5200 or Marine Tex

SPIKE

SPIKE

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Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2001
RO Number
4024
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479
I have some cosmetic fiberglass cracks under and around the motor mounts of my boat. Chaparral deems them cosmetic and not structural. The idea is to repair these cracks, and seal up the area to prevent water intrusion.

The dealer has some ideas, one is to use 5200. I am familiar with this with my Chris Craft Project boat. I am not familiar with Marine Tex - however after reading about it - this seems like the right stuff to use here. Thoughts?

100_161050.jpg
 
Marine tex is not flexible so if there is some continuing stress problem it will become apparent later, hopefully before the warranty expires.
 
marine tex is more like gelcoat or resin than 5200. as bruce said use the marine tex so if there is a real problem you will see the marine tx crack as well
 
The problem is the location. That looks a little more than stress cracks(as in spider cracks) I'd be concerned about actual settling from wet/rotting wood.

Of course, investigating may open a can of worms, soooo....
 
Yes, the Marine Tex would be very rigid, where as the 5200 is like rubber - and will flex. This is a 2002 boat, last summer the cracks formed. Chaparral determined this was cosmetic and not structural (and not covered under warrenty)- albeit by the pictures. This was docummented before the 5 year warrenty time period.

Best bet to grind out the areas, and look see in those spots. I don't think any moisture is there. Then replace with the filler.

Here is a shot of the other (Stb) side.

100_1613502.jpg
 
marine tex is an epoxy resin/filler. you can use it over polyester, but you can't use polyester resin over epoxy, so if you need more work, you'd have to remove all the marin tex. I'd check for water absorption in that area with a moisture meter. I would chip away the loose gelcoat to see if the fibergass us cracked as well. If not, I would fill it with a polyester/fiberglass filler and respray with gelcoat. If the fiberglass is cracked, you have a structural problem. you need to grind out the cracked laminate and reglass the entire area. Build it up to make it stronger. Then it should be resprayed with gelcoat. Yea, a lot of work. you can also tap the laminate with a hard plastic hammer and see if it sounds delaminated. A delaminated area will sound dull and hollow.
 
Is the appearance of "bowing" to the left side of the area an optical illusion created by the camera Spike? The cracks look to me to be stressed in that direction. If that were my boat, I would be drilling a hole there as recommended by others here. I was recently involved with the intended purchase of a "new to me" boat that turned out to be a lemon. By tapping on the stringers I found a hollow spot and immediately drilled a hole. The wood was missing! Only thing left was a beautiful looking empty fiberglass shell. You still have warranty so I would not wait too long. Best of luck and hopefully it is simply a stress crack.
 
It is beyond the warrenty period - however we docummented it all before expiration. I am getting many opinions from "it's nothing" to delamination and big trouble. I am having a surveyor look at it to determine the real deal as a third party. Also as peace of mind for me.

The photo might be slightly irregular - not sure - need to look much closer in person. Guess the only way to evaluate it correctly to is to get in there and drill away. Stay tuned.
 
quote:
Originally posted by SPIKE

I am getting many opinions from "it's nothing" to delamination and big trouble.

Click to expand...


to me, thats what it looks like
 
Good luck Spike, keep us informed as to the findings!
 
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