Spyder Cracks at 3 Deck Hatches (photos) Should I run ???

[Maybe A Dancer]

All 3 deck hatches have these similar short and long cracks.

45' Sea Ray Sundancer

There are lots more photos, but these are a good representation of the issue

Should I run?

 

[Wanderer 290]

That could be indicative of soft, wet or rotted wood under the gel coat. Definitely have a survey done.

 

[copb8tx]

A neighbor had something similar to this after always taking his boat to party cove and people dancing/bouncing up and down on the bow of the boat.

 

[bbwhitejr]

At a minimum, very difficult to match the non skid for repair.

Bennett

 

[Golfman25]

Got to check the structural integrity to know. Did you sound the area?

 

[Lazy Daze]

Stress cracks, in and of themselves, are not a structural problem since the gelcoat is largely cosmetic, anyways. It's the underlying glass that is structural. The question is, what caused them. If it was simply because whoever installed that hatch was sloppy with the screw holes and screws, that could cause it. In that case, it's pretty much 100% cosmetic - with the one exception of possible water intrusion. However, that won't happen through the actual cracks as they aren't large enough - depending on how big the crack is near the screw head, it could happen there, but that's pretty easy to fix. I once saw a Polar DC that had stress cracks running vertically down the hull from EVERY screw in the rubrail - but the hull was perfectly solid. Saw it again about 3 years later - nothing had changed. Granted, there was no core in the hull side of that boat, so it's not a complete apples to apples comparison - but my point is that stress cracks, by themselves, are not a death sentence.

Now, if the underlying cause is a combination of sloppy "screwmanship" and water ingress, then there needs to be further investigation done into cause/repair/money and whether the buyer will entertain a discount. Once you know that, then you can make a better decision.

How did the deck feel walking around? I imagine once you saw that you walked "heavier"?

 

[PlayDate]

A neighbor had something similar to this after always taking his boat to party cove and people dancing/bouncing up and down on the bow of the boat.

Definitely Dance Party cracks. Either that or some extremely large women on the bow placing weight on the hatches.

 

[Wanderer 290]

Definitely Dance Party cracks. Either that or some extremely large women on the bow placing weight on the hatches.

Definitely an option if the trim tabs fail and need more of a bow down ride.

 

[Pirate Lady]

I would not eliminate a boat over that. But i would investigate. I have crazing webs on corner of transom, quite sure its from PO hitting pier or pole backing into slip. Happens. There are a lot worse things to eliminate a boat. Aint said the year or i missed it.

 

[ttmott]

In looking at the pics, that cracking is quite excessive and I would be concerned about it. Note that a couple of the cracks are faying which indicates substrate issues as well as promote water intrusion. I would certainty get an expert in FRP and composite layup to look at it in addition to the normal surveys.

 

[Little Ducky]

Price it accordingly after survey and see if they bite.

 

[Golfman25]

Price it accordingly after survey and see if they bite.

Why waste money on a survey. Evaluate it yourself -- looks to be completely rotted away and disaster is around the corner. If the survey comes back "not to worry" you're golden.

But serously, you could sound it with a hammer and determine the structural integrity and then have the surveyor confirm.

 

[Maybe A Dancer]

this is a 45' Sundancer - 1996

 

[Maybe A Dancer]

Definitely Dance Party cracks. Either that or some extremely large women on the bow placing weight on the hatches.

 

[Maybe A Dancer]

I do love the levity, but can you appreciate the gravity of the situation?

RWS

 

[The Bill Collector]

Maybe it was the sunscreen...?

 

[Nater Potater]

Oh, man; this is going downhill fast!

 

[Wanderer 290]

Maybe Capt’n Sully can save the moment?

 

[Nater Potater]

Or Captain Morgan...

 

[Wanderer 290]

Or Captain Morgan...

It’s ok to pull back.. just never, ever pull out like Biden.