Posted by joz on 05/27/15 - 8:06 AM
#1
Hi, I am the proud owner of a new-to-me 1995 15 foot Dauntless. I love the boat, it's in fabulous condition, and cleaned up to look almost new, especially the interior. I've owned other fiberglass boats before, and all of them had small cracks in what I assumed to be the gel coat. I never had any reason to believe they were structural. On my whaler, I have similar stress cracks, some on the dashboard originating from the screws that hold down the dash panel. However, there are two that I worry a little about, mostly because of where they are. There is one crack that originates from the bow eye screw and travels down a few inches along the hull. The other one starts below the whaler logo in the rear of the boat and heads down under the bottom of the boat. Neither of these cracks look deep or penetrable, and when the boat is on the trailer after being used, I have no drips anywhere. When I knock on the fiberglass on either area I don't get the impression there is any water logging issues. I guess I want peace of mind to know that they are not structural concerns. Do other people here have stress cracks on their whalers? What should I look for before I get worried? Any advice would be helpful.
Posted by stevebraatz on 03/23/16 - 8:05 PM
#2
Hello sir I have just recently discovered the same exact problem on my 15 dauntless whaler. I just discovered it a couple weeks ago and I have not decided how to fix it. Have you repaired your boat yet? My insurance company said it happened over time from hitting waves but I thought the thing was bomb proof. Needless to say they're not covering the structure of my boat. I don't know if I should fix it the best I can or use it this summer and monitor any of your thoughts would be helpful. Thanks!
Posted by jgortva on 03/24/16 - 5:57 AM
#3
I also have a 1995 15 foot Dauntless and have some stress cracks. A couple on the bow eye and at the dash around the control mounting holes after repowering the boat earlier this year, (Marina install guy over tightened the control mounting bolts I think). This is my 2nd whaler and the first was a pretty mint 1986 13 foot Sport that also had its share of cracks. Both of them are pictured on my personal page. Anyhow, I chalk it up to the fiberglass being over 20 years old and brittle, and nothing really to worry about as I believe there are very few Whalers on this site that are stress crack free. The one on the side of the rear of the boat by the logo is a little concerning as even on Lake Michigan where I boat, I have never seen waves create stress cracks so directly. I would think instead there might have been a small collision or maybe a case of hitting the dock. But still, these areas will probably never leak water, are mostly above the water line and more of a eyesore than a huge issue.
On a unrelated note you guys should post some pictures of your boats on your personal pages as I believe there are not enough 15 foot Dauntless owners on this site and we need to fully represent.
Jim G.