Aloha All,
I have had some poor luck with my Hobies recently. I have currently have three broken boats!
The below image is what I call the classic "crack of death" I got on my AI. I am getting a warranty hull, but it won't arrive until May. I have searched the forum and found some related topics, but nothing too clearly on approaches for repair that I have found. Can some of you point me to previous posts or give some advice? I have started doing some HDPE welding, so I was wondering if a combo of epoxy and welding might work.
This is the second AI I have had this happen to, and the fourth boat to crack in one way or the other. I'm not complaining as I think Hobie takes pretty good care of people when these issues arise, and in the end you end up with spare parts and a brand spanking new hull (yay, finally the rudder upgrade!). This one was a 2009, the previous one I had this happen on was a 2007.
Oh, I did read someone else's post on it happening to him twice in an Outback, wondering if he is causing it by some method of use, but there did not seem to be a conclusion to that thread. Any thoughts? It seems to me it's just a defect and it's either typical and happens with a good amount of rocking the boats (Hawaii-like conditions) or is just a common defect that has nothing to do with the usage. I saw someone suggest it's because of the turbo fins????
Thanks...