Soft spot problem.

I have a soft spot as shown in the photo. I have tried twice to inject resin with fiber strands into the soft spot as shown in the soft spot repair picture.
But I can't get the resin to go into the gap. I applied a lot of pressure on the injector too. I have drilled like 15 holes and no matter what only a few accepted resin and the spot is still soft. I think its more than a separation. The glass is damaged too.

My question is. Is this a bad place for a port hole (see pic)? If I put the port hole here will it cause my deck to fail or weaken the boat too much. Once I put the port hole in I am going to use some sturdy PVC to reinforce the deck with vertical beams. I will do the whole area. First I will glass the underside of the deck then put the PVC in. So is it a bad place for a port hole?

_________________
ALLEY CAT 1984 RED LINE HOBIE 18 MAGNUM
Sail # 10505 or 277

That's a pretty common location for soft spots on 18s since that's where the skipper often sits and stands (when comming in off the trap). Most would say that's not where you want to put a port hole. Are you talking about making reinforcing ribs using fiberglass/PVC foam sandwich panels? If so then I would think you'd probably be OK putting a porthole there as long as you added extra reinforcement. A porthole by itself would be a bad idea.

When you drilled your holes for injecting resin, did you drill all the way down to the bottom skin (but not through)? If you only just punched through the outer skin, but the inner skin is actually the one that's delaminated, then your resin won't be able to get to the lower skin. You can also clear out some of the foam around the holes by bending over a nail, clamping it in a pair of vice grips, inserting it in the hole and spinning it around. Then clean out with a shop vac.

Another thing to try is to have someone flex the deck while you pump the resin in. This will help open up the voids between the laminates. You definitely want to wear eye protection when you do this since resin can end up squirting around.

I assume by resin with fiber strands, you mean a thickend resin. I would use straight unthickened resin, especially if you're having issues getting it to flow into the hull.

sm

Wow your advice is great. I will try those things before I add a port hole.

I think it may be the inner skin.

If i were to add pvc supports. I would cut the port hole and glass the underside of the deck then add a alum plate over the soft area, then take 1 inch pvc pipe with a very thick wall and install them vertically under the soft spot and resting the inside of the bottom of the hull. I would make a base to support the bottom of the pvc. The base would be rather large to distribute the load. Everything epoxied together.

Also where the port whole goes I will reinforce it in the same matter. Maybe get a 5 inch pipe that the 5 inch port hole will go. It will limit the size of the stuff you can put in. I could even seal the bottom of the pipe to make it a water proof cooler. But the 5 inch pipe would reinforce it so much that it would be safe to sit on.

Also I am making a lot of holes in the deck, should I worry? I have repaired most of them but how to I fix the gel coat where the nonskid parts of the gel coat are. I want to give the repair that texture too, any ideas.

_________________
ALLEY CAT 1984 RED LINE HOBIE 18 MAGNUM
Sail # 10505 or 277

OK I just tried the nail thing and no luck. I am worried If i try to flex the deck there it may spread the soft spot. I tried cleaning a hole out to the under the foam but i think the foam may be the problem. There is no void between the layers, but it is still soft. Maybe its been flexed to many times.

What if I cut out 50 percent of the soft spot, just the top layer of glass, then clean out all the soft spot's foam, then fill the whole are with glass and resin then gel coat then sand and polish then go sailing. That way its strong and no port hole, and I would only cut away the center of the deck and leave the non skid areas intact.

_________________
ALLEY CAT 1984 RED LINE HOBIE 18 MAGNUM
Sail # 10505 or 277

If you still can't get the resin to flow into the holes, its possible that the glass on the inside isn't delaminated, but cracked. That would require repairing/reinforcing the inner glass. Maybe cut access holes on either end of the soft spot so you can get your hands in there and repair. Cut the holes in the smooth center portion of the deck so you don't have to deal with repairing non-skid. I'd stay away from using PVC pipe in the repair - I though you were talking about making PVC foam/fiberglass sandwich bulkheads. I'd suggest reviewing some of the Hotline articles that have been written over the last year or so regarding fiberglass repair techniques. Lots of good info there.


sm

You need to read the "This Old Hobie" article in this issue of the HOTLINE:

http://www.hobiecat.com/hobieclass/eHCA_Hotline07-08_2009.pdf

Living in San Diego, you could even have Rick Buchanan do it for you - he lives in Oceanside.

Same problem happened to me.
Was not delamination, but cracked to the inside fiberglass.
This was a repair which has remained solid.
Done by Stu at local sailing repair shop in Dunedin.
Two bulkheads, one forward, other aft of the porthole.







Wooden stick and clamp to hold bulkhead in place while fiberglass resin sets up.