Damage to boat body above waterline ..

[Paul-F]

Hello .. I have been looking at some boats recently and have come across a couple that have damage like this one shown in the attached pic of blemishes on a 1998 Osprey 26. What concerns should this raise, what else to look out for if this type of thing is evident, does it need to be fixed? What is involved in fixing it ...

I have a 1992 regal that I am looking to move on and that has a few cracks like this so this applies to mine too!

 

[Tranona]

Both common and almost certainly caused by collision. the first is the more serious as the impact was likely harder, so in addition to the visible damage might have caused internal damage to the hull deck joint. The second is crazing of the gel coat and probably only on the surface. The first will need more work to repair but not difficult for an experienced person. The second is more difficult in some ways because repairing small cracks like that is not easy without taking the gel coat back, making good any underlying damage and re-gelling. Getting a good match with an old surrounding gel is a challenge for a DIY repair. As it is not structural there is a tendency not to attempt any repair and just live with it.

 

[A_8]

Or it could be handling when lifted etc.

 

[gjgm]

The grp provides the structure and the gelcoat the waterproof finish. Gelcoat doesnt flex so if there is flexing in the underlying grp the gelcoat tends to crack. This can be around stress areas like cleats or just poor grp layup...or a prang.
The question then is whether gel cracks are..literally..skin deep or whether the grp beneath need repairing too. Cost ought to be in the several hundreds for nothing too serious rarher than a thousand as a very rough idea...and grp and gelcoat are very repairable

 

[Paul-F]

I was thinking that maybe the 'hole' would allow water ingress and cause some secondary damage that might be a bigger problem.

I can live with the crazing ...

 

[Paul-F]

Mmm - ok. Could be part of a negotiation methinks as otherwise it looks generally to be in good condition.

 

[A_8]

I'd be concerned with that stuff and frankly I would find another boat. Most often it's a structural problem and fixing the gelcoat surface would only be a temporary solution.

 

[gjgm]

It's an almost 20 year old boat...I suggest OP gets the local yard to take a look and give a price...I don't see any deal breaker here...it's just some Grp to fix...there is nothing unusual about a prang in a boat.