Cal 35 deck cracks

[Bardo]

I went and looked at a 1980 Cal 35 today. The boat looked in pretty good shape, except it has air conditioning and refrigeration, which I don't want or need. But what concerned me was two cracks in the deck, one on each side of the forward corners of the cabin, about 6 inches long and running at about 45 degrees from the corners. They had been opened a bit and filled with epoxy, so no water appears to be getting into the deck (pending a moisture meter reading). Could these cracks have been the result of a hard grounding, or some improper tensioning of the stays? Any knowledge of problems endemic to the Cals of this era? Thanks for your help.

Freeman

[sailingdog]

cracks in the deck, one on each side of the forward corners of the cabin

I don't see how these could be from a grounding, if they are in the deck/cabintop. They sound like stress cracks, but could have been just the gelcoat cracking... Where are they in relation to the chainplates??? If they're not near the chainplates, I doubt they're rig stress related.

[sailaway21]

Just off the top of my head (and I'm not that tall) I'm thinking the boat might have been in a "sagging" condition for awhile. As in, she was on the hard with the ends inadequately supported, resulting in the deck being under tension. Just a SWAG.

More likely might be some localized stress, or weakness, from the years. Racking of the cabintop would possibly manifest itself in radial cracks at the corners. How would the cabintop get racked? Above my pay grade, that one.

[sailingdog]

I would think that being improperly supported while on the hard would lead to cracks near the chainplates, as that would increase the stress on the rig, which would tend to support the bow and stern via the headstay and backstay. Of course, if the mast was unstepped, then the racking would have affected the cabin top, not the chainplates, as there would be no rig to take up the stress.

[Bardo]

SD,

If I recall correctly, the cracks are not near the chain plates. I suspect that that location is just a point of stress in the gelcoat where it is faired around the corner of the cabin. There were few other unexpected problems visible on a cursury inspection, and the hull looked in good shape. Too bad she draws 6 feet. thats probably too much for the ChesBay if you want to sneak into those shallow gunk holes.

[TSteele65]

Originally Posted by Bardo

Too bad she draws 6 feet. thats probably too much for the ChesBay if you want to sneak into those shallow gunk holes.

Yup. If you really want to go gunkholing, 5' is probably as deep as you'd want to go.

[sailingdog]

If you really want to gunkhole, get a multihull. I have a board up draft of 15".