[C320-list] Dealing with small hull cracks

[Rick Sulewski]

Where are the cracks located and from is the root cause?

There was a time when some early hulls experienced some very minor stress cracks due to sitting on a cradle on the rear cradle pad on the port side where there is less internal support structure (portside bulkhead) on those early hulls. The solution for such an issue was to add a third rear pad between the two rear cradle pads to relieve the pressure on the hull from the portside rear cradle pad.

Could your hull damage be the result of the hull being dropped on the cradle, collision damage or from a poorly placed or slipped jack stand?  Check for evidence of any weeping or staining inside the hull liner opposite the cracks. Just my 2 cents...
Rick 
My-Ria 95' 320 #277

-----Original Message-----
From: C320-list [mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On Behalf Of Kevin Rooney
Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2018 2:23 PM
To: C320-List at catalina320.com
Subject: [C320-list] Dealing with small hull cracks

I recently got the boat out of the water for the first time in a while.
I've got her on the hard for a few weeks. While working on the hull I found
five small cracks like this (video):

https://youtu.be/oM72o1IWkUg

That is the largest of them (by far) and the only one that water was coming
out of (it has since dried up). When emailed for an opinion on what to do,
my marina's owner (who is also an experienced marine engineer) replied with
this:

"These areas are where water has migrated through the gelcoat surface. You
can grind them out, fill with epoxy filler and cover with epoxy resin. Or
for right now just let them dry out and put a coat of epoxy resin over them
to seal them."


Any thoughts on how you would address this? Factor in that time is of the
essence as I've already missed half the season (and after I paint the
bottom and she is splashed I have engine work that is needed). I'll put her
out again in the fall.

I'm leaning toward just using a Dremel tool to open the cracks a bit and
clean them out, and then filling with epoxy. Is that enough? Am I just
setting myself up for future issues?

Thanks.

Kevin
S/V Cecilia Ann, #211
Deale, MD
http://kevjot.com/boat/