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Cracks near swim platform brackets


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Purchased my Malibu last year and for half the summer I struggled with excess water in the bilge. Dealer could never reproduce the problem but I eventually discovered it was due to the platform brackets being loose.  I tightened them down and planned to readdress in the off season. 

I just got the platform and brackets off and noticed some gel coat cracks radiating from the bolt holes. Do these need repaired or am I good to just leave them as is? 

Couple other questions.

1. I’m planning to reseal these bolt holes and brackets with 3M 4200. Any issues with that?

2. Do the screws going into the actual platform need sealant in the hole or are they good without?  I didn’t see anything when I pulled them out.

Thanks!

 

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Too many big girls on your platform at some time. If you drill a hole at the end of each crack it will stop them from spreading. Obviously don't go all the way through, just through the gelcoat.

1) 4200 is good stuff. Go around the holes and into the hole and around the bolts.

2) Yes, they need sealant too. Otherwise water will get into your swim platform and it will become water logged. You don't want that.

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ahopkins22LSV

I’d guess those cracks happened when your platform bolts were loose because the holes look damaged to me. If it were me I’d look at having them repaired professionally as they might night just be surface cracks. It would be piece of mind for myself.

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Think about using 3M 5200 if you just patch it.  Stronger than 4200.

I agree with @ahopkinsVTX that it was probably when the bolts were loose but I would just patch and tighten everything and have another look at it mid season.

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11 hours ago, skurfer said:

Too many big girls on your platform at some time. If you drill a hole at the end of each crack it will stop them from spreading. Obviously don't go all the way through, just through the gelcoat.

1) 4200 is good stuff. Go around the holes and into the hole and around the bolts.

2) Yes, they need sealant too. Otherwise water will get into your swim platform and it will become water logged. You don't want that.

3

Drilling the small hole at the end of the crack will I need to seal that up after I'm finished?  Thinking the smallest drill bit I have is sufficient?

Thanks for the feedback. The bottom hole looks worse than it actually is because the bracket / silicone pulled off a small piece of gel coat.  When I inspected the holes I don't see any signs of rotted wood.  I agree it was probably done when the platform wasn't tightened.  No clue how long they had been like that because that's how it was when I purchased it just overlooked it during inspections.

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OK, I may be wrong on this but here's what I would do:

Trim up your damaged spot above the hole.

Use a cotton ball on the end of a wire or something to spread thin (like liquid soap viscosity) epoxy into the hole and around the hole entrance to seal the glass against water intrusion.  Get that chipped area too.  BTW, you have NO wood in your 2012 boat.

Use a 1/8th drill bit to drill through just the gel coat at the end of the cracks.  Use a sharp bit in reverse rotation.

Rub a little bit of 5200 in the holes.

Make sure you have not put too much epoxy in the hole by passing the bolt through.  Then wait for the epoxy to fully cure and the 5200 to dry/cure.

Reinstall the brackets nice and tight.

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Use the largest one of these in the holes before you seal everything back up. It looks like the factory did this but not enough. These really prevent cracks on any holes drilled into any boat. Too late for yours tho..

 

https://www.amazon.com/KSEIBI-689050-Grinding-stone-Rotary/dp/B06XTD5HMR/ref=sr_1_13?keywords=drill+grinding+stone&qid=1552444640&s=gateway&sr=8-13

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