Fold Down Swim Step

[no_rulz25]

Anyone with the fold down swim step have any issues with it splitting/cracking? Mine has a small crack going lengthwise down the side. I need to throw some sealant on it before it takes on to much water. I'm sure those aren't cheap to replace.

[tgrace98]

Anyone with the fold down swim step have any issues with it splitting/cracking? Mine has a small crack going lengthwise down the side. I need to throw some sealant on it before it takes on to much water. I'm sure those aren't cheap to replace.

you can probably have any fiberglass shop repair it. But I saw someone post on the facebook group that a new one was about 1500 bucks.

[sailor55330]

I had spider cracking on my gelcoat on my swimstep last year. Had it fixed under warranty so the dealer coordinated the repair but I learned a little. If you do have it fixed instead of replaced, make sure they are an authorized Cobalt repair shop or the non-skid pattern may not match. Apparently there is a specific pattern that Cobalt uses and authorized fiberglass shops are given the "pattern". They sanded my repair area flush and then built it up with new gelcoat and "stamped" the pattern before it hardens. It took them about 4 tries from what I heard, but perfect match.

[no_rulz25]

Thanks for the info!!

[CaptainTom]

I had a void show-up in my 2013 273 swimstep. Mine was not covered by warranty but I was past 5 years on the boat so that might have made a difference. The price to have the dealer replace it was about $500-800 (back in 2018). I ended up fixing it myself (mostly because it was summer and I didn't want to do a haul out) and it looked good enough.

There are two types of swim steps. My 2013 had a grit style non-skid, not the patterned kind. I suspect that you have the same grit style I had because yours is also a 2013. Basically, "sand" is mixed in to the gel coat before it is applied. I bought a gel coat repair kit from west marine and some non-skid "sand" from sherwin-williams. I followed the instructions for the gel coat repair kit and just added some sand. I did some test batches to see how much sand to add to get a match. Worse case, you sand out your repair and start over. A fiberglass repair place should be able to do this easily. If your crack doesn't go through the non-skid it should be an easy repair. I would just seal it up and get some quotes from professionals in the off-season.
I called Cobalt when I got my void and they told me that the step is not cored with wood and to not worry about water that my have gotten in the step while the boat was in the water.


The current Cobalt swim steps are the patterned type. That is a more complicated repair if the crack goes through the non-skid. The public can by patterns and Jamestown Distribution sells one that is supposed to be for Cobalts. But, I would leave patterned non-skid repair to the professionals. Just seal it up and again find a pro in the offseason.

[no_rulz25]

I had a void show-up in my 2013 273 swimstep. Mine was not covered by warranty but I was past 5 years on the boat so that might have made a difference. The price to have the dealer replace it was about $500-800 (back in 2018). I ended up fixing it myself (mostly because it was summer and I didn't want to do a haul out) and it looked good enough.

There are two types of swim steps. My 2013 had a grit style non-skid, not the patterned kind. I suspect that you have the same grit style I had because yours is also a 2013. Basically, "sand" is mixed in to the gel coat before it is applied. I bought a gel coat repair kit from west marine and some non-skid "sand" from sherwin-williams. I followed the instructions for the gel coat repair kit and just added some sand. I did some test batches to see how much sand to add to get a match. Worse case, you sand out your repair and start over. A fiberglass repair place should be able to do this easily. If your crack doesn't go through the non-skid it should be an easy repair. I would just seal it up and get some quotes from professionals in the off-season.
I called Cobalt when I got my void and they told me that the step is not cored with wood and to not worry about water that my have gotten in the step while the boat was in the water.


The current Cobalt swim steps are the patterned type. That is a more complicated repair if the crack goes through the non-skid. The public can by patterns and Jamestown Distribution sells one that is supposed to be for Cobalts. But, I would leave patterned non-skid repair to the professionals. Just seal it up and again find a pro in the offseason.

The crack isn't on the flat surface with the non-skid, it runs lengthwise across the front of the step. Almost like the step is splitting in two.