Hobie Cat Forums

I was just recently given a 79' Hobie 16 that is in pretty good shape except for this cut in the hull. It seems like something just sliced it..maybe on a dock? But it is relatively soft around where the cut is. (The cut goes through the fiberglass)

Can somebody take me through a process of what I should do

Picture coming soon...

Hi BananaSplit - Congrats on your Hobie!

You'll be doing a "blind hole repair" most likely.

Check This Old Hobie section of the hotline which helped me a lot:
http://2010.archive.hobiecat.com/hobiec ... 6_2008.pdf

and youtube such as http://youtu.be/rz5WCfipaNw

Where exactly on the boat is it located (fore to aft) and vertically (how far down from the lip on top of the hull)? Asking because there are different layers at different points vertically to deal with.

Also, how big is it?

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Jonathan
'85 H16 __/) 87468 Tidal Wave

Thanks for the help jonh!
The cut is on the outside of the left hull just behind the front pylon, in the middle of the hull, and about 1-2 feet long.

Check out the cross section here http://www.thebeachcats.com/pictures/?g2_itemId=10731 That'll give you an idea of what you will be dealing with.

Does the gouge go all the way through or just effect the outer layer? http://www.thebeachcats.com/pictures/?g2_itemId=10745

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Jonathan
'85 H16 __/) 87468 Tidal Wave

Here are some pictures to better help describe the situation.
It Appears that the gouge just affects the outside, although the hull flexes and it is slightly soft around where the gouge is.

How much time an $ do you want to throw at this?

You can "fix" it fairly easily, but it won't look pretty.

There's no way you're going to match the color anyway.

I would carefully sand the gel coat off about 1.25" on either side of the gouge. Don't sand through to the foam. Remove any broken bits of glass and foam in the center and level the crevice out with 3M High Strength Filler. Paint the exposed fiberglass surface with vinylester resin and lay a strip of 2" fiberglass tape along the crack and carefully wet it out with resin (don't use too much). (Vacuum bagging would be appropriate, but I'm assuming you don't have the equipment to do that.)

After the resin goes off, fair it level with 3M Premium Filler (vinylester). Sand smooth, repeat (the filler shrinks when it cures). You can tint the filler so it will at least resemble the color.

Then, if it's still soft in the area, do the epoxy injection routine.

It won't be pretty, but it'll work.

If you want pretty, it's a lot more time and $. A lot more.