Cracked Gelcoat around Transom.

Chris · 14 October 2012, 22:17

I need to repair the gelcoat where it has craked due to vibration where the transom boxes are attached the transom of Pigs Ear. There are no structural issues and thre transom is solid however I understand that there is a compound that can be added to Gelcoat to make it slightly flexible and prevent it cracking again...

Any suggestions?

Chris · 15 October 2012, 00:14

I am guessing that I need to grind the crack out a bit then use some sort of flexible epoxy with micro balloons to create a fillet that I can then sand...

Question is what !

Rogue Wave · 15 October 2012, 10:23

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jwalker · 17 October 2012, 13:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris

I need to repair the gelcoat where it has craked due to vibration where the transom boxes are attached the transom of Pigs Ear. There are no structural issues and thre transom is solid however I understand that there is a compound that can be added to Gelcoat to make it slightly flexible and prevent it cracking again...

Any suggestions?

There is a flexible polyester resin available... add 10% to normal gelcoat to make it resilient.

I'd be surprised if there are no issues with the underlying structure.

gotchiguy · 17 October 2012, 13:58

We also have this issue, and also on the top of the transom either side of where the motor is mounted. Essentially stress cracks in the top gelcoat. Will be ground down and inspected before re-filling. Hope there is nothing more serious to them.

Erin · 17 October 2012, 14:05

Same here. Appeared quite early on and I've always assumed it's just the brittle gelcoat cracking at the corners. My transom hasn't fallen off yet

Chris · 17 October 2012, 14:57

Yep my previous rib (TimeBandit) had the same thing too.

It is one area where Osprey could have done a better job but it is definitely just cosmetic.

it's the transom boxes that cause the problem IMO

viking61 · 17 October 2012, 21:04

Do u get water ingress in to the inner hull through these cracks ?

Chris · 20 October 2012, 22:26

No...

gotchiguy · 30 October 2012, 13:46

Went to the boat yesterday and took these pics of the ones on top of the transom. Not sure when they appeared but they have been around for at least two years now. Will grind them out and fill this winter though. I believe that they're just superficial cosmetic cracks but only grinding them out will tell. They don't appear to extend under the engine saddle, just either side.

kerny · 30 October 2012, 13:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by gotchiguy

Went to the boat yesterday and took these pics of the ones on top of the transom. Not sure when they appeared but they have been around for at least two years now. Will grind them out and fill this winter though. I believe that they're just superficial cosmetic cracks but only grinding them out will tell. They don't appear to extend under the engine saddle, just either side.

Wow that looks bad water must be getting inside to the marine ply.

gotchiguy · 30 October 2012, 14:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by kerny

Wow that looks bad water must be getting inside to the marine ply.

The pictures make it look worse than it is, I don't think that they are not deep enough to reach the ply?

Just found this pic: http://www.rib.net/forum/attachment....6&d=1137446208

There looks to be at least an inch and a half of glass fibre before it gets to marine ply. Wonder why it's that thick

jambo · 30 October 2012, 14:42

Wow does Mollers know that this is happening to 'his' favourite rib

Erin · 30 October 2012, 16:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by gotchiguy

Went to the boat yesterday and took these pics of the ones on top of the transom.

I had a boat with cracks in it like that once. It was made in Guernsey..... I seem to remember Codprawn had one too!

Doubt it's anything to do with the layup. More likely the overpowered understated whisk that's been bolted on

. There's just not enough weight on the transom to keep it all hanging together properly allowing it to jiggle about too much.

Chris · 30 October 2012, 16:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by gotchiguy

Went to the boat yesterday and took these pics of the ones on top of the transom. Not sure when they appeared but they have been around for at least two years now. Will grind them out and fill this winter though. I believe that they're just superficial cosmetic cracks but only grinding them out will tell. They don't appear to extend under the engine saddle, just either side.

Hmmm they are a lot worse than mine mine are just down the corners of the transom box and are not on the transom. Send those pics to Mike and ask his opinion. It's difficult to tell from the pictures exactly where they are ?

gotchiguy · 30 October 2012, 17:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris

Hmmm they are a lot worse than mine mine are just down the corners of the transom box and are not on the transom. Send those pics to Mike and ask his opinion. It's difficult to tell from the pictures exactly where they are ?

The black bit at the top of each picture is the engine saddle, one taken from each side. As I said though, they don't extend "inside" the saddle as it were.

Chris · 30 October 2012, 17:45

Ah OK I thought they ran along the bottom of the transom near the bilge well. It almost looks like someone may have over tightened the engine mounts to do that, not structural though but worth getting filled.

Erin · 30 October 2012, 18:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by gotchiguy

As I said though, they don't extend "inside" the saddle as it were.

The section with the saddle bolted to it will be the stiffest part of the transom. It would tend to suggest there has been sufficient flexing of the transom to cause the gel to crack through, which in all seriousness is quite probably related to driving style. 0 to 270hp rammed up against the transom within a second or two must create some immense bending forces.

Bigmuz7 · 30 October 2012, 19:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by gotchiguy

The black bit at the top of each picture is the engine saddle, one taken from each side. As I said though, they don't extend "inside" the saddle as it were.

It looks like the mounting point for the saddle is moving slightly back and forth which is why youve got two patterns of crack. To me this suggests the knees and rest of the transom are solid, otherwise they would have shown signs of stress also, (think you said they were ok?) and the top then wouldnt have cracked so much therefor I suspect. As such I wouldnt be overly concerned especially if its been like that for a while, as UV etc will also weaken the grp & gel which is very brittle, and TBH that board takes a massive load as already stated, as you will know though .. water getting in there is the enemy, so better get it sealed quick ... A scope into your inaccessible areas for inspection is warranted too , if it were me .. so I could back up my above theory

Poly · 30 October 2012, 19:39

G,

There's no scale on those pictures but if they are as big as they seem:

(1) Potential buyers would be put off. Bearing in mind that any future potential buyer is liable to find this thread I'd be looking to get a professional fix on that now and then show that its not come back over the next couple of years. You are not the first person to have a transom issue on a rib - but those with amateur fixes usually find it coming back.

(2) Personally i'd be reluctant to take it to sea, especially in heavy conditions or with a driver with a heavy throttle hand. Whilst your insurance might pay out* if the transom were to fail catastrophically, it could be a rather rescue. Although it would make a great write up on here...

Of course it could just be that you have really good macro focus on your camera, and these are much smaller than they seem.

(*although they might not if they believed you were aware of a significant fault and went negligently to sea anyway).