Newly Applied Gelcoat Issues

I am new to the forum and need some advice. I have a houseboat and had the roof re-gelcoated about 2 years ago. There were some cracks from the boat being moved and there was a rotten corner that needed repair. Within the first 6 months of the repairs being completed and the entire roof being recoated, the cracks reappeared, new spider cracks formed, and now areas of the gelcoat have started to peel off. I have been working with the person who did the repair ever since and they keep coming back and patching. They say that this stuff just happens, or that something was spilled or used on the surface that keeps coming to the top and cracking the gelcoat. To me it seems that the surface was not adequately prepared in the first place. There was no major sanding or cleaning of the surface that I remember when they started the work. Also, where they have patched some long cracks I have dips where water now holds. I need to know if "this stuff just happens" or if I need to get the person to redo it correctly or get my money back.

 

It only happens when the job was done poorly. The cracks should have been ground down deeply and then patched with fiberglass cloth/resin. The old gelcoat needed to at least be heavily sanded with #80 grit. You probably need to get a different person to do a proper job.

 

It is possible you are using an inferior quality gel coat that is ortho based. It is brittle. Check if your gelcoat is iso based.

If it is of good quality, I am afraid you have structural issue. It is flexing too much and the first sign would be the micro cracking.

Try some test. Coat a loose panel with the gel coat you are using and leave it exposed in the same condition as your boat. If it does not crack and your boat panel did, you have structural issue.