Early this year, I bought a secondhand 2017 Wellcraft 242 Scarab Offshore that has run for almost 500 hours. I did the structural inspection so I know everything was good. I took it out two weekends ago and I noticed the gel coating on the port and starboard have gone brittle. I used it again this Saturday and saw that the cracking has grown to almost 8 inches! Before purchasing, I was able to confirm with the previous owner that the boat has never had damage nor has gone repair. Is it alarming that an 8-year old boat has brittle / cracking gel coat this soon? Has anyone noticed the same with their boats?
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Gel coat cracking
- Thread starter aho0oy.2
- Start date
WellcraftSkipper
New member
- Joined
- May 15, 2025
- Messages
- 4
If your 8-year-old boat's gel coat is cracking, it could be from sun damage, the hull bending, or the gel coat wasn't cured right to begin with. See if there's any water trapped under those cracks and maybe get a pro to take a look. If they're just surface cracks, you can usually fix them by sanding and using some filler. Have you felt any soft spots or seen any blisters? Better to take care of this stuff now before it truns into a major headache
AnchorBound
Member
- Joined
- May 13, 2025
- Messages
- 5
You've made some solid points! Sun damage and not curing properly are usually the main problems. Be sure to look for soft spots or blisters, those might signal bigger concerns. Sanding and using filler early on can really help avoid more issues later.