1986 Martinique - gel coat cracking

So I'm almost committed to buying another member's Martinique. It's rough around the edges and has been left outside, but all hope is not lost. The boat's hull has been painted, but what concerns me is on the side, there are vertical cracks about every six inches from about halfway down to where the side of the hull meets the bottom. They're not really visible looking straight on, but show up more when you're looking down the side at an angle. Since the boat has been painted, I can't tell if they're just in the paint, or the gel coat.

I haven't seen much information about these boats, but the current owner says that there's no wood in the boat other than the floor and seat frames. Can anyone else confirm this? Thanks!

j.m., I believe the last year that CC made the Martinique was 89 and the first year that wood wasn't used is 93. I feel the current owner is wrong. Hopefully he isn't trying to cover up problems with the stringers. What year is it? It was made for quite a few and with a couple different hulls.

Hope you join the group here of many knowledgable CC owners. Check out the reference section as it does have info on the Martinique. There are some good threads on checking stringers too. If you have any problems finding them, post and we'll help out. Welcome.

j.m., Most likely it's not only the floor that is wet and there is a problem with the stringers as well. It's not a real complicated job but does require a few man hours! If the price is right then it may not be a lost cause. The deep hull Martinique I believe is the same as the Barefoot Nautique?? Check out "weeding the pumpkin patch" thread.

Vertical cracks to me are a big sign to turn and run. There has to be some major flexing on that hull to cause them. I looked at a nautique last fall that had vertical cracks and it had bad stringers, they must have been rotted for a very long time as this boat was trashed. Pure speculation without seeing your potential boat but you better be prepared for stringer, floor replacement and new gel to get it done correctly. My guess is the paint was a cover up.

81nautique wrote: TRBenj wrote: 8122pbrainard wrote: The deep hull Martinique I believe is the same as the Barefoot Nautique?? Check out "weeding the pumpkin patch" thread. Nope, not the same- but probably similar. I always thought the hull was the same but the deck was different. Edit, Scratch that, I was thinking of the Dominique.

This is a tough one!! Not finding any info on lenghts and beam that may indicate a common hull, I looked at Barefoots in the diaries. The later years are listed as 20' or is that wrong? Was the barefoot lengthened? I did find a reference that the Martinique was 20'. I do agree that there were the years that the Barefoot/Dominique were the same with different decks. Any comments? Were's Woody when we need him?

Alan, good catch on the paint. Forgot j.m. mentioned that! j.m., I doubt it's just the paint that is cracked but rather a poor job of repairing the gel coat. It cracked again and then telegraphed through the paint.

Tim, I take your word on everything but the way you replied, it didn't sound like you were sure. Ok, I'll go for similar but not the same!

I was in a rush to register last night and got my last name wrong in my userid... it's jackson. =)

81nautique, I'm leaning towards your conclusion, that the paint is a cover up. Maybe not intentional, but the result is the same.