Gel coat cracks

[bbyquist]

So my boat is at the dealership having some minor gel coat work done along with some work on the trailer brakes. The service rep called me today with a concern about some vertical hairline cracks in the gel coat that their gel coat guy called "very alarming". They are located about a foot aft of where the aft tower support mounts to the fiberglass. I have been keeping an eye on the cracks and they don't seem to have gotten any bigger in the year that we have owned the boat. The dealership is strongly recommending that this get fixed right away and wants to charge 15-20 hours of labor at $70/hr. This seems pretty outrageous to me, especially in light of all the other expensive boat projects I have going.

Can anyone enlighten me to the seriousness of these gel coat cracks? What might happen if I waited until next year to fix them? Also, does 15-20 hours of labor seem kind of crazy?

Thanks,
Brandon

[mmandley]

Well it would depend on how large they are. Are the directly coming from the bolts in the rear tower feet?

Pictures is always nice. You can always call a couple places and get estimates or call AWS in Portland, even though you cant take the boat some pictures or a call and explain to them what you have they might be able to confirm this is legit or not.

[deerfield]

bbyquist - In addition, maybe get an opinion from Skiers Choice. Its engineers designed the boat and should be best positioned to give you an informed answer as to how serious a matter and what is likely to happen if left undone. That will require pictures. - Deerfield

[bbyquist]

Unfortunately the boat is not accessible to me to take pictures until the weekend. I will snap a few and post them so you guys can tell me what you think.

mmandley - no they are about a foot away or more from the bolts on the tower feet. The dealer would not commit to whether or not there were any structural concerns.