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Gel coat cracks


JeffW

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New to the forum.  Purchased a new HPXs this year and just finished rigging.  Due to proximity to the coast, boat has not seen the water yet.  Moving back to the coast in a couple months.  

That said, the boat has been inside and under cover until the last week.  No sun exposure since it left the dealer.  I noticed this morning that I have 2 small gel coat cracks, mid ship extending from the allgrip on the floor up the gunnel about 7 inches.  Is this normal?  Would Maverick repair?  Love my skiff, and I've been on quite a few HPXS, so not trying to complain, but it is a bit upsetting for a brand new boat, in this category to be displaying cracks.

Advice please....

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I can speak from experience about one possibility that could cause cracks on the interior gelcoat. At home, I have a boat house with lift. The lift is old school and uses straps to lift the boat. I bought a brand new boat and the first time I lifted it with the straps, the straps caused cracks to appear in the interior gelcoat. The reason for this was that the straps were too tight against the sides of the boat. I moved the straps outward, so that they just barely made contact with the rub-rail and never had any additional cracks in the gelcoat. 

Years later, when I bought my first Pathfinder, I was at the dealership when they attempted to removed the boat from the transport truck and sit it on the trailer. They used a large forklift with straps. I recognized immediately that the straps were to close together and would exert lots of pressure on the rub-rails and possibly crack the interior gelcoat. I asked them to move the straps out wider so they would not squeeze the boat during the lift. They did as I asked and no problems occurred with the gelcoat. 

Long story short: If your dealership used straps to remove your boat from the transport truck to the trailer, and the straps compressed against the sides of the boat (rub-rail), this may have caused the cracking in your interior gelcoat. 

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