Crack to worry about photo

Am interested in a 2000 Selene 47 but am concerned about some cracks in the gel coat around the junction of the fwd flybridge deck and pilot housing as shown in the picture. There is also cracks appearing at the junction between the fwd outside wall of the Portuguese bridge and the top of the fwd deck. Thanks for any feedback.

The underlying structure was not built stiff enough (it might be strong enough) to not flex ,so the gelcoat cracked .
Common on stairs too.

So you're concerned about a few bucks to repair some glass on boat that costs how much?


get a cost to repair and negotiate the deal

Greetings,
Mr. l. Good suggestion BUT...Can the crack(s) be repaired to the extent that they will never reoccur or is this a structural problem with all Selenes?

Fiberglass layup done at 4:45 pm on a Friday.

It raises the question of does that area see any regular use or excessive weight put upon it? As in, it's flexing because of atypical use. Not that it'd change the need to fix it, just that it might present a reason to 'adjust' usage of the area.

Gelcoat hairline cracks. As a boat ages and flexes, those cracks are going to appear. It's like noting that older people have wrinkly skin. They may be due to underlying structure flex, they may be due to expansion/contraction due to sitting in the sun, but for the most part, they're cosmetic. My '99 hull 03 has those cracks as well as the others you describe. I'm pretty sure you'll find them on any 20 yr old boat, I don't think it's anything to lose sleep over, and as a finding on a pre-purchase, not remarkable. You can repair them, but I believe you'll be chasing your tail.


I'd be more concerned about things like the condition of the deck drain hoses, bilge hoses, tank fill hoses, tank crossover hose, waste hoses, hose clamps. They're all at the age where they'll be due for replacement. There are a lot of hoses that are a real bear to access, and that translates to aggravation if DIY, or $$$ if yard work. Hand bilge pump manifold? Hoses there? Does the bilge smell bad? Has the rudder shoe/hardware been inspected/re-glassed/sealed? How's the deck under the winch? Are the penetrations sealed/potted? If the swim platform is still the hinged one, is it still watertight or are the hinges showing signs of water ingress into the attachment points/stains? Was the torsion coupler ever replaced? Life expectancy about 4000 hrs. Cutless bearings? OEM 8D batteries everywhere? Are the cored deck penetrations properly potted? If the doors are not Diamond Sea Glaze, have the hinge attachments been reinforced? Any staining? Include the Portuguese bridge door in that. Are the boarding gate hinges showing rust/stains? Any signs of looseness? I see in the photos the black vinyl trim is missing from the window frames. They were repainted? Unattractive, incomplete work. That trim is very difficult to source. Are the wiper arms intact? Look in the access ports on the flybridge structure- bone dry in there? Are there maintenance logs? Oil sample lab reports? Those kinds of things can be of consequence in considering a purchase, the gelcoat cracks, not so much.

Prior repair

You can see in the picture that this crack has already been repaired at least once before. You should eliminate high moisture as a possible culprit. Very hard to support much weight that far out with limited structure to support it. A design flaw, but probably not anything more than a nuisance. Certain types of vinyl ester gel coats can move some and not crack, you could also look into tinting West System G-Flex epoxy as it can handle even more flexing than virtually any gel coat. Good luck.

The boat is 19 years old and, like many older boats, has a few gel coat cracks. Have them fixed and don't be surprised if they surface again. Boats are designed to take a 10.0 on the Richter scale as part of their daily routine. Gelcoat cracks happen!

If you really love this boat, close the deal and make the repairs.

No one here has any clue as to what has caused the crack.

Till you grind through the gel coat and look at the underlying laminates and study the structure from within .....and what weights and stresses are really applied...one had no idea what's causing this crack.

Some of the best info you can get is from similar models of similar age.

psneeld said:

No one here has any clue as to what has caused the crack.

Some of the best info you can get is from similar models of similar age.

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Actually, I have a clue. This area is part of the house-boat deck joint. It's NOT structural, as this is where the boat deck, house, and flybridge components come together. So, yes, expect some flex there. Further aft, that same joint transitions to a flexible/caulked seam. The photo area was most likely faired and gelcoated after assembly, as many areas of the hull were. So age has more to do with the crack appearing than some underlying structure fault.

It's not something I would characterize as a problem other than a minor cosmetic issue. As such, listing it as a pre-purchase punchlist item could be construed as nit-picking.

I too can guess based on a lot of experience.... And thought exactly what you described.

But often the TF mantra is be sure.... So I thought I'd play along for once.

So if you are going to bother to repair it.... Start with step one which is grind off gel coat and see what you got underneath...

Then you have a much better idea and can go forward with more than just educated guesses.

That's a fairly common area for cracking. It's not structural. It could be due to the aging gel coat shrinking and cracking or stress as others have suggested. If you find no signs of water leaking in, I wouldn't be concerned so much with stress being the culprit. It's a good idea to repair the area to prevent water ingress and the possibility of freeze/thaw damage.

I would ask you to look at any 20 year old boat and not find stress cracks. I have them on my Selene and have contemplated the needed repairs and what would the end result would look like.
It takes a true craftsman to repair it right, but more importantly blending gel coat to match the surrounding area is an art. And what will the area look like a year or two down the road.

