Small crack in deck

[Coszie]

I know parker will stand behind this and I'm sending an e-mail to them about it. However, I'm wondering if any one here has experienced this on their parker deck.
The crack is around four inches long and the photos tell the rest. For me to trailer it to the dealer is a hard two hour drive and I’m thinking repair it myself because I’m going to paint my deck this spring anyway.
The boat is a 2004 and the crack appeared this pass summer. Anyone have a clue what could have caused it, or has anyone had this happen to them in the pass? Thanks Guys

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[Uncle Matt]

Coszie -

I have a 2004 23SE that had a similar sized crack that extended out from the deck plate behind the leaning post. It started last summer so I contacted Robin Parker by email. My dealer fixed it last month and they had to redue the whole deck to get the color to match.

I'd recommend bringing the boat to the dealer and let them take care of it. It's under warranty plus in case this keeps happening Parker may be able to locate the problem.

Good luck.

 

[Porkchunker]

Is it a crack or a gouge? Hard to tell from the photo.

If it is a crack, it could have been a void in the marine plywood that collapsed and allowed the glass sheet and gelcoat topcoat to crack. Marine ply is not supposed to have voids, but it can happen.

 

[Porkchunker]

BTW, the voids occur when the wood is peeled from the round log, and a knot is present in the log. The knots fall out leaving a hole in the wood sheet. The sheets are then glued together with the grain offset 90 degrees. The void is supposed to be filled in with wood sawdust mixed with a waterproof resin/glue before the next sheet is laid down. If you go to a lumber yard and look at the exerior sheeting, you will see lots of voids. Flooring grade sheet will have the voids filled in on one side, to support vinyl sheet and tiles. Furniture grade has the voids filled in on both sides. Marine grade is supposed to have all voids filled, on both exterior sides and all layers of the interior.

Parker would not be able to detect the void inside the plywood, but will probably stand behind the deck anyway (my speculation).

Since the boat is only 2-3 years old, I'd recommend you take it back to your Parker dealer (or the nearest Parker dealer) and have them fix it under warranty. Parker would probably want to look at the problem before it is fixed as part of their QC process (again, my speculation).

 

[salty sam]

I've had the same thing happen to my 04 25XL. Cracks appeared on each side of the cockpit, forward of the steering station. This is an area where I put deck chairs on occasion but they have heavy rubber feet so it shouldn't cause this. Cracks are about 1-2" or so. I've had them patched once by my dealer and now I've noticed one starting to reappear. I'm going to have them fix it again this spring, and, if it doesn't match, they can recoat the whole deck. As someone said, I'd let Robin Parker know about it.
John

 

[Coszie]

Thanks for the reply guys. I have been in contact with Robin and waiting to hear the final on where to go with this. This is just a minor problem with the ply. It even happens with a Parker "once in a blue moon" and they will take care of it. You guys up north never let the rockfish make their way down here all that great this year anyway so it's not like I'm going to miss anything by putting it in the shop. On the other hand just ask me when I'm putting it in the shop and you'll catch all you want on the Outer Banks that week. Coszie