first- this motor is a 1998 johnson faststrike 115

i popped the cowling off to just do some general inspecting and found a crack. let me explain before the pics. the crack is in the top corner of the cylinder on left side of motor. in the first pic, the crack is in front of the spare fuse and underneath that mesh wire you see in the pic. i examined it close, and it actually looks and feels like hard plastic instead of metal. i put a flashlight in the crack and it look like the metal is underneath this hard plastic. please tell me this aint a cracked cyclinder!! is it some form of poured on gasket?? you can feel the transition from metal to this substance