Gel Cracks Near Platform Bracket

I was putting the tie-down straps on the boat this afternoon and noticed these by the left platform bracket bottom left bolt. Maybe they are new; maybe I've just never noticed them.



Do they look like cause for concern?

Is there any reason to believe that using tie-downs between the trailer and platform brackets could have caused this?

...time to go review old pics.

Thanks for that. Perhaps they were already there. Should I seal them to prevent water damage?

It may be my imagination...but this 176 on its single-axle trailer feels a little more secure on the road with the rear tie-downs.

pretty commom around tapered lag bolts, the hole may not of been drilled large enough and the taper of the bolt will cause the cracks

Do you tie down to the platform brackets?

Infinite5ths wrote: Yes...was told that is OK. The lift rings are not accessible on the 176 transom from beneath the platform; and there is nothing else on which to attach the top tie-down hook. We used a transom strap over the top of the boat for a short time; but it was starting to put very fine scratches in the deck gel (despite pads). So I replaced the transom strap with standard tie-downs.

You received some poor advice.

The amount of force exerted when the boat is bouncing around is much more than 200-400 pounds of people getting on and off of there with low dynamic loads.

Don't put the straps on anymore and enjoy your boat. If you needed straps on it CC would have put them on.

watrski wrote: You received some poor advice.

I would question who recieved the poor advice!!

There are plenty out there that tie down to the platform brackets without problems. In fact, by using the search feature here, you will find that it's been discussed at length many times.

You may also want to look into your states regulations. Many require the aft end to be tied off to the trailer.

I'm going with Eric's idea. The cracking looks like the factory didn't remove enough gel from around the hole before they ran the lags home.

Mike,
I'd just leave them. They will not cause any harm. We've got boat hulls all over with gel cracking!!

The rudder came with the boat.

No seriously - I think it's the stock rudder for this 176.

I'm heading to the lake...so replies may be delayed a few hours.

Thanks for the input folks!

Infinite5ths wrote: No seriously - I think it's the stock rudder for this 176.

I dont believe that to be the case. The 176's came from the factory with hokey looking hand made stainless rudders. The idea was that these thing detuned the turning and tracking of the boat so that it didnt outperform its 19'6" big brother.

That rudder looks sort of similar to a Correct Craft piece, but my bet is that its not. Most likely an aftermarket replacement.

Answer from Larry:
----------------------------------------------------------
Hi Mike,

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you but I wanted to run by some engineers too. We don’t see anything wrong with your set up, as long as you don’t overdo it when tightening the straps, which may not be possible. The bracket is lag bolted and through bolted so it is there to stay. In our opinion the cracks do not look new.



Larry
----------------------------------------------------------