Significant gelcoat cracks

[Crosswinds]

Immediately after my boat (a 28' Albin Cumulus) was hauled and blocked, I noticed a series of stress cracks in the gelcoat on the port side midship, running longitudinally about 18-24" above the water line for a length of about 4 feet. There are 4 or 5 major cracks, more or less in a gentle wavy pattern, sort of parallel with each other. I noticed the cracks right away. I wasn't there when the yard hauled and blocked the boat (much to my annoyance--they said they were going to haul at a specific time and when I showed up the boat was on the stands.)

I can't positively say that the cracks weren't there before the boat was hauled. This season I tied up starboard side to in my slip, so I didn't see the port side as closely as the starboard side on regular basis. I think I would have noticed the cracks the last time I was swimming around the boat out in the Sound, but that was in August.

My suspicion is that the damage occurred either:

A.) during the haul and block, or
B.) at the dock if my boat was either hit from the port side or blown into the dock during one of the recent big wind storms (starboard side hits the dock with fenders, but the force is large enough to cause the hull to flex and damage the gelcoat on the port side)

I'm thinking the repair is going to be tedious at best and more than likely expensive. (I would tackle a small gelcoat repair myself, but this is pretty major.) My concern is that there is related damage that doesn't meet my inexperienced eye.

So I am considering calling my insurance company (BoatUS) and having an adjuster look at it. Does anyone have any experience with this sort of thing or any advice??

Thanks,

George
"CrossWinds"

PS. The only other gelcoat stress cracks are small around the swim ladder, just where you would expect to find them. I'm thinking about putting a backing plate behind the ladder mount on the transom. But that's easy.

[CalebD]

If you want your insurance co. to take your claim seriously I suggest you hire a surveyor to assess whether there is serious damage or superficial. You could call BoatUS and they would likely recommend a local surveyor to you. The ins. co.s don't have 'adjusters' for boat policies as they do for autos. Instead they use marine surveyors.