Hobie Cat Forums

OK, I've done a fair amount of searching, but I cannot find a difinitive step by step proceedure for repairing soft spots.

I understand the concept of drilling holes in the top layer, allowing for vent holes and injecting an adhesive.

My questions:

1) I've heard of folks using gorilla glue - true? I've used in other applications, sounds interesting since it expands and foams up.

2) If not the above, what kind of epoxy and I read that you thicken it up. In the RC hobby world we used "micro ballons" is this the same for this application?

3) Can I use regular medical syringes to inject the glue?

Many thanks!

Brian

There is plenty of material on this topic since a lot of us are sailing some pretty old boats. Here are two articles that describe the procedure pretty well:

http://www.hobiecat.com/support/articles/archive/?src=http://2010.archive.hobiecat.com/support/tech/delam.html

http://www.thebeachcats.com/news/87/catamaran-sailboats-delamination-repair-instructions/

Here are some pictures of a repair on an H16 although this guy probably should have used epoxy in lieu of polyester resin. Not the place I'd be trying to save $20.

http://www.thebeachcats.com/pictures/?g2_itemId=64559

Here is a fairly recent thread on this subject with some good advice. This answers your question regarding the use of Gorilla Glue.

http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=31861

Here is one place to get syringes along with most everything else you might need.

http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=2096&familyName=Epoxy+Syringes

Hope this helps. Good luck.

I think you'll find that most of the posts on this forum recommend using polyester resin rather than epoxy. Polyester resins and gels are what Hobie built these boats with and new polyester will adhere to your boat better. I'm no glass expert, I'm just passing along what I've discovered by researching these forums as I prepare for some repairs of my own.

_________________
Mark Van Doren
Division 9 Chairman
H20 #647
H14 #47787
H16 #112205

First of all, thank you all for responding!

Question:



Humm, that is interesting. Is that really the overall concensus? It seems to be contrary to both of these articles:

http://www.ehow.com/about_5932927_polye ... resin.html

http://www.redrockstore.com/resin.htm

I just want to get it right the first time

General repairs, polyester is the way to go, unless you need extra strength and/or adhesion properties.

Fixing soft spots - epoxy. Git-Rot specifically, since it's slightly flexible after cures. That helps maintain the bond between the layers.

(Hi Brian - I'm probably the only one on the board that knows where the 555 comes from in your handle. Now that you've got a new boat, it's time to renew )

http://www.hcanamembers.com

DAMN! I've been caught!

Do you guys have an online reg set up these days?.. if so what is the link? All I found was for paper form and snail mail?...

Thanks for the fix-it info!

The link is in my previous post.

I stand corrected.

_________________
Mark Van Doren
Division 9 Chairman
H20 #647
H14 #47787
H16 #112205