hairline gelcoat cracks

[Rustygaff]

Getting ready to cover the 255 for the winter and was putting on a quick coat of wax. While wiping off the wax I discovered some horizontal hairline cracks in the gelcoat on the hull side about 8" up from the water line. The cracks are 8 to 10" long. The are very thin and one would would have to look hard to see them. Any concern or normal wear and tear? My best guess these may be from bumping into the corner of the dock when backing into my slip. My son, when operating the boat would sometimes use the dock corner as a pivot on windy days when docking. Please note the attached pic is inverted. The cracks are horizontal.

 

[ElyseM]

hard to see, but from things i've seen in the past they do look like impact cracks. if so, probably deeper than just gel coat. if it were my boat i would definitely have it fixed. also, i would install some high quality dock fenders to absorb any impact. i've never used those big corner wheel fenders, but they do look pretty sturdy. good luck, ron

 

[Ozz043]

I agree, I would have them looked at preferably by a surveyor not a repair guy. While he's there he could look over the boat anyway, possibly point out other areas of concern. Always a lot to learn from a good surveyor.
I have fender wheels on each corner, they work well I like them.

Ozz