Pre 89 H18 mods

Matt,

You mentioned in an earliar post that a "post glue stage" patch of glass that connected the deck to the sidewall of the hull at the forward crossbar connection was added beginning in 89 18's to beef up that area of the hull. Can I make this (or similar) mods to my 88 boat? I just bought this boat and noticed that the anchor plates have been added at the forward crossmember and also at the shroud connections. On the inside of the hulls at the forward crossmember, it looks like about a 4" x 4" patch of glass was added to thicken the hull where the bolts came through. Is this sufficient? So far, no cracking in this area although I can't say I'm not a little nervous about sailing the boat far offshore which I enjoy doing.

Thanks,

Tom Hundley
H18M

You can add the patch. The 4" wide one is not wide enough to distribute loads outside of the anchor "indent" that the anchor plates bolt into. Since the inside of the boat has a bead of putty at the deck to hull connection, you have to grind that out and or fair it in with more putty to make a radius. Then sand the inside of the deck and side wall. Make a patch that is about 12" wide and long enough to go 6 inches into the deck and down the side wall 6 - 8 inches.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

Appreciate the info very much Matt!

Will one patch the size you recommended be sufficient or would several overlaying patches be better?

Tom Hundley

One patch would be a layer of glass mat and a layer of woven over the top of that, done at one time. That is enough.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)