Small crack on new, (used C-Dory)

[socal_2376]

Hi all,

Great site with great info! Much appreciated!

I just purchased my first C-Dory. It is a 1987 Angler. It seems like a very good boat for its age and price. I did notice one thing. On The Port Side just where the rear of the Pilot House meets up with the side rail there is a small spider web type fracture. The previous owner called C-Cory and apparently they said this is nothing to worry about unless it is a a very large crack. i was just wondering if this is an trouble area on this year/model? Also would be courios to know how this year was compared to others and what I should be on the lookout for in terms of any structural/saftey issues given its age?

Other than the fracture I mention the boat appears to be in very good condition and there has been very little drilling/cutting for misc hardware etc.

Thanks in Advance for any info!

[Sea Wolf]

socal_2376

1987 was he first year of the current style Cruisers and Anglers.

The 1980-86 boats were the flat-bottomed "Classics".

I have a 1987 Cruiser built on January 7, of 1987.

These early boats were built very carefully by hand and have few, if any flaws.

My boat has no structural flaws whatsoever, and no stress cracks. The hand lay-up of the fiberglass cloths and roving is of excellent quality and equal to the lay-up of high quality racing sailboats I've owned. The hardware and it's installation have never been any problem.

After twenty years of use, the only fault I've come across was that the metal cleats that hold down one of the fuel tanks had its 4 screws start to pull out after some heavy weather usage. I went from size 8 or 10's to about 12 or 14 screws, as I remember, and it's been fine ever since.

These early boats were, and probably are, much better built than those made later on, based on the complaint records, IMHO.

What you have is a stress crack from some heavy weather usage or perhaps a place where the gel coat was sprayed on too thick, making a soft spot. As long as it's shallow and only into the gel coat, and not down deep into the fiberglass cloths underneath, there's nothing to worry about.

You might post a picture here if you can for others to see.

Here's a more serious crack on a more recent boat for comparison:


The small cracks are gel coat cracks, the large one a structural crack., most probably. (Photo credit: Thataway.)

If yours are like the small ones, they're nothing to worry about.

They can be fixed by a competent fiberglass repairer, if desired. Such work can be fairly expensive, though.

Good Luck with your new boat!

Joe.

[socal_2376]

Thanks for the great info Joe!

The crack I described is not as bad big one in your picture -- it is more like the small ones and it is fairly isolated. Sounds like the older C-Dories had more craftsmanship. I had that feeling based on some of the things I noticed on the newer models. I will be taking the her out for a trial safety run Saturday and will take a few photos and post back to the site.


Thanks again!

Rick

[Sneaks]

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[Sneaks]

[westward]

I think this particular area must be a stress point on the CD22. My old 1991 had small cracks in this area, similar in size to the smaller one's on Bob's cat. They were there when I purchased the boat and never really changed during my ownership. I have noticed similar cracks on a number of other CD22's. The location is an intersection of several different planes and angles, and has some tight curves molded in. I've dismissed it as being a difficult shape to produce/maintain in a rigid material like fiberglass, and was never really troubled by it. The larger cracks in some of the photo posts (where the gelcoat appears to be peeling away from the substrate, or worse, the crack goes all the way through) would be of much greater concern to me, and I would want them resolved either under warranty or by the seller as the case may be. Cheers! Mike.

[r16409]

Hi,

it has been a while since I posted on this thread. The carck has spread and now runs down the outside to the rub rail. I thik this happened after hitting a wave too hard. I am worried that this may be dangerous. I had called c-dory when I first discovered this and they said thus could never spread to where it could be a saftey concern. My concern is that this could now spread down the side I'd the hull. This is clearly a stress crack.

[Jack in Alaska]

I doubt that the crack will extend into the hull. The hull below the rubrail and the cabin/gunnel are two completely separate moldings.
My 1983 22' had some small cracks in the portside gunnel where the cabin met the gunnel. It did not happen until after a pole barn roof fell on the boat in the early 90's and it never got any worse up through this spring.

I have a friend here that had a 1984 22' CD used as a charter boat. He had a 3' long horizontal crack in the portside hull about 6" above the bottom and right over the trailer wheel. He put masking tape over it and charged on for another week.
Eventually it had to be repaired and was. The cause was due to both trailer springs were broken and he kept hauling it over a rocky beach to the water just hammering hell out of the hull. Those are one tough boat.

[matt_unique]

The intersection between the cabin and the cockpit is a flex/stress point and many have these cracks. I have the same cracks on Napoleon. I had them repaired once and a short while later they returned. The gelcoat would not be cracking if there were not some flexing in my opinion, but I don't think it's serious.

[lloyds]

The "crazing" or light cracking you describe is common in that spot and a couple others on c-dorys, as well as most other boats. Most boats have it somewhere or other. My boston whalers all had it back where the hull met the forward side of the motor well. All three of them had it lightly there. I never give them a thought. They are there and they aren't going away. You can fix them with some more gelcoat but they will usually come back over time.