I'm in contact with my local Hobie dealer to check on warranty for this, but would still like to fix it in the meantime. Initially, I was considering welding the cracks, but when I removed the seat, I noticed two things... a second crack on the port side and that I can't seem to find a way to get the starboard side crack closed enough to weld it.
I'm hoping someone can answer a couple of questions....
1. Why are these cracks forming? It doesn't appear to be from downward pressure of sitting on the seat. It is possibly from using a wheeleez cart with a strap running across the boat approximately at this position. The crack on the starboard side will widen if I squeeze the gunwales.
2. What do you think is the best method to attempt a repair on this? Plastic welding on the port side seems feasible, but I'm a bit lost on what to do with the gap on the starboard side. I was hoping to re-enforce both sides by applying G-flex and fiberglass mesh on the bottom of both sides with some closed cell foam to give it some structure.
You can find the pictures here;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/86350057@N04/