Cracks in Gelcoat

[Buckeye]

the warrenty for gel coat is 1 year. SC just denied my second claim even though the cracks are obviously an extention of the original cracks. If my understanding is correct, cracks in gelcoat are a result of thin spots in the fiberglass, which means its a structural issue. It's very disappointing that they do not warranty or cover beyond a year. you would think that would fall under the hull warranty which is 5 years. But the have a carve out on the gelcoat. Which means they know it can be an issue. You would think for a $100k boat, this would not be an issue. very disappointing

[larry_arizona]

Hull warranty is lifetime.

If it's truly a structural defect, SC will cover it.

Gel coat cracks aren't necessarily structure related, and are mostly cosmetic.

When doing the SC tour, they were in process of replacing the hull on an early 2000's Supra.

They have all the molds for Supra and moombas.


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[Buckeye]

I understand that the cracks themselves are cosmetic and not structural. I guess my question is: What causes the gel coat to crack? Is the cause a structural issue?

[haknslash]

I understand that the cracks themselves are cosmetic and not structural. I guess my question is: What causes the gel coat to crack? Is the cause a structural issue?

There are several causes for a gel coat crack. It could be a single cause or compounding issue. As mentioned they are typically cosmetic, albeit not anything someone wants to have happen to their boat, I get it. That being said, many boat manufacturers don’t warranty gel coat beyond a year. At least not in this price segment and while $100k+ boats are certainly not inexpensive, they are still cheaper when you compare a wake boat to say the larger vessels out there (center consoles, big ass cruisers and boats made for the ocean lol.

Here’s a long page about gel coat cracks and repairs. It goes over some of the main causes including temperature swings and flexural stresses (think rough water impacts). https://www.epoxyworks.com/index.php...xural%20stress.

[MJHSupra]

Just following up on my previous post...
SC took the boat over the offseason for evaluation of the cracks and "repair or replacement"
After the evaluation, they decided that the only solution was to replace both the Deck and Hull which they did.
I haven't put to many hours on since so time will tell it this issue is going to develop on this hull as well.
Props to SC for going to bat like that for me, that is how you run a successful business.

Wow, that's an invasive repair job. For sure props to Skiers.

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