I doubt that you have a structural problem. Look at the boat as Steve has suggested above.
A well maintained boat will show, one that has been neglected will show even more.

Cheers

When President built my current boat they sprayed the gel coat way too thick. As a result there were stress cracks everywhere. I have repaired most of them and painted the boat. In one area the gel coat was almost 1/8” thick. I used a belt sander there to completely remove the gel coat. However none of them was more than a cosmetic problem.

All good advice and I thank you all for providing it all. Thank you Steve Sipe for the detailed information on what else to look for/inspect. We are having our second viewing this coming Saturday and ill be able to now see her with a fresh set of eyes. Here's the link to her, https://www.boatsales.com.au/boats/...6571455?pageSource=details&id=OAG-AD-16571455
Thanks again all. It's much appreciated.

If you are worried about that little crack perhaps boating is the wrong pastime for you.

Tingum said:

If you are worried about that little crack perhaps boating is the wrong pastime for you.

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In fairness, the indication seems to be he's looking at a boat, considering a purchase, and is inquiring as to whether it's the sort of thing to be concerned about. Which other members have answered intelligently.

Ralsy said:

All good advice and I thank you all for providing it all. Thank you Steve Sipe for the detailed information on what else to look for/inspect. We are having our second viewing this coming Saturday and ill be able to now see her with a fresh set of eyes. Here's the link to her, https://www.boatsales.com.au/boats/...6571455?pageSource=details&id=OAG-AD-16571455
Thanks again all. It's much appreciated.

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Very nice looking boat. The only thing I could not deal with is the straight backed built in bench seating in the salon. Try sitting in it for a while not just a few minutes when you look at it and imagine sitting for hours to watch a movie. Most people don’t try the seating when they are looking at a boat for more than a couple of minutes. My back will not let me sit on seats like that for long. But the boat looks to be in nice condition. I didn’t see any photos of the engine room but there were a lot of blank photos when I looked at the listing. Good luck hope it works out the way you want.

Mate, we all started somewhere and thankfully there are people who aren't opposed to providing a little advise and encouragement, unlike you. Maybe this forum is not the place for you. So why don't you take your negativity and go and annoy someone else.

Again I thank everyone who has taken the time to provide invaluable advice and encouragement. ����

Please let us know how your experience turns out, and if you do end up with a new Selene be sure to join the Selene Owners group.
Cheers

Ralsy said:

Mate, we all started somewhere and thankfully there are people who aren't opposed to providing a little advise and encouragement, unlike you. Maybe this forum is not the place for you. So why don't you take your negativity and go and annoy someone else.

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Are you referring to me? If you think that me giving an opinion on a seat is negative then we will have to disagree. If all you want is to hear only positive feedback then you should say that in your post. I never meant to annoy you, I was trying to give you a different viewpoint, maybe something you had not thought about. I did say that the boat looked nice and I hoped it worked out however you wanted it to. If that is negativity then you have apparently lead a sheltered life. If you don’t want opinions, then don’t ask for them.

Looks like a nice, clean boat. As others have stated, gelcoat stress cracks are typical and mostly cosmetic. If you move forward a surveyor can inspect for any underlying causes.

I like the flip up swim platform. also, the cockpit looks larger than the standard 47 to me. I love it but am I seeing things?

Good luck with it. Selenes are very fine vessels.

Comodave said:

Are you referring to me? If you think that me giving an opinion on a seat is negative then we will have to disagree. If all you want is to hear only positive feedback then you should say that in your post. I never meant to annoy you, I was trying to give you a different viewpoint, maybe something you had not thought about. I did say that the boat looked nice and I hoped it worked out however you wanted it to. If that is negativity then you have apparently lead a sheltered life. If you don’t want opinions, then don’t ask for them.

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I think he was referring to post #17 just above yours.

Plane Nauti said:

I think he was referring to post #17 just above yours.

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Agreed. 2 negative posters,everyone else was helping, probably a representative TF result.
If you repair the cracked area with hard material it may crack again. Someone above identified a flexible epoxy I`d not heard of. An alternative could be neatly filling the crack with white Sikaflex which can move without cracking. You can paint Sikaflex but the paint might crack with movement underneath.
The defects don`t sound like make or break, but survey might be helpful if you progress. Good luck with the purchase.

Plane Nauti said:

I think he was referring to post #17 just above yours.

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Well, I guess it would be better if he were to say who he was upset with. I assumed it was me since his post was directly after mine. Maybe my bad...

It is a 'given' the crack should be closed to keep out the moisture.
If that's the only thing holding up the sale, you could make the repair a condition of the sale. Or you could consider grinding out, filling the cracks, maybe a bit of fiberglass cloth and then, finish the job with gel coat, sanding filling, sanding and painting.

Is this crack on only one side of the boat?

Stress cracks and spider cracks on my boat are just an annoyance. I get out my paint every so often and just take care of it. I don’t bother with gel coat since The paint takes care of it. I can only speak about my own boat because it’s not structural and I’m neurotic lol!

I have the same crack on my boat both sides. I never gave it much thought boats have stress cracks. Like Steve said I would be worrying about some of the other problems that need to be addressed on a 20 years old boat.