[paulk]

Can''t quite understand how a gelcoat crack like that would come from lifting the deck out of the mold. They would/should have fixed it before it left the factory. Sounds more like someone jumped or fell there, hard - like from the spreaders. You don''t say if the crack goes across the boat or lengthwise, which may give some clue as to what may have caused it. Gelcoat cracks and crazing often appear because the fiberglass underneath bends more easily than the relatively brittle gelcoat. Often only the gelcoat has cracked, and the fiberglass underneath is OK. This is a cosmetic problem, and can be fixed easily with new gelcoat in a couple of hours if there''s only one crack. If the crack extends into the fiberglass too, then it is more serious. The fiberglass needs to be reinforced so it doesn''t break again and the crack needs to be repaired. This may mean removing the headliner and adding laminates to the overhead: messy, fiberglass dust-in-the-eyes-type work. Your surveyor should be able to make some educated guesses about the crack, and perhaps ask some questions of the owner or broker that will provide better answers for you. You don''t want to buy this boat and have the crack be a foot longer the week after you close the deal.