Davej Posted August 13, 2022 Report Share Posted August 13, 2022 I have a 2016 Redfisher. I noticed a crack in my front hatch lid where the hinge attaches. Decided to take it off this morning, and found a crack on the other side as well. Anyone ever had this happen? Any suggestions on how to fix it? Would Marine Tex work on these cracks? Any help or ideas would be appreciated. Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FINCHASER Posted August 13, 2022 Report Share Posted August 13, 2022 Are your hinges friction hinges? If not then only way I see to put stress in that area is if if the hatch didnt have a cable or straps to stop travel, if opened till it stops the weight of the lid would put force there. AS to a fix Id be inclined to take it to a glass guy and have those areas re done. In bottom pic looks like someone drilled holes at the ends of the crack to stop it from growing? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davej Posted August 14, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2022 They are not friction hinges. They are the stock hinges, and there’s a factory installed Pneumatic piston that holds the hatch open. I bought the boat brand new, so it came from MBG that way. Noticed the crack about a year ago, and it’s progressively gotten worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanaflatsfish Posted August 14, 2022 Report Share Posted August 14, 2022 9 hours ago, Davej said: They are not friction hinges. They are the stock hinges, and there’s a factory installed Pneumatic piston that holds the hatch open. I bought the boat brand new, so it came from MBG that way. Noticed the crack about a year ago, and it’s progressively gotten worse. Can you take a picture of the underside please... could be.a simple fix...where you would install a 1/8 inch aluminum backing plate and you can do the gel work yourself by buying some gelcoat paste and working. DC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davej Posted August 14, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2022 3 hours ago, Wanaflatsfish said: Can you take a picture of the underside please... could be.a simple fix...where you would install a 1/8 inch aluminum backing plate and you can do the gel work yourself by buying some gelcoat paste and working. DC Below are the pictures of the underside of the hatch. I'm thinking that when MBG installed the hinges, the back screws were too short, and that created the crack. As you can see, one of the bolts on each hinge goes all the way through the lid. The other two in each hinge are screws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCFD rtrd. Posted August 14, 2022 Report Share Posted August 14, 2022 It's very important that all screws in the hinges are tight at all times. If the front screw (the one that is bolted through) develops any slack, then a lot of stress/pressure is put on the two screws that are just embedded in the fiberglass. I check and tighten mine about every year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuddyBottomBluz Posted August 14, 2022 Report Share Posted August 14, 2022 On 8/13/2022 at 10:41 AM, FINCHASER said: In bottom pic looks like someone drilled holes at the ends of the crack to stop it from growing? 18 hours ago, Davej said: I bought the boat brand new, so it came from MBG that way. So the dealer or the factory tried to stop the cracks? You can clearly see as FinC says somebody tried to address the issue!? https://www.homedepot.com/p/PC-Products-PC-11-1-2-lb-Paste-Epoxy-080115/100649632?source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&pla&mtc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D24-024_004_ADHESIVES-NA-Multi-NA-PLA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-FY21_Sundries_PLA&cm_mmc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D24-024_004_ADHESIVES-NA-Multi-NA-PLA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-FY21_Sundries_PLA-71700000074813049-58700006446929527-92700058241845645&gclid=Cj0KCQjwuuKXBhCRARIsAC-gM0gSw8th5yL4YXZobNe-gUcJ0DZR68bAGGf0P7Rb7W7KsqQZ0DeLQZYaAp5REALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds This product cures white and is an amazing bonding agent. Dig open the cracks and fill and easily sanded and will prevent the cranks from growing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanaflatsfish Posted August 15, 2022 Report Share Posted August 15, 2022 12 hours ago, MuddyBottomBluz said: So the dealer or the factory tried to stop the cracks? You can clearly see as FinC says somebody tried to address the issue!? https://www.homedepot.com/p/PC-Products-PC-11-1-2-lb-Paste-Epoxy-080115/100649632?source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&pla&mtc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D24-024_004_ADHESIVES-NA-Multi-NA-PLA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-FY21_Sundries_PLA&cm_mmc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D24-024_004_ADHESIVES-NA-Multi-NA-PLA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-FY21_Sundries_PLA-71700000074813049-58700006446929527-92700058241845645&gclid=Cj0KCQjwuuKXBhCRARIsAC-gM0gSw8th5yL4YXZobNe-gUcJ0DZR68bAGGf0P7Rb7W7KsqQZ0DeLQZYaAp5REALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds This product cures white and is an amazing bonding agent. Dig open the cracks and fill and easily sanded and will prevent the cranks from growing. interesting product... dc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanaflatsfish Posted August 15, 2022 Report Share Posted August 15, 2022 18 hours ago, Davej said: Below are the pictures of the underside of the hatch. I'm thinking that when MBG installed the hinges, the back screws were too short, and that created the crack. As you can see, one of the bolts on each hinge goes all the way through the lid. The other two in each hinge are screws. you have a flat surface so you can do what I thought.....create some sort of backing plate..1/4 in plastic board you can bond or 1/8 inch aluminum plate...both of which you can get at Home Depot....go on the site of Minicraft in Ocala and buy some gel paste of your boat color...they have it....if you still have a relationship with your dealer, check and see if they have any gelpaste .....you only need a couple of ounces to mix it.... you need to Dremel out the cracks and then fill it in......if you are not concerned about a perfect match...looks like the product above or marine tech in while will work... dc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davej Posted August 15, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2022 Thanks for all the good feedback. I plan on working on it this coming weekend, so I'll keep everyone updated on my progress. Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whichwaysup Posted August 15, 2022 Report Share Posted August 15, 2022 Dave - the big question seems to me whether or not the cracks are in the fiberglass itself (structural) or just in the gel coat (cosmetic). If they are structural, they need to be addressed as such, and a backing plate won't help unless it extends beyond the damaged area. If it's cosmetic (and it looks like it to me based on the fact there isn't any similar crack on the bottom), it may just need to be ground down and re-gelcoated. If gel coat is applied to thickly, it will crack like that because it has virtually zero flex (whereas fiberglass does). Thinner coats crack less. Just some thoughts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davej Posted August 15, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2022 whichwaysup, I agree. I'm thinking its just the gelcoat because it hasn't spread any farther than what you see in the pictures in quite some time. In fact, I didn't even know the starboard side was cracked until I took the lid off. Any idea how thick the gelcoat might be in that area? A backing plate wont work because the 2 rear screws in the hinge don't extend pass the lip of the hatch. They are located in the edge where the hatch lid curves down. You see very little of the port crack when the hinge is on, so I'm thinking about using the 2-part epoxy mentioned above first. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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