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Hi, new sailor and sunfish owner here. I was hoping someone could
provide me with guidance on sealing my hull. In cleaning the
1983-era sunfish I recently acquired, I noticed lots of spider
cracks on the topside and bottomside. Also a lot of cracking under
the molding where the top and bottom join. The hull has been
sitting outside and uncovered for a long time. While
cleaning/polishing the bottomside I could actually hear the gelcoat
(or what is left of it) cracking. How bad is this and how should I
approach it? I have not actually placed the hull in the water yet as
I want to keep it dry until I make repairs. I am not overly concerned
at this point with cosmetics. Can I apply an epoxy sealer followed by
a paint? I am limited in time and have to work on this
outdoors without shelter. I appreciate any tips you could provide me.
Thanks.

I'm no expert, but pending better info, here goes.
I don't think the spider cracks are necesarily a big
deal. Many times they indicate an impact of some sort
(which explains why they're near the rubrail).
Depending on how many and how serious they are, it
might not be a problem at all.
I'd recommend two things:
1) check www.sunfishclass.org and go through some of
the maintenance links they have. The guy from
Windline sails has some really good info.
2) call the Gougeon brothers and get the WEST guide to
fiberglass boat maintenance and repair. If you order
from them it's 3 bucks and will likely show up in a
very few days. It has some good info on fixing cracks
etc.
I'm not sure I'd seal and paint it without checking to
see if it leaked first. You might add a couple pounds
needlessly.

Good luck!
--- fourbluedevils <ccross@...> wrote:

Hi, new sailor and sunfish owner here. I was hoping
someone could
provide me with guidance on sealing my hull. In
cleaning the
1983-era sunfish I recently acquired, I noticed lots
of spider
cracks on the topside and bottomside. Also a lot of
cracking under
the molding where the top and bottom join. The hull
has been
sitting outside and uncovered for a long time.
While
cleaning/polishing the bottomside I could actually
hear the gelcoat
(or what is left of it) cracking. How bad is this
and how should I
approach it? I have not actually placed the hull in
the water yet as
I want to keep it dry until I make repairs. I am not
overly concerned
at this point with cosmetics. Can I apply an epoxy
sealer followed by
a paint? I am limited in time and have to work on
this
outdoors without shelter. I appreciate any tips you
could provide me.
Thanks.

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Hello New Sunfish Sailor,

You wrote...,

I noticed lots of spider cracks on the topside and bottomside.
I could actually hear the gelcoat(or what is left of it) cracking.
How bad is this and how should I approach it?

It's hard to judge from your message the seriousness of the cracking. The
best thing I can suggest is to post photos of the problem area. Someone has
probably had the same experience and can give you some specific advice.

As far as I know, hairline cracks from weathering are probably best left
alone. On the other hand, if the gelcoat (the color layer of your boat)
starts to chip out exposing the greenish or yellowish looking resin and
glass fibers that make up the structural part of the hull and deck, then you
probably need to take action to fill the exposed spots. West Marine has a
brief help file for dealing with gelcoat repairs here:


report

I have seen some other gelcoat repair pages on the web and if I find them
again I will forward the address to you.


You can apply an epoxy primer/filler and repaint. It's a bit costly and
repainting outdoors isn't the ideal situation, but you wouldn't be the first
person to do it either. Most marine epoxy primers and paints take at least
24 hours to cure. With prep and sanding between coats you could conceivably
accomplish the job in four or five days, maybe a bit less, but I don't
advocate rushing it.

Nearly every older Sunfish I have seen has cracks in the gelcoat at the
underside of the hull/deck seam. These are usually cosmetic, but if the hull
is leaking at that point you will want to find and repair the leak(s). There
are some tips on how to go about that at the following web sites.






Good Luck,

Wayne

Sounds like a project. I think it was Wayne with the
suggestion of looking into windline. There are lots
of degrees of damage to fiberglass/gelcoat that take
lots of degrees of repair. For right now I'd do the
vacuum cleaner pressure test and see what leaks repair
that the right way with resin/glass products and keep
her dry when she's out of the water to prevent any
more water damage. Inspection ports/openings are
definitely a help although I ended up with a 14 x24
opening in the top of a 74 fish.
advice is free, sometimes it's worthless
Good luck ,
Congressman
--- fourbluedevils <ccross@...> wrote:

Hi, new sailor and sunfish owner here. I was hoping
someone could
provide me with guidance on sealing my hull. In
cleaning the
1983-era sunfish I recently acquired, I noticed lots
of spider
cracks on the topside and bottomside. Also a lot of
cracking under
the molding where the top and bottom join. The hull
has been
sitting outside and uncovered for a long time.
While
cleaning/polishing the bottomside I could actually
hear the gelcoat
(or what is left of it) cracking. How bad is this
and how should I
approach it? I have not actually placed the hull in
the water yet as
I want to keep it dry until I make repairs. I am not
overly concerned
at this point with cosmetics. Can I apply an epoxy
sealer followed by
a paint? I am limited in time and have to work on
this
outdoors without shelter. I appreciate any tips you
could provide me.
Thanks.

__________________________________________________
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