fiberglass cracking under the settee

[Diletto]

Hi everyone.

As you can see on the pictures, a drawer has been add under the dinette by the previous owner. A few months ago, the fibreglass on the port upper corner of this drawer cracked (full thickness). Probably because of the repeated banging of the wave under the floor settee (that move the floor up and down a little bit) on that weakened part. So I manage to have that repair. They laminated ½’’ plywood with fibreglass under the hole length of the front part settee’s floor, just above the drawer, from one bench to the other. That add a lot of rigidity to that part. But yesterday, with banging waves again, 2 new cracks appear where the bench meet the front part of the settee’s floor (see pictures). Full thickness on the port side and, at least, the gelcoat on the starboard side. I think that was the weakest point, considering the previous repair. I don’t think that it is a structural part of the boat. I don’t know if I must repair and, if yes, how I should do that? I think that that part of the floor must have a bit of flexibility to respond to the banging waves and I am not sure that cracks elsewhere will not develop if I repair these one.


Does anyone have any experience or any idea about what to do with this problem?

Thanks to all

Michel Nantais
Diletto

[Allezcat]

Michel,

I think the salon insert is structural and I would definitely repair it. Perhaps you can get at it thru the seat access with the seat cushions removed. Maybe you could cut back on the "wave bashing"?

Chet
Allez Cat 36010

[Bob]

You might have a bigger problem than you think. I can tell you if you stand in the entrance opening and you get an outward rush of air from the cabin when you get each deck slam then you should check the tabbing of the forward bulkhead (under Mast) and thew fore and aft bulkhead between forward berths. Do an archive search for water in berth for more on the potential problem.

[Page 83]

I don't think that particular area of the interior molding is structural, judging from the layup and tabbing. I'm afraid what happened is this; the drawer cutout created a stress concentration in a small area. Reinforcing a crack in that area shifted the stress concentration to the next weakest link. You could spend forever repairing the next crack, only to find another. Thinking out of the box, you might consider going back to the first repair after installing the drawer, and cut it down to be more flexible.

I don't want to sound like the voice of doom, but you really should check the boat for damage to the bottom of the bridge deck, starting in the big voids in front of the mast. They are visible (barely) from a small 4" round cover in the upper inboard aft wall of the bow compartments. Call James Power for help on this one!