Noticed Another BIGGER Crack !

[E.L.Green]

im certain these were there before the smaller crack i found i just wasnt paying attention but now im somewhat more concerned. i had her under full sail in steady winds and it didnt open or pinch shut on either tack and i want to fix it, but my concern is was this due to flexing? i took a poke with a knife and found that it is just the spray liner, the only thing behind the liner is foam from what i can see. i just dont know if this is something that should not be sailed with or just cosmetic? i tuned my rig to the specs of Schock themselves via the owner Tom over the phone but it still worries me !

[James S]

I wonder if that can be caused by over tension-ing the standing rigging.

[Bash]

Are you using some sort of a hoist to put the boat on its trailer? Significant flexing could occur at that point, especially if you forgot to drain the water ballast prior to lifting.

[capngeo]

for just a second, I thought this thread was about plumbers!

[E.L.Green]

only had it on a sling twice and that was years ago. it could have been there for some time i just noticed it yesterday and a smaller one the day before. the rig was tuned but what Schock told me was that im right about on the money to keep the mast straight and i wasnt over do ing it. it is tighter than it has ever been due to years of having it too loose. im wondering if maybe a hard gybe with it too loose and shock loading in a previous year may have done it since they were not tuned correctly? the loose gauge has me at 35 upper and 25 lower..

[Charlie]

Have you sent the picture to Schock and asked them what to do?

[gonesail]

seems like the deck should not be flexing .. that the vertical piece should be integral with the bottom of the deck. but then again i did not build the boat

[E.L.Green]

thats my next step, although i have to admit they are not very helpful. since im in nj and they are in cali i have to wait till about 4 my time..

[E.L.Green]

i assumed if it had something to do with the rigging and i may most definately be wrong here, would be stress fractures or some kind of sign of fatigue around the chainplates?

[Jesse]

You might try loosening the forestay and the shrouds on one side(remember to count the turns) to relax the rig and see if that makes a difference over a 24hr period. If it doesn't, simply re-tension the rig, if it does there is a problem to be adressed. Keep at it your on the right track. Jesse

[SabreKai]

Originally Posted by gonesail

seems like the deck should not be flexing .. that the vertical piece should be integral with the bottom of the deck. but then again i did not build the boat

I agree. I pulled up a bunch of photos of this boat on Google, and each one of them that shows the interior appears to show that vertical web as a structural part. If it isn't bonded to the deck, as in this case, the side of the coach will rise and fall, flexing and lifting the deck up and flexing it as well. Not much, but I think if you do relax the rig, you will find that crack closing up a fair bit.

Sabre

[smurphny]

It probably needs to be reglassed.

[David_Old_Jersey]

My guess is that it's flex - probably from a bit of hull and deck and coachroof. and age.

Apart from keeping fingers crossed seems to me that the only option is to remove the spray on liner (and foam?) - down to the fibreglass deck underside and then check the bulkhead tabbing. If that has delammed then ain't gonna be getting any better. Big plus is you have good access.

To fix it I wouldn't mess around - go straight for an angle grinder to clean down (up!) to solid (care if it is a cored deck!) and then reglass / epoxy. Not a difficult job to do - for refinishing I would simply settle on a few coats of paint.

[roverhi]

Look like that crack is caused by normal flexing of the deck. The material is a spray on covering for cosmetic reasons if I'm not mistaken. With the chainplate attached above, the deck is going to flex and these non structural areas will come unbonded. Doubt that it's any big thing. Might go out on a windy day, rough day and beat to weather. Go down below and observe how much flex there is. Expect you'll see some but not much. In the absence of other indications of excessive flex, it's normal.

[James S]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

My guess is that it's flex - probably from a bit of hull and deck and coach roof. and age.

Apart from keeping fingers crossed seems to me that the only option is to remove the spray on liner (and foam?) - down to the fiberglass deck underside and then check the bulkhead tabbing. If that has delaminated then ain't gonna be getting any better. Big plus is you have good access.

To fix it I wouldn't mess around - go straight for an angle grinder to clean down (up!) to solid (care if it is a cored deck!) and then re glass / epoxy. Not a difficult job to do - for refinishing I would simply settle on a few coats of paint.

Ditto what David said.