Crack in hull

pixelpete

pixelpete

New Member
I have recently purchases a 1978 Alcort Sunfish with a trailer. The boat has not been used for many years and has a crack in the deck of the hull. I only payed $200 for the boat but the trailer needs a bit of work. I wanted to know if anyone had an opinion on the level of damage of the crack. Can it easily be repaired? Is there a way to tell if there is water in the hull from the crack?

Sunfish deck with crack.jpg


I appreciate any thoughts or comments.

Hans
 
There are two ways to tell if there is water in the hull. There is a drain opening on the starboard side of the deck by the splashrail. Hopefully it can be opened - it may take some WD 40 or PB Blaster or similar, but once you get it open, tip the boat up on edge and see if water comes out. Second way is to weigh the boat. A boat of that '70s vintage should weigh in around 135. If it is a lot more than that, it has water in it, likely soaked into the foam in the hull. (BTW you weigh a Sunfish by tipping it on edge and balancing it on a bathroom scale.)

There are plenty of articles on this forum about drying out a soggy hull - it is very doable - just takes a few months. That crack in the deck won't be too bad to fix. The correct approach will be to grind the crack open a bit and get down to bare fiberglass for an inch or so on either side of the crack, lay in new fiberglass, then grind/sand it flat, and paint it. The quick and dirty approaches will involve something like Marine Tex or an epoxy filler, or some sort of waterproof tape (latter not a bad approach to get you on the water quickly.

$200 seems like a good deal for this boat.
 
Need to find out if the crack is sitting directly over the Tub Flange. Look under
the lip of the deck and see if the tub has separated from the deck. To see if
it's just a gel coat crack or if the fiberglass is cracked you will have to grind away
the gel coat above the crack. How to do a first time repair without ugly results
is the trick. There is always more than one way to do things. If the crack is
forward of the tub you could put a inspection port in the front wall of the tub
and reinforce the crack from the inside. Most of the repair would be hidden
and you would only have to fill, sand and paint the outside.

If there are no inspection ports it's unlikely not to have water in the hull
by now. If it were stored inside maybe but it's unlikely you could sail
it as is and not add water.
 
pixelpete said:
I have recently purchases a 1978 Alcort Sunfish with a trailer. The boat has not been used for many years and has a crack in the deck of the hull. I only payed $200 for the boat but the trailer needs a bit of work. I wanted to know if anyone had an opinion on the level of damage of the crack. Can it easily be repaired? Is there a way to tell if there is water in the hull from the crack?

View attachment 32630

I appreciate any thoughts or comments.

Hans
Click to expand...
Something impacted the foredeck just above "The Hook". An inch behind "The Hook" is where the cockpit "tub" is bonded. Beyond the crack is the daggerboard trunk, which supported that area (like an anvil) and allowed the impact to open the crack. The cockpit acted like a hinge to open the crack. (My take, FWIW). :rolleyes:

If this was mine:

1) I'd remove the cockpit's aluminum trim and "The Hook",
2) Install "The Ultimate Inspection Port"—comment: ("Nice. That certainly gives more access if a repair is needed.")
Ultimate Inspection Port...
3) Working with the boat suspended overhead :confused: and upside-down, :eek:
4) Sand away at the crack from the inside, and epoxy multiple layers of fiberglass tape over the crack, which can be done all at one time. Allow the epoxy to set, and sand off imperfections (to protect one's hands from later injury). :confused:
5) Do the same behind "The Hook", where you can heavily "layer-up" this area of some potential weakness—without cosmetic penalty, :)
6) Turn the boat right side up, and sand to finish the cosmetics, filling-in with MarineTex—a 2-part epoxy putty—which is white in color.
7) Re-install the cockpit's aluminum trim and install the mainsheet's hardware of your choice.

I've noted that a MarineTex cosmetic repair I did a couple of years ago has yellowed :oops: so it's probably a good idea to cover one's
MarineTex "patch" with paint (or a decal). :cool:

Still another note :rolleyes: is that the cockpit impacts can shear off the cockpit trim's pop-rivets, leaving a hole. :oops: (Or worse, no material to secure a pop-rivet :(). I've used waterproof glue to re-attach the trim, which helps to support the pop-rivets and to strengthen the cockpit perimeter.

Still another note :rolleyes: if the drain plug was successfully removed, use Teflon tape on the threads when re-installing said plug. If the original plug is not reusable, a $2 stainless-steel Allen set-screw will fit the old opening, and be flush with the deck. A new and original metal drain "set" will set you back $45.
 
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