Foot-well cracks

Dsoc

Member
What is the best way to repair foot-well cracks? I have 2 small cracks about 3/4 , and 1 1/2 inches long. I want to repair them properly. 1966 Sunfish.
 
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Sand the area of the cracks and apply a patch of fiberglass cloth and fiberglass or epoxy resin mixed according to directions. Overlap the crack by at least an inch on each side of the crack. Let cure and sand again and apply a finish coat of the same resin. If you don't have resin and cloth on hand, you can buy a kit from NAPA with a small quantity of each. Because this area gets a lot of flexing as you stand in the cockpit, you can't depend on a mending putty like MarineTex. It's an easy repair. Good luck.

Alan Glos
Cazenovia, NY
 
Real cracks should be done like Alan said.
Fine spider cracks that only effect the gel coat are not worth chasing in the traditional ways. I tape a ring around the inside of the tub around 2 inches up from the bottom. Then I lightly scuff the bottom with 320 sandpaper an Scotch brite pads. Spray the bottom with white Flex Seal spray then peel the tape around 12 minutes after spraying. This gives a durable non-slip surface that seals the tub.
 
I have several cracks and water gets inside the hull.

I was thinking of accessing under the footwell through the hull and repair both sides of the well & repair the Newley created hole in the hull.

what say ye about my plan?

I have three boats; two are complete & seaworthy. This third needs more tlc & I want to experiment a bit.
 
The hull is so close to the bottom of the cockpit that I don’t think a hole in the bottom will give you access to anything but the part of the cockpit directly above (or is it below?) the hole.
 
Chas III that is certainly one way to approach it. Several folks repair the underside of deck cracks by cutting access hole in the bottom of the hull, and then reusing the cutout piece.

Pictures would help. You could drill small starter holes at the end of each crack, all the way through from inside the cockpit, That would give you holes on the hull to know where to cut. You could then repair the underside of the cockpit cracks with 4 or 6 oz fiberglass cloth and seal up the hull.
 
I have several cracks and water gets inside the hull.

I was thinking of accessing under the footwell through the hull and repair both sides of the well & repair the Newley created hole in the hull.

what say ye about my plan?

I have three boats; two are complete seaworthy. This third needs more tlc & I want to experiment a bit.
First, make sure the water is coming through the spider cracks, and not through the mast step. A gentle pressure test should help diagnose the leakage.
 
Different picks of cracks from diff angles.
 

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Sight unseen, I called them "spider cracks", but those are definitely different! :oops:

While you're in the area of the rear attachment for a hiking strap, you could install one with nuts and bolts. Everyone will wonder how you did it! ;)
 
I would call that serious structural.

Flip it and look for damage or repairs in that area.

It had to take a hit or something to cause that and the fact that is in the curved areas says it had to be serious deformation. I would question of the hull under that area might not have moved enough to cause delamination.

Poke, prod and press hard all over and see what wants to move. You need to understand the problem first.
 

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