[no subject]

["David Schultz" <schultzdss@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi,

Please excuse me if this is a second message.  I sentit out Saturday and 
have not received a copy in our box yet on Tuesday. Eager for your input.

We are undergoing a nasty process of stripping the old, alligatored and 
chipping bottom paint down to the gelcoat.  Chemical stripper, vacuum 
orbital sanding and hand wet sanding. Ugh!

The upside (and bad news) is that we now have access to seeing numerous 
hairline crazing cracks and a star shaped crack in the gel coat.  The keel 
seems to have a very thin layer of gelcoat which was quickly sanded off in 
spots and especially where it melds to the hull.  We plan to paint the whole 
thing with a coat or two of West Epoxy to make a barrier.  It also has 
numerous tiny chips to repair .

Our big concern is what to do about the stress(?) cracks which appear to be 
under the bulkheads and around the bunkboard stanchions.  The only reason we 
were able to see these cracks at all was the residual blue bottom paint and 
a strong light made them visible while under the boat on a creeper. (We are 
doing this all in our barn.)  Most are a parallel set of up to 12 and up to 
12 inches long in 7 spots altogether.  Two are a rainbow shape of parallel 
cracks.  Really fine, almost like sanding marks but not, unfortunately.

Will appreciate any feedback on your experiences. This boat has spent most 
of its life on the trailer and was hauled to Washington state from N. 
Carolina by its first owner. Hoping any damage has reached its limits.

The other worry is that in the bow Dave has spotted an area where the 
fiberglass fabric around the bulkhead is lifted up.  Suspect we will have to 
reinforce this somehow?

Any tech tips about this topic would be welcome and thanks again, all of 
you, for making this site such a great resource to boaters.

Thanks.

Dave and Betsy Schultz

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