1992 sea ray 160 Crack right above bumper fix?

[Ride.race.live]

Hey,

So ive been debating on fixing this crack for some time now as its an eye soar for the most part. How would I go about fixing it? I bought the boat like this so no idead how it happened but from the looks of it, it prob hit a dock or something pretty hard in its time. I also want to fix it incase it starts getting worse.


Any home fixes i could do myself with some kind of adhesive?


The crack is about 6-8" long right above the bumper...

 

[harleyman1975]

Your pic did not show up for me.

 

[dannys2004glastron175mx]

I can see the pic

 

[alldodge]

If the crack your discussing is the one which goes the length between the first 3 screws, I would say that is a stress crack.

The boat is flexing and there isn't enough bonding between the two halves. If this is what your referring to, then I would say the boat needs to either come apart and the two halves built up, or need to get behind it and build it up with some SCM or 1708. The rub rail needs to come off to have a better look

 

[Ride.race.live]

Yea its the crack that between the 3 screws. its the only spot on the boat thats showing any kind of damage like that on the body.

I am definitely not ready to invest in splitting the two halves to have them built up. Im only about 3K deep into the boat overall.


I could go behind it and build it up no problem, so would just be a matter of "pushing" the overlapped crack back into place somehow and having it re enforced a good chunk of the way passed each side and then I would assume some kind of sealer and clear gel?

 

[alldodge]

Need to get the rub rail off to see what your working with. It could be a little reinforcement in the back and some new gel coat on top, but it could need more. Only way to find out is to have a more in depth look


Just my opinion, others may come along later with some other ideas

 

[Ride.race.live]

Yea ill try and take part of the bumper off for a better pic.


The top part of the crack is protruding over the bottom as it is.

 

[Ride.race.live]

I looked at it some more and the cause of the crack is from the added weight and flex of the dash / consol... you can see it somewhat flex when i put a little bit of weight on the dash.


Now I got a quote online from a guy and he quoted me roughly 1000 to patch it with gel coat.... is he out for lunch or is it actually that costly to do through a shop

 

[Ride.race.live]

Hey guys... I know old post... but I finally figured id take the bumper off and take a peek and whats the damage.

I was thinking...

Sand it down
Fiber glass cloth
Resin
Sand
Repeat
paint and clear coat.


When i removed the screws all around that spot they where all bent and or broken, seems like the boat smashed into a dock or something real hard from the looks of it I would assume? what do you think?


Also 3-4 of those screw holes are stripped / wrecked.... what can I use to fill them and re thread new screws in?


Thanks!

 

[Baylinerchuck]

That is definitely a possibility, dock damage......I'm not sure how hard it is to get to, but I would be inclined to fixing this from the inside of the boat if at all possible. It looks like the bottom probably is covering the crack in the cap. You mentioned before seeing the crack move when you flex the console. If you don't build this back up and properly tab into the good fiberglass, it's just going to crack I would think. Otherwise, you'll really have to grind through the gelcoat and fiberglass from the outside, and feathering that much fiberglass will be difficult.. Doesn't look like its going to be easy either way. If you stabilize it from the inside, you can just grind out the crack, then fill with a little thickened resin and chop strand, then gelcoat to blend. Just what I'm thinking at this point.

 

[Ride.race.live]

I tried taking a peek of what kind of shape the bottom shell is behind and it doesnt look like it cracked which is good.


I definitelly will need to re fill the fiber glass holes / chips as like you mentioned its just going to crack again.


and yea.. ill def need to build up that spot as its a high stress spot with the added weight of the consol. Ill need to maybe brace up the consol support so it doesnt have as much play.


There must be some kind of "filler" i can use to fill in and re tap existing holes in fiber glass? cloth wont really fill the holes so id end up with the same issue.

 

[Ride.race.live]

Could I dremel out the lenght of the crack use filler then use fiberglass cloth to rematch it to the rest?

the more i read the more i look at it the more I think this is going to be a pain to fix.


Theres no way im getting behind it unless I remove the whole cap

 

[GA_Boater]

Hey guys... I know old post... but I finally figured id take the bumper off and take a peek and whats the damage.

You started this thread so there is no such thing as an old thread when you started it. The old thread rule only applies to non-thread starters replying to thread inactive for more than 3 months.

Post away and good luck on the fix.

 

[Ride.race.live]

Thanks!



Would anyone know if this kit would be sufficient? Ill def need some pointers on how to do this lol.. been watching you tube vids and write ups but yea.. the location of this crack is making it a bit tricky and the fact id like to fill the screw holes to re thread / tap them.


Was thinking the west 105-k system but really not sure if thats exactly what I need.

 

[alldodge]

I don't think your going to get enough glass fibers on the outside to make it strong, need to get on the inside. If you get enough layers on the outside I'm not sure the rail will fit correctly and may look different.

 

[Woodonglass]

I'm in agreement on fixing from the inside. However it would necessitate removing the cap. That would be a PITA. Soooo Your next best option is to grind and feather it as deep a possible, then place some plastic behind and glass in the best you can. Personally I'd use poly. Faster and easier to use than epoxy. If you grind and feather correctly you should be able to lay a layer of CSM then one of 1708 another layer of CSM and another of1708 with a final layer of CSM. If you do it WILL be adequate for the repair and not so thick as to hinder any installation.

 

[Ride.race.live]

awesome thanks for all the tips guys!



Yea I def don't really feel like pulling up the shell to do the fix odds are ill do more harm then good doing that as its fairly easy to damage the gel coat around the bumper when removing the screws.. or so I found when I removed the strip to show the crack....


Lets see if I can find the mentioned products you mentioned!

Another buddy said I could try doing this

grind a V into that area on the outside, mix up some resin that is mixed with stranded cloth to about a peanut butter consistency, smear it into the V, wait for it to dry, then sand to match contour of existing area