works for NASA was at Sonic with me when I was there and told Jay Ross that if he put a 45deg. angle on it, it should be fine. Jay said it would be to much to change the mold.

Even with a 45 it will crack. The problem is not the angle it's the fact that there is a sharp corner. If you change it to a 45 you will up with two potential crack points. What you need is a larg smooth radius. Any corner generates a stress riser and is more susceptible to a crack than a generous radius.

If you ever get a chance, take a look at the 38 PowerPlay and how Dan dealt with all the "corners" on the boat you will see what I mean. A couple of additional examples include Formula and Cobalt. Very large radii to manage the stress. No riser......no crack.

Part of the issue is the actual engineering (or lack of) that goes into most boats. They spend a lot of time on the hull, mainly through experience, and very little time (structurally) on the deck. It is built to look the way they want it to. Those that have an engineering staff and / or a lot of experience will pay attention to these details.

Sonic, when I was there, had Jay Ross and that was it. No engineering dept. etc. What I saw was Jay spent a lot of money developing the "liner" and not so much in the crack resistance of the boat. It has a lot of very sharp corners all over the boat. I really like the boat by the way.

So, if you have a crack it most likely originates in a corner and propagates from there. You can minimize it by replacing the sharp corner with a generous radius. But if the boat itself has a lot of flex, you are going to have cracks.

cracks
 

I looked at 2 used 386 sonics both 2002's.They both had cracks around the cabin doors and the dash had cracks all over it.Where the throttles came through the dash there were cracks.These were both lake boats,one from N.C. and the other from GA. I think ill keep my Fountain,Sonic's have too many issues for my.

If it was a crack in the hull I'd be worried. It's not, so like dyno said "don't sweat it"

heat wave. Is your real name Reggie Fountain?

Nice first post. I'll be sure to hinge all my future boat buying on your crack marine insight! :D

no fan
 

Iam no fan of Reggie but when Iam going to spend 200K on a toy i do my home work.I love the head room in a Sonic but that's about all I can say for the boat.I been to the boat shows been to the plant,looked at new and used.I wish you all the best of luck wth yours but I think if I got one it would be a older one.I think the older one were built much better,once again guys that is just me talking.BRING JAY BACK!!!!!!!

I don't to get into an argument, as I love Sonics but, I almost bought a '98 35 last summer until I got pictures of the crack in the liner to the left of the door at the bottom. It started in the cockpit and went thru to the cabin. Pretty wide too. The dealer said it hasn't got any bigger, but for the price I said no thanks. The previous owner had to have the door frame welded because of the crack. I wound up with a 33 outlaw. Just my .02.

Fountian, do not have cracks around a cabin door because they do not have cabins the have cuddies

:D :D :p

opinions
 

As we all know opinions are like a s s holes we all have one.I was a Fountain man but I have found that there is a lot more out there than a Fountain.I looked at my options,all of them and decided that Sonic was also not for me.Sorry if you all don't like my opinion but you all just need to go look at one.There like a women you pick up in a bar after midnight and wake up to someone in the morning and say OH MY GOD all cosmetic.Hey guys I love Formula's good win.

:eureka:

Thanks for the tip. I'll be sure not to get drunk at a Wampee bar before I buy a boat.

Hmmmm, only 3 posts & bashing Sonic. I could be wrong, but sounds like stirring the pot to me...

As for cracks on a Sonic.....show me a boat that doesnt have one, especially a high performance offshore type boat. It dont matter if the boat came from a lake or the ocean. If the previous owner beat the sh*t of of it, it will be worn & broke in some area's. You cant continually bash the boat over big sea's or large boat wakes and not hurt the boat eventually. Especially in a smaller boat.
There is a big difference in ride quality as size goes up, even in a 35 to 38, to 42 to 45. Its amazing....

I run my 42 thru almost any of everything, but I know when to take it easy, and what conditions, wakes, etc not to push hard thru, thats why my boat looks like brand new. Love Machine has seen her.

It all comes down to how the boat was taken care of and driven... As for Fountains, I like them, always have. But I dont want to get beat up, dont want to have to crawl around in the cabin, or use a porta potti, not to mention get wet when riding in big stuff. Thats why I bought Sonic, dont have any of those issues.

