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PostPosted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 6:48 pm 
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Site Rank - Deck Hand

Joined: Thu Aug 02, 2012 6:13 pm
Posts: 3
I just purchased a 1988 H17. I have been sailing a 16 for many years but wanted to try something different and the wings on the 17 were always rather appealing. I have been going over the new to me 17 figuring out what needs repaired and noticed that where the front crossbars mate to the hulls did not look right. http://s1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj541/swaompfox/ this is a link to some Photos I took of it. The back crossbar looks fine and is flush with the humps on the outboard part of the hull but the front crossbar looks like it was possibly sailed with the bolts loose or maybe someone was just careless when assembling or disassembling the boat.

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PostPosted: Fri Aug 03, 2012 9:08 am 
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Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2003 7:11 pm
Posts: 5197
Location: Detroit, MI
Yeah, that doesn't look so good.

You need to take the boat apart and see what's going on. My guess is that the cast aluminum shoes that attach to the humps are loose.

You'll need to grind away all that cracked gel coat to see what structural damage is there - guaranteed, there's some.

It's fiberglass - it can be fixed.


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PostPosted: Fri Aug 03, 2012 11:57 am 
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Joined: Mon May 09, 2005 10:25 am
Posts: 4176
Location: Jersey Shore
Two links to relevant posts...

http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=39913&p=162131&hilit=crossbar#p162131

http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=11944

If you look at the last several pics in the second link, you can see what appears to be happening is that the bottom edge of the crossbar wears into the bottom edge of the hull saddle (where the cast aluminum shoe mounts). Once it wears through the glass here enough, the fiberglass "hump" starts to break free and as it moves around, the glass on the outside of the hump begins to crack. By the time you see cracks on the outside of the hump, there is already more significant damage hidden by the crossbar.

I would definitely recommend removing the front crossbar and reinforcing both the outside of the "hump" as well as the bottom edge which is hidden by the crossbar. It also leads me to think that the next time I have my boat apart, I'll probably hit the cut edges of the crossbars with a file to make them a little less sharp and a little less likely to cut into the glass.

sm


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 9:54 am 
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Joined: Mon Sep 20, 2004 12:36 pm
Posts: 788
Location: Tri-Cities, WA
Also, when the cross bars are off check their undersides for cracks, especially where the dolphin striker supports go in. I had to replace both my cross bars this year due to cracking (my boat is a 2000).


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PostPosted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 12:49 pm 
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Site Rank - Deck Hand

Joined: Thu Aug 02, 2012 6:13 pm
Posts: 3
Thanks for all the help, not sure this old boat is worth the effort and money to get it back on the water. I just found a 10" long crack on the bottom of the starboard hull which is weeping water and there is also major cracks in two of the wing tubes. I know all the problems are repairable but when you put that with a sail that is going to need replacing I think I am better off parting it out. At least next time I will know what to look for.

Thanks again for all the help.


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PostPosted: Sat Aug 25, 2012 6:53 pm 
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Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2012 9:17 am
Posts: 21
Soo... you have a H17 for sale? :D
Where are you located?


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PostPosted: Sun Sep 30, 2012 1:28 pm 
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Joined: Sat Mar 19, 2011 7:04 pm
Posts: 48
older topic but I just attended to those cracks in the bumps on my hobie 17 and can tell you exactly what causes them. Those bumps are a sealed pocket filled with foam. The screws that hold the plate to that bump go into the pocket and over time allow water in. Winter hits and the water freezes and cracks the bump. I ground off the outside of the bump and removed all the foam, then bolted the plate in place. Currently my boat is set up that way. It looks funny but it works. I used a dremmel tool to remove the glass and foam. Interestingly there is another pocket below the deck level that the larger pins go into. I mean the pieces of the plate that go under the deck level. On one join on my boat that had cracked too. Again I sanded it down and this time I glassed it. But if you do this either make sure the pins still have a place to go (don't fill the whole area) ot be ready to drill new holes. These boats are fixablebut that whole area is IMHO a design flaw. That area of the hull where the cross beam rests can hold about 10-12 ounces of water. And since it is in the beam, it almost never goes away and dries out. When I took my boat apart that area was filled with all sorts of interesting marine life. I have pictures of my repair but on a different computer so I will post later. There was a thread that showed pictures of a junked hull cross sectioned and you can see exactly what I am talking about. If you have inspection ports in the hulls you can feel the lower bumps.


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