CONTINUOUSWAVE

Has anyone with a 2011 to current Boston Whaler 150 SuperSport had a crack [in the gel coat layer at the] bow [stem near the towing eye]?

I bought my boat used but in absolute mint condition last fall. There was and has been absolutely no damage to the bow of the boat or damage in any other area. I am the only one that uses my boat and use exceptional care in handling it.

The boat is lift kept but a couple of weeks ago when loading it on the trailer for a day trip, I noticed some new cracking above the bow eye on the front of the boat right in the area where the hull makes contact with the bow roller stopper. The cracks are about an inch long and do not run from or around the bow eye. Fast forward to a few days ago and I was taking a look at my bow again and now where two of the cracks form a fiberglass chip about the size of a child's fingernail has chipped off. Has anyone experienced this on this hull before?

My boat's bow eye is tight and there are no cracks on the other side. I do tow the boat like a dinghy behind our cruiser but at a extremely slow pace and have never whip lashed the boat. When the boat is tied to the dock I do use the front and rear eyes to tie it up but again these cracks do not connect or really get near to the front eye. I am starting to think this cracking had something to do with the bow stop on my trailer, because of the design there is only a small area of the stop that makes contact with the bow, could this be putting too much pressure on the area while trailering.

I will try to take some photos but the area does not photograph well.

Does the crack look like it was caused by an impact due to striking of the hull against something harder than gel coat?

Or, does the crack look like it was caused from relief of stress exerted on the hull from tension on the line connected to the bow eye?

In general a crack should not spontaneously appear in gel coat. The bow stem is a very common area of the hull for impacts against hard objects to occur. High stress can easily be created by tension in a line or strap connected to the bow towing eye. Boston Whaler offers an optional towing eye for boats that will be towed a lot.

When loading a boat on its trailer, if the bow eye is winched home while the stern of the boat is afloat above the trailer bunks, when the trailer is pulled out up the ramp and the boat stern fall down onto the trailer support, a very high tension can be created in the winch strap or cable.

A chip in the gel coat can occur if there were a void or air pocket in the laminate under the gel coat layer. Cracks are more likely to occur in area of gel coat where the gel coat layer is thick. The bow stem is a thick area for gel coat.