Some of them ( Fountains ) may be faster than us Sonic Owners, but runnin with us in rough, I know will we be in front. Have done & proven that many times. Done it with both N/A & blower boats, all 35 to 42ft Fountains, and they got the snot beat out of em in the rough....in the smoother water, they walked me, but I'm not about speed, 75 & up, I'm about comfort, ride quality, Style, Construction quality & ammenities. That is Sonic ! The boats you looked at must have been run very hard to cause that kinda damage. I have very few if any cracks. None around the cabin door. I wouldnt even call them cracks, more like small spider webbing in only a few areas. None on the dash, none around the door or in the cabin. Mainly around the drain areas on the first large deck hatch area.

As for Formula, way to plain, and dumb looking same ole paint schemes on every boat ( what, maybe 5, if that, factory paint scheme choices, you can tell a Fromula by the paint, same with Fountain ) no head room, very plain dash & guage layout, stupid exhaust exits. All my 02.... plus they are much quieter than boats of similiar power/exhaust due to their silent thunder exhaust system. I like noise, not silent thunder. They make a nice quality boat, just way to plain for the $$$$ in my opinion.

Good luck with your Fountain. If I HAD to choose between these 2, Fountain & Formula, I would go Fountain hands down, especially on the newer ones !

Again its all in how you take care of a boat as to her condition & cosmetic appearance. I have only seen one old 42 that had major cracks, and I mean cracks. That was because the previous owner beat the p*ss out of her all the time.... WFO all the time, in all conditions !

You go TeamSonic42.;) :D :cool:

I second that TeamSonic42. My '97 31SS has seen big water regularly since I bought her new, no cracks.

I agree about the pot stirring. We all have opinions and only mine are right!:o OBTW, I would buy a Formula over a Fountian, but neither are on my shopping list.

TS42, thanks for setting us straight. I'm to lazy to type all that stuff you did, especially for a 3 post pot stirrerererereeeeer :D:drool:

LM,
I usually dont post much at all on OSO, although I visit everyday, several times a day and have been a member for a while. It just gets irritating when someone gets/starts another screen name, and starts bashing, bad mouthing or disseminating information that is incorrect, abusive, non factual or defaming to a person, boat / make, or business, just to start some chit. Especially when it is about someone or something that is top notch & reputible.

This is the second time this has happened on the Sonic Forum with-in the past month or so. Previously someone tried to bash Offshore Performance. Great people, honest & straight forward. Another personal agenda to be filled bashing them....

If I am wrong on my take on this. I will be the first to appologize !

We all know Sonic is in the top 10 best of the best. Everyone has their own opinion, likes, dislikes etc, I respect that. I have seen several "Other" boat makes that had the hell beat of them, abused and not taken care of, but I dont start saying what a "Piece" they are because of these few. They are the exception not the norm. Now.... we all know there a certain makes that this is the norm, but Sonic certainly does'nt fall into this catagory.

OSO is a great resource for information, and should'nt be a forum for entertainment of an individual who's reason to post is to start something or has a personal agenda or vendetta against someone or something. If you have something to say, good, bad or indifferent, & most importantly- FACTUAL, atleast be man and use your regular screen name. OSO has warned others in the past. I guess some will never learn.....:rolleyes:

WE NEED MORE PEOPLE LIKE YOU.
I THANK YOU PAUL ROSENTHAL SONIC 28

TS42, U DA MAN!

See ya Sat night at the PAR-TEE

TS42 Sorry if I offended you with my post. It was based on observations I made during my boat search combined with a few years of structural design experience. There are things you can do to minimize cracks. Some manufacturers put more effort into minimizing the things that can cause cracks than others.

My comments were not meant to be bashing, They were meant to provide information.

I don't think your post was offensive H2O. While I know that a curve is stronger than an angle, I prefer angles cosmeticly. And I don't think Sonic has any issues with strength.

H2o
Ditto what Go4 said ! No offense taken at what you said at all. My statement was basically directed at the 3 post guy, not you at all.......

Was not trying to start something, just an informed observation and my opinion. :D

:) :) :)

Re: just got back
 

Right, that would explain the new build processes that have been developed, the new model on the cover of Hot Boat, the updated web site, and the article in PRA.

I don't know what you're after heat wave, but you won't convince anyone away from sonic here.

We have never had a problem thread on this forum and if you bring this one too far off track I will lock it up or delete it.

So everyone play nice.