As you can see most cracks will begin at a screw hole. That is because gelcoat is like a brittle layer on top of a more flexible structure layer. Many could be avoided by proper beveling at screw sites which is a lot more work. None of your options are easy but I have had some sucess with small
repairs by veeing out and carefully filling with gel but dont bother if you are not going all the way back to the root of the problem. In this case it means removing some hardware. Dont forget to bevel the screw holes before reinstalling. Jim also owner of Choice Fiberglass
www.choicefiberglass.com