Lightning Damage to Comptip

After all these years of having a boat on the beach it finally happend. Lighting came in the rivet holding the hobie bob traveled down through the comp tip about 2 feet and exited leaving a hole about an inch and blown out fibers. The tip is straight and still has quite a bit of strength left. Is the comp tip just epoxy fiberglass? Can I repair it without installing a new one? I have cloth and epoxy resin. Looking at all those rivets to replace and heating up the tip to remove from the aluminum piece looks like a lot of work not to mention the 800 price tag

i'd call your Insurance company, all the rigging should be replaced as well. with that type of current being forced through such small wires it is impossible to tell if they are damaged until they break.

We see it a few times a year here w/rental boats on the beach. Be sure to check the hull for any pin holes.

_________________
Brad Stephens
[email protected]
(866) 786-5266 <--- Advice HOTline
http://www.sunjammers.com
www.facebook.com/sunjammers

i only carry liability. Seems like a great opportunity to beef up the tip for a higher tang for a hooter!

No other marks, went through the whole boat. not even a mark around the boat. Seems like it exited before the mast tang.

Most people make a claim on there homeowners I think

_________________
Brad Stephens
[email protected]
(866) 786-5266 <--- Advice HOTline
http://www.sunjammers.com
www.facebook.com/sunjammers

If my comp tip was not covered by insurance, yet still relatively structurally sound, I'd possibly fill in any cracks with Git Rot epoxy, which will wick into the cracks, and then definitely wrap some fiberglass cloth around the compromised sections and saturate with West Systems epoxy to ensure structural strength. The biggest problem with this fix, other than the obvious, is that epoxy has no UV resistance. You'd need to coat the affected areas with something like varnish, Bristol finish, or paint in order to avoid the sunburned effect. Good luck.

_________________
Sea ya,
Chris Larsen
Co-Pilot of the Hobie Getaway
"The Twins"

~~(\_~~

Yes, if you have homeowers, it should cover the repair. When purchasing my Wave, I wanted to add the Wave to my ins. as a boat policy, same as my 17' bowrider. I was informed that I needed to do nothing since the a sailboat under 20' is covered under existing policy. I ased about storm damage, theft, etc, and it would be covered. Liability was an add-on though. Get the estimate for repair, then used the funds to fix and modify as you like.

_________________
Jim

2007 Hobie Wave

Most INS companies are making repair check like this, Check payable to Sunjammers and "zhopper", its been a while since I've seen a check maybe payable to just the owner.

_________________
Brad Stephens
[email protected]
(866) 786-5266 <--- Advice HOTline
http://www.sunjammers.com
www.facebook.com/sunjammers

Maybe that varies by ins co, but my experience w/ tw different compaines, on the 2x times I made a claim for collision damage, I had the choice to get a quote for the damage reapair, and have the ins pay directly to the repairing facility, or check directly to me. That way, if you have some abiltiy to perform sweat equity labor yourself, you can. I was able to repair a $1600 accident this past spring by doing some of the labor myself, picking up a new bumper on ebay, etc, all for ~$1100, basically negating the $500 deductible. There seemed to be no question about sending me the check to me in my name only, it was my choice. Worth asking your agent.

_________________
Jim

2007 Hobie Wave

insurance is not an option.

i assume the comptip is made from regular fiberglass constructon.
or was it designed to be more flexable for sail shape.

if i beef it up with mattig on the outside i will probably loose 2 things
increased weight on top of mast and less mast flexing or reduced sail shape.

i plan on using epoxy resin and matting. maybe flat black awl grip for uv protection. Does anyone see any problems with this?

zhopper, I was in a hellacious storm this weekend in Pensacola. Lightning bolts popping all around us. Throughout the whole ordeal I could not get those pictures of your mast out of my mind! We didn't get hit, but 3 other people (2 people on the beach and one in a boat) did.

Let us know how your fix works out.

Good luck.