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Worst customer service ever.....not from Hobie however.
http://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=52154
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Author:  atv223 [ Fri Jul 18, 2014 1:57 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Worst customer service ever.....not from Hobie however.

I would try try this. http://www.tapplastics.com/product/repa ... hesive/435

Just make sure to absolutely follow the instructions with the flame. They are using an oxidizing flame to make the surface of the plastic chemically reactive. There are other ways to activate the surface of PE, but not outside if an industrial setting.

I've never used it, but the videos look impressive.

Author:  stringy [ Sat Jul 19, 2014 2:30 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Worst customer service ever.....not from Hobie however.

RockHillHobieNewbie wrote:
Good news is I'm 6'2" and have long arms.......and need them to reach the mast insert area. There is room to work but in trying to get the mast tube out the other night .....whew it was tough.


To ensure a proper repair having good access is essential. If it was me I'd be putting an inspection hatch on the bulkhead forward of the rear drive. I added two 4" hatches there on our old Oasis, as well as a few more and had no leakage or other problems at all. The pics are gone (and I have long sold the Oasis) but there is some info in this post:
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=12042&p=73826

Author:  RockHillHobieNewbie [ Mon Jul 21, 2014 7:06 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Worst customer service ever.....not from Hobie however.

Well I've made the repair this weekend. Sort of a combination of a lot of things suggested by mainly Fusioneng and Roadrunner. Roadrunner thanks again for the blue sample discs I got them on Saturday. I tried a sample frying pan patch on the inside of a piece of hull my local dealer gave me. It worked awesome....after only a half hour I tried to pry up on the outside edges of the cutting board and ended up actually breaking it in pieces ....excellent adhesion.

So Saturday morning plan was to start with the cutting board frying pan method.......was just too difficult. You basically have about 5 seconds to adhere the patch and after three attempts I gave up. I ended up drilling a hole in the center of a cutting board piece and pulling the cutting board patch to center it over the hole and then spot plastic welded it to tack it in place. Then I filled in the hole using the KC Welder and about 3 welding sticks....making sure to try to adhere to the cutting board itself as well as the edges of the hull hole.

Next I decided I could use the welder to melt the cutting board to the hull for adhesion paying particular attention to the edges of the cutting board piece trying to insure a water tight seal from the inside so that water would not get in that way as obviously there will be some water in the hull normally from slight hatch leaks etc. This was a real adventure I'm telling you!!! As I could only see the cutting board patch from the front hatch and only the front and one side. My solution? Used my GoPro camera and inserted it into the back hatch and slid it forward where I could see the repair area. Then used the GoPro app on my phone to look at phone while welding....only problem was movements were backwards and a 3 to 4 second delay from what I was welding and what I was seeing on phone. HA LOL.

I then decided to use the blue disc to cover over the darker blue welding stick I had used on the outside to make it look better. Did that. Checked the mail and found the two discs Roadrunner had sent. Used one for the above. Then used the other and put four screws through it and secured on the inside....three of them, the other was under the mast support which I didn't reconnect but with an endcap comes close to the bottom of the hull. I then melted the edges of the disc just for good measure, covered the screw heads and then the entire disc using a piece of the hull material from dealer as filler. I thought in order to cover the holes I had created with the screws I could use some silicone caulk....so mostly by feel I put a bunch of concrete crack filler silicone caulk over the entire cutting board piece and exposed screws. This material seems to have set up nicely.

At this point we have rain in the forecast for basically the entire week (you poor California people we have had a ton of rain this year in SC). I may try to take it out for a test sometime this week if I get a weather break, but in the meantime gives it a little more time to completely cure the caulk. The final repair from the outside is not pretty right now but I'll be happy if it just holds and will worry about sanding it later if I get that lucky. I may try to look at the directions for posting pics later and post a few.....wish I had taken more but once I started the project I was too involved.

Once again this forum has been wonderful as I got some great advice so thank you all.
Next

Author:  Roadrunner [ Mon Jul 21, 2014 9:00 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Worst customer service ever.....not from Hobie however.

Rockhill, excellent job! These are your pics if you'd like to describe them:

Image

Image

Image

8)

Author:  RockHillHobieNewbie [ Mon Jul 21, 2014 9:36 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Worst customer service ever.....not from Hobie however.

Thanks RR:
(1) First pic is the Teflon coated frying pan method with a test piece of PE cutting board. This method would work very well provided you can get to the area in question. YOU ONLY HAVE 5-10 SECONDS TO PUT IT IN PLACE WHILE STILL HOT/MOLTEN.

(2) This is the plastic welding from the outside. I purchased a KC Welder and darker blue PE welding "rods" or strips.

(3) Patch from a sample disc 2 3/4in that I inserted screws through for strength and put nuts on the inside of hull. Later this was completely welded over.

Sorry I didn't have a final pic of the completed repair but you get the idea. I just hope it holds now. I'm not sure if the area directly under the mast insert is a high flex area or not? There are several other molded supports for the front seat back support as well as the mast area insert.

On the water test scheduled for whenever all this rain concludes in South Carolina.....we have it in the forcast basically all week and there have even been flashflood warnings this morning. I would guess we have had over 4" of rain just this morning.......Western states need it now not us?

Author:  fireplug [ Sun Oct 12, 2014 5:45 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Worst customer service ever.....not from Hobie however.

Amen..Amen and Amen... I also am a Hobie newby who purchased a good looking kayak that had internal issues...The good news is that you all have supplied for many years it seems, thoughtful repair solutions! There are probably many silent folks like me that look and attempt to learn from yours and others situations. I'm a former West Wight Potter owner, puddle ducker, and soon to be Hobie sailor person...damn them torpedeos.... Main thing I wanted to say is Thank You to all the folks here that offer positive solutions! :idea:... :idea::idea:.. :idea: :idea: :idea: ... There are problems, there are solutions... :wink:

Author:  RockHillHobieNewbie [ Wed Oct 15, 2014 9:55 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Worst customer service ever.....not from Hobie however.

I would highly recommend one of the two glues recommended by Roadrunner somewhere in this long post. If you can get to the inside of the hull easily in retrospect I believe this may be the best option for a repair.....using a piece of hull or sample disc and glue. Again I did not try this method but I think if I had had more time and had purchased these glues it would have worked excellent. I would still use the plastic welding on the outside. I recently sold my kayak....just decided I needed something more suited to fishing so I bought a john boat and 5hp motor.....but the repair I made did work. Just take your time and go slow. :D

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