Repairing a Crack

G

Gamecat

New Member
I have a crack in the bottom of my Alcort Sunfish's footwell which goes all the way through. It does let water in over time while sailing, but isn't a huge problem. Having said that, I would very much like to fix it. I would appreciate any advice on how to do this.

I have attached a couple shots to show the problem.
 

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In my opinion, if you want n easy fix, put fiberglas cloth on the inside on the cockpit and fix it from there. If not, then you will have to regelcoat the bottom ( or paint). For the bottom, you can jut use a gelcoat filler, then sand it smooth.
 
Toby, I take it you mean the crack goes through the cockpit material into the inner hull, not through the bottom hull as well.
I've repaired cracks like this by grinds them out some to provide more bonding area and filling with MarineTex. Makes a waterproof repair and can be sanded easily to match the surrouding surface.
 
work in some marine tex in crack and sand smooth. it will seal it and will not look to bad. cost about 10 bucks.
 
It does go through the bottom of the hull as well. That is to say I can see it when I look underneath the boat. Will this repair technique still suffice?
 
It does go through the bottom of the hull as well. That is to say I can see it when I look underneath the boat. Will this repair technique still suffice?
 
So it sounds like you have 2 repairs. One inside the cockpit and one on the hull bottom. The classic "dropped on a rock" damage.

As long as the spots are not spongy I would agree with the approach mentioned although gelcoat will create a better finish then the marine tex.

If it is spongy you might want to look at the fiberglass repair method.
 
How about a small shot of expanda-foam into the void between the cockpit well and the hull, either through the crack or drill a little hole to get the straw through. Then the repairs made from either side (outsides) have some backing behind them and there will not be any sponginess upon completion.
 
The cockpit and the hull are two seperate pieces, so like it was posted you need two repairs. There's little gap between the bottom of the cockpit and the hull. Most of the space is filled with whatever they use to "glue" the tub to the hull.
I had one such repair. Believe it or not the boat got dropped on a pinball machine, "DON'T ASK"
I simply used some West Marine resin first of all to soak into the breaks then used, after first attempting a gelcoat repair (it's not as easy to use as I found out...LOL), MarineTex.
Since I wet sand my bottom with 400 grit anyway rather than polish it to a high gloss, the repair outline was the only thing visable without really close inspection.
 
i would use mariine tex and fiberglass cloth. sand it down after cure. won't be pretty but it will be tough. i did this to repair a hole about the size of a golf ball.
 
Definitely want to fill the gap between the pieces. I've always been fond of resin thickened with milled fiber. Mix it thick like cookie dough and use an empty silicone tube and caulking gun to push it in through a small hole. Pastery bag works good too. Freezer style Ziploc's work good for small jobs. Router out the cracks and Marine tex or gelcoat to finish whatever your preference, both work good.
 
mike, i'd like to do something on all spider cracks on the hull before i bring the hull shine back to life. can i use the resin and marinetex like you suggest for all spider cracks or would you just leave them be if the hull is not taking on water? thanks. pat
 
God, no! Don't touch them. They are definitely a case of if it ain't broke don't fix it. You'd need to grind out all the crack areas for somewhere for the marineTex. The resin I used only because the area of the repair was fairly large, actually sunk in some, with cracks that were "open" and needed stabilizing before actually filling. I still needed to grind some around the edges of the repair area for the MarineTex. Marinetex has a putty consistancy and as such it needs some space to fill. Most spider cracks have little "area" to fill and even resin won't penatrate to "fill" and form a bond between the sides.
 
Super glue (cyanoacrylate) in what ever viscosity (thin, gap filling or with filler) is not totally waterproof. When subjected to extended under water situations, it will let go. I had a model sailboat thet was T-boned, fixed it to continue that day, was fine for the first race (ie: dry inside), second race saw some moisture, by the third race water was inside and the damaged area had become very soft. Best to follow Mike's advice and leave well enough alone. Besides the spider cracks (if not structual) give the boat "character".
 
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