I friggin hate gelcoat crazing. always seems to appear where there are significant structural loads which always makes me wonder...
can someone direct me to a post about how to post pics? I used to know how, but have forgotten

Had that issue with my NACRA 5.8 when I put the spinnaker on it, started to get a lot of spider cracks at the bow tangs and the main beam area.

I have them on my 31 where the beams are bolted down. I have a good pic, but can't post it

To post a picture go reply-file manager-browse-Open the pic-add file-done.

The most likely problem you'll run into is the file size being too big.

It doesn't sound like a crazing problem, rather flexing below the cracks.

thanks!!

Not crazing imo. Is the bolt too tight? (I'd guess the bolt it over tightened and the laminate has been crushed) In any case I'm sure the damage is from movement in that area. I'd consult other owners of that particular model.

Merry Christmas!

That is not crazing. Crazing makes the gelcoat look almost like aligator skin or a dried up lake bed. Those are stress cracks. To fix the crack use a very small drill bit and drill a hole through the crack at each end to prevent further spread. Then open the crack with a dremel and fill. Before you go through all that trouble you need to determine how to reinforce the area or the cracks will come back. As said earlier the bolt may have been overtightened. My recomendation would be fix the overstress/under built issue then repair as described above.

Take a 1963 hull, expose it to the Sun for 40 years, and cracks appear. These are longitudinal, on the outer hull, and are pretty deep. They arent stress cracks from overtightening, and they dont look like alligator skin, and I dont want to sand all the gelcoat off even though I am going to paint the entire boat. Im looking for an easy fix...and yes, it has a motor.
I did ask aout getting the Supercat for a Christmas present this moring though...no answer yet...but Im close. but Jake, Im gonna need a structural glassman for that project. Get that Manshed done quickly! And yes I do still own and race a Laser, gonna race it next weekend, bring the cats so Cary will have some competition on his new toy!

Google Imron, look for a filler/primer. Temporary at best. There is no fix. Remove the crazing, start over.

I think the root cause of crazing is too much hardener in the original mix. Paint film should have some ability to expand and contract with heat, same with gel coat. Yours is just too brittle.


http://pc.dupont.com/Search.do?q=primer+filler+nonsanding These chemicals are all "systems" and not all individual components are compatible. Do A LOT more research or be prepared to do a lot of flu$hing. They get expensive in a hurry.