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Crack in Settee Bilge.

Q - How concerned should a person be about a crack in the settee bilge?  Alan

A1 - If this view is of the vertical bulkhead, it consists of  a rather thin solid sheet of unfinished fibreglass that bonds from the forward edge of the settee down to the hull.  It is taped with mat tape to the hull, so you have no worries.  That bulkhead divides the settee from the V-berth compartment and offers no significant structural support.  It also happens to be in the region of the bunk support for many versions of 23 trailers and a little point-loading and road rocking are enough to cause the tape-in bond to fail.  Hope this helps.  Gleno

A2 - I had a similar crack under the port settee, but about mid girth.  What bothered me is that I could see water weeping around the crack.  I thought I might have water below the hull liner and I sure didn't want to go into winter with that.  Anyway, this wasn't the case as I soon discovered.  I cut a shallow V notch down the length of the crack and packed paper towel in it, then waited.  The paper got a bit damp but that was all.  So my problem was local and very minute, so I set my worries aside.  The water came from inside the settee, likely from the anchor locker.  I left the crack to vent for several weeks and it stayed dry.  Then I sealed it with Marine Goop.  Things are still bone dry down there.   Bob
 

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