non-skid deck spider web cracks

[ole yeller]

I'm realatively new to both this site, and as a SeaCraft owner. Within the past month or so, I've noticed some hairline spiderweb crakcs that have begun radiating out from the points where the T-Top is bolted to the floor. They don't seem like a big deal, but should I be concerned?

I've owned lots of boats before, so I know Spiderwebbing is common, but I've never encountered it in the floor liner before...

[SECF3114M73J]

Cracks in the deck aren't good. If you don't address the problem you're gonna have a soft deck. On my '73/23 the deck core was end grain balsa with approx. 4" wide strips of ply wood where the console screws down. Don't let water get in there.

[Dave Hirshberg]

As long as they're small and don't travel far I'd leave them alone. If they get bigger than hairline and travel more than a couple of inches you need to find out whats making that area so stressed. But sounds like normal stuff to me.

[FELLOW-SHIP]

Small cracks usually become bigger cracks over time. That little movement of the t-top is like bending wire sooner or later the wire breaks down, well sooner or later the gel coat gets to the fiberglass and then water gets into the core material. Looking at your boat picture it appears to be a newer boat, if so see if it is on warrantee. If yours is a newer boat your core material should be composite material that doesn’t rot like balsa. Another questions is who put the t-top on & what type of hardware did they use sheet mettle screws through the deck or is it bolted with nuts and washers under the deck with a plate. One of the problems with composite core material is that if you just use sheet metal screws the screws have nothing to hold onto like wood gives the screws something to bit onto. Another possibility is that the screws are screwed down so tight and the composite material not very firm that the pressure of the screws themselves is doing some damage themselves. Bottom line is that you will have to ask your self when is it time to pull the trigger and do something about it. For me since I live in South Florida I set aside the middle of the summer to do fix up work on my boat it’s to hot to fish and to far away from the air conditioning and the Budweiser locker, guy’s up north do their work during the winter when it is to cold to fish. This could be something you need to do this year maybe next or maybe even four years down the line depending on how fast and how bad it gets.
Fellow-Ship [img]images/icons/cool.gif[/img]

[ole yeller]

Thanks for the replies, I'm working with SC warranty folks right now. It looks like that this should all be covered under warranty since my boat is a 2002 hull.

I'll keep everyone posted. It will be interesting to see how they propose to rectify this issue.