Hull cracking

I just bought a 14' hobie this weekend, unsure of the year or what model it is as there are no markings (it seems fairly old). Everything is in surprisingly good shape (no oxidation on any part, sail is in great shape, structure overall is very solid and all parts are attached), except for the hull, I think. I was looking it over in my yard and I pressed on the top of one of the hulls and it made a cracking sound and gave way a little. No cracks opened up on the surface, but it felt as if the material underneath gave way like it was brittle. So I gently pressed on the rest of both hulls' surfaces and it was a pretty uniform crunching all the way along the tops except at ends and the points at which the frames attached into the hulls, they seemed pretty solid. I am not sure of how to fix this (hopefully cheaply) or if it even worth trying to fix. I would hate to learn that this problem is malignant to the boat itself because the rest of it is in such excellent shape. If anyone can give me some advice, it would very much appreciated. Thanks

First, Congratulations on joining the Hobie way of life. Welcome.

Now to the not so fun part. It sounds like you have a severe case of delamination. Do a search on this forum on how to repair it. From what you describe it seems that the entire deck on both hulls is delaminated. I will have to defer to those who know more about these boats than I do to tell you if it is worth repairing.

I do know there is a guy near Virginia beach that is very knowlegeable in beach cats and may be able to help. If you can't repair it he may even have an old H14 sitting around. Do a search on here for Dan Berger. If you can't find him in this forum look at the www dot catsailordot com forum.

Good luck with the new (to you) boat

_________________
Nick

Current Boat
In the market
Previous boats owned
'74 Pearson 30
'84 H16
'82 H18 Magnum
St. Louis, MO

You will need the following:

http://www.outdoorsuperstore.com/store/ ... T-ROT&affc

You will also need a drill and some large syringes. Drill several 1/8- 1/4 inch holes on the top of the hulls every foot or so. "Do not drill all the way through the hull"! Just drill through the top layer of the fiber- glass sandwich. Using a large syringe, introduce the Git Rot solution through the holes until the solution fills the voids in the sandwich. The solution will harden and you will then need to cover the holes with some gel coat. If there is extreme delamination in your hulls you will need lots of git rot and you may not be able to completely fix the problem. Attempting this fix may be enough to make the boat safe enough to sail for a few years. If you don't fix the situation and you sail the boat in an aggressive manner, the hulls may fold on you.

Hope this helps,
Danny Galeana
http://pirates.dwebz.net

Hey, this forum is the most interactive that I have ever visited, you guys are so helpful. Thanks for the information, this will help a lot. I know a guy that used to do fiberglass work on boats and auto to put himself through college. He said that he suspects that the core is actually rotting out and that it might take cutting the hulls open and replacing the fiberglass. Talk about spending more for fixing it up than what I bought
it for. I see it as worth it though, this boat looks extremely fast and I think it will countless hours of fun once it is fixed up. Thanks again.

Before you go cutting up your hulls to take a look at the core I would suggest treating the repair as delam only first. If that does not seen to fix the problem, then your freind may be right.

One upgrade to consider adding at this point in time are inspection ports for your hulls. I would put them about 12" in front of your forward pylons. This will do a few things for you:

1) Allow you to look at the core material in your decks without completely separating them. This will not show you the entire body of the core material, but enough to tell what is going on.

2) Provide an easier way to inject the epoxy between glass layers for the delam repair for the area around the port.

3) Allow your hulls to dry out better once you start sailing.

4) Provide storage by using port bags (http://www.hobiecat.com/support/pdfs/12_13.pdf look on the second page).

5) And if you ever (or should I say when as we all do it once) forget to put in your drain plugs the ports will allow for you to use bilge pump to speed up the draining process.

I would suggest the 5" ports as they allow better access than the 4".

_________________
Nick

Current Boat
In the market
Previous boats owned
'74 Pearson 30
'84 H16
'82 H18 Magnum
St. Louis, MO

Actually you're absolutely right, my friend did go down there this morning and checked the hulls out for the first time. He said that the core is probably still good and to go through with the delamination repair, but he did say that there is something better than the Git-Rot (some kind of epoxy I think) but I can't remember what it is (will find out for you guys later). I didn't know that installing inspection ports was a common practice, but it seems like an excellent idea, I will definately have to do it. Thanks for the advice, I'll let you know as things progress. I feel like a little kid with a new toy

I'm glad things are looking better for you. It's always hard to work on the boat when you could be sailing it.

I like Git Rot because it is already mixed with the appropriate filler and has a good consistencey for the repair. Plus, when cured it has some flexibility and works with the flexing of the hulls. But, I see your friends point with such a large project. Maybe he is talking about West System or one of the other epoxy companies (There is one more comapny I am thinking of but all I can remember is it starts with a "C").

Good luck! If you're ever in the Annapolis area, drop me a line and we can meet for a sail.

_________________
Nick

Current Boat
In the market
Previous boats owned
'74 Pearson 30
'84 H16
'82 H18 Magnum
St. Louis, MO