Looking at a CP23

[liljohn]

I am in the market and had a couple of questions.

On the boat in question, I found a star crack in the gelcoat on the hull with about a 4-5 inch diameter.  How do I test to see if the hull (glass) is compromised?

Also, please confirm what I think I have read elsewhere:  The deck is solid glass and not cored and there is no hulll/keel joint.

Thanks for the help.

[CaptK]

Hi liljohn -

RE: the star crack - it's probably just the gelcoat that cracked - gelcoat is brittle stuff. Where is it located at? If you can look at it from inside, that would help. Push on the center with your finger - does it give or make any noise? I'm guessing it is alright, depending on where it is located. At the waterline, up towards the bow, would be more worrisome than say aft and high.

The deck is laid up with some low areas in it. These areas are filled in with a mixture of resin and "microballoons" (teensy glass beads). They cannot absorb moisture like most core materials.

The ballast is encapsulated in the keel. It is poured in, and, when dry, glassed over.

Good luck! The CP23's are nice boats.

[curtis]

liljohn,

A minor fiberglass repair is not the end of the world by any means and a
minor gelcoat repair is no big deal.

You didn't really say where in the hull this was but I'll assume its on the
bottom or topsides.  One thing a surveyor would do is tap the area with a
rubber mallet and the surrounding area and listen for a different sound.
If this is a hollow area (not the keel) and the laminates were cracked, then
the difference in sound would be noticable.  If it were the keel it would be very hard to tell.

The real risk is that this is old damage that hasn't been taken care of and
that water intrusion has occurred and been neglected.  This could cause some
delamination.  If so, the extent of the repair might be larger than the area
that is visibly damaged.

If the damage is to the topsides chances are that there has not been any
water intrusion damage.  The deck is sometimes a problem because water
can sit on the deck and below the waterline is definitely something to look
at carefully if the boat has been kept in the water rather than trailered.

Curtis