After having my 1974 21' Hallett river cruiser re-gel coated the hull to deck inboard flange joint cracked approx. 36" long between the bow and cockpit after only a few hours on the water. Obviously the seam has separated and I have another project on my hands.  I searched several forums but could not find my exact issue and how to properly repair the flange connection/seam. Here are a few pics so you can see my dilemma. Any info would be great. My gel guy did a decent job but I think this is out of his comfort zone. I want to fix it the right way so it doesn't happen again. 

Did there used to be a bulkhead under the dash?

Looks to me like a normal stress crack that existed under the new gel and it just popped the area loose.

If there are ANY cracks in the original glass, they need to be completely removed even if it goes all the way through the original glass.

This crack needs to be completely ground out, preferably equally on both sides, and repaired properly. Only then can the gel be reapplied. This really should not be too bad of a job, just a shame it has to be done.

Hopefully you have some extra gelcoat?

Beautiful hull BTW.

GT

I purchased the boat last summer, brought it home and striped it. We did not notice the separation during the original inspection and during all the repairs and the new gel coat. There is the factory seam where the crack is located. It was originally a brown metal flake where that hull to deck seam is and it had a tiny amount of what seemed to be a sealant/caulk like 3M 2500. The tiny bit of what appeared to be 40 year old sealant was cover with a pin stripe. We sanded through the pin strip and sealant before the gel coat was applied. Never saw the cracking until the first day I put it in the water. The inboard flange joint seems to be approx. 3" to 4" of flange over lap between the deck and hull. I can't figure out the best way to re-bond the deck to the hull. Do I just grind the whole deck back and layer/cloth it back together with epoxy? I thought about wedging the separation open so I could force in epoxy to re-bond the flange?

I have extra gel left over from end of last summer. It was stored in my garage in so cal so hopefully it still good to use.

I purchased the boat last summer, brought it home and striped it. We did not notice the separation during the original inspection and during all the repairs and the new gel coat. There is the factory seam where the crack is located. It was originally a brown metal flake where that hull to deck seam is and it had a tiny amount of what seemed to be a sealant/caulk like 3M 2500. The tiny bit of what appeared to be 40 year old sealant was cover with a pin stripe. We sanded through the pin strip and sealant before the gel coat was applied. Never saw the cracking until the first day I put it in the water. The inboard flange joint seems to be approx. 3" to 4" of flange over lap between the deck and hull. I can't figure out the best way to re-bond the deck to the hull. Do I just grind the whole deck back and layer/cloth it back together with epoxy? I thought about wedging the separation open so I could force in epoxy to re-bond the flange?

I have extra gel left over from end of last summer. It was stored in my garage in so cal so hopefully it still good to use.

The unused gelcoat should be OK, if it is in a steel can, i recommend flipping it over upside down for a while. The again before opening it up, the resins will separate and can be difficult to mix back together. The resins are a different color than the gelcoat, so a color change could result if any of it crystallizes...


As for the repairing of the seam. I have not seen this type of joint up close and personal, but a 10,000 foot view tells me that you may need to make a parting line there to ensure the cracking will not reoccur.

This parting line could literally just be a relief cut through the gelcoat with a very thin cut off wheel and filling it with some lifecaulk or 3M 5200..

Good luck with the repair.

GT

Did there used to be a bulkhead under the dash?

The original bulk head is under this area. Now that you mention bulk head, I did glass in four new bulk heads to hold the new aluminum saddle tanks. There is another smaller version of this separation above one of my new bulk heads. Makes me wonder...

How did Hallett join the hull to the deck, adhesive, resin, epoxy, chewing gum? I wonder if 40 years has caused the bonding material to become brittle and it's going to crack all the way around in due time?

I thought I would mention a buddy purchased the exact same year, make and model of this boat. We used the same gel guy and my buddies actually cracked a few months latter sitting on the trailer at the mechanics house, it was never even off the trailer after his was re-gel coated. Just expansion and contraction from temperature changes and CRACK.. I wasn't as shocked as my buddy when he called me to tell me how his gel cracked..

 

This is what the other 99% of the boat looks like. 
Nice and clean little groove for wax residue to collect. 
Might not want to fix it.
I'm not gonna say it's a joint for flex but I don't see an easy fix. 

-beerjet-

Looks to me like a normal stress crack that existed under the new gel and it just popped the area loose.

If there are ANY cracks in the original glass, they need to be completely removed even if it goes all the way through the original glass.

This crack needs to be completely ground out, preferably equally on both sides, and repaired properly. Only then can the gel be reapplied. This really should not be too bad of a job, just a shame it has to be done.

Hopefully you have some extra gelcoat?

Beautiful hull BTW.

GT

x2


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I called Hallett today and they said to grind it out and glass it and it should hold up if done correctly. They referred me to Orange County Boat repair in Stanton. They said they don't do those kinds of repairs inhouse anymore. Sucks to be doing this type or repair after I just had the whole boat gel coated. Ouch! If you see me at Parker this summer there is a good chance it will have the cracks visable. This repair sounds like a winter project.

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The guys in Fontana, House of glass says they do all the outsourced work.

-beerjet-