Hobie Cat Forums

Looking for help/opinions etc... have a 89' H17 all four wingseat holes in hulls leak you cant see where as it look fine inside holes but when filled up with water they will be fairly empty.what is the prefered method to fix this problem.Is it possible to place the wings in their seats or holes and put some silicone around the tubes not down inside the holes but around them basically chalking them i quess i'm not that good with fiberglass and repaoirs and would hate to make a problem worse by making more damage any thoughts.Thank you.

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The Waters always there,just wanting some good wind.

Whatever you do, don't do that. Mainly because it doesn't work.

Wing tube leaks are almost always caused by water in the tube that freezes. The way to prevent it is to put a dollop of anti-freeze in the tube before you put the boat away for the winter.

Wing tube leaks are also fairly easy to fix.

First find exactly where the leak is. Fill the wing tube with water and leave it overnight. When you go back the next morning, the water level will tell you exactly where the leak is. Mark it with a Sharpie (taped to a stick to reach way down if necessary).

There are a couple of different methods to repair, depending on how far down the leak is. There was an article in the Hobie Class HOTLINE magazine on how to do wing tube repairs - http://www.hobiecat.com/hobieclass/eHCA ... 6_2006.pdf - Page 26.

I was looking at a couple of different methods and i don't want to put hatch covers in so does that mean that i sand and glass from the hole. It looks like a long drum sander bit and tools of length to get down in there is that the method,again dont want to put hatch covers.Getting ants in pants with the weather sunny and gonna be in the 40's a few days thats in northern MI,all can change in min.but i will take it.

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The Waters always there,just wanting some good wind.

You're going to have a heck of a time trying to do a repair from inside the wing tube. Sanding with a drum probably won't be too tough, but getting the glass in there without it becoming a drippy, uneven mess is going to be pretty hard- especially if the crack is more than a few inches into the tube.

I know some people that have silicone sealed the wing inside the tube for weekend regattas, but its messy and they had to redo it every weekend. I had a boat with leaky wing tubes that I would put duct tape between the wing and the hull to help seal the wing socket. It worked OK as a temporary fix, but I would still end up bailing out some water between races.

The only way to fix the tube properly is to get inside the hull and lay in a proper glass patch.

sm

Basically correct. Small leaks can be fixed from inside the tube, but larger splits down at the bottom require a port in the deck. Why are you so adverse to ports in the deck? The forward ones are good for storing stuff in a bag.

Mbounds, where would you put those holes (i'm gonna do all 4). And, what size, 5"? Curved deck plates? tnx.

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H18, H17 & Various motor boats

5" curved, forward ones about 8" aft of the front crossbar; rear ones about 4" forward of the wing tube.

I used adhesive shelf paper as a "drape" over the area that I was working on (think surgical drape).

Cut the hole for the port, but don't put it in until you've fixed the wing tub.

thats clear. tnx

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H18, H17 & Various motor boats

Whats the best way to cut the holes on hulls for hatch covers thats what bothers me.

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The Waters always there,just wanting some good wind.

Put the port on the deck where you want it.

Trace a circle around the inner flange (the part that touches the hull when you just place it on the deck) with a Sharpie.

Use a saber saw - plunge cut in the middle of the hole, then around the trace line.

Test fit the port - trim any tight spots.

The hole doesn't have to be a perfect circle - the mounting flange is ~ 1/2" wide and will hide little squiggles in the cut.

However, if you want to be the anal-retentive carpenter, use a big-a$$ hole saw or a circle cutter:


Also, I've never used the screws that come with the port - just bed the port down with a lot of silicone and it's not going anywhere. Make sure the lid is in when you mount it. If you do use the screws, do not overtighten them. You'll warp the ring and the lid won't screw in properly.

Fixed all 4 tubes and now my right hull is too tight (blows lots of air out the drain tube after a good sail). Install a Relief valve somewhere?

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H18, H17 & Various motor boats

There is a vent hole in the front crossbar saddle in each hull. It may have been plugged up at some point. The next time you have the boat apart, use a coat hanger to poke it open.

In the meantime, just leave the plugs out except when you go sailing (you should do that anyway).

For drilling the port holes, a circle saw of the right size works well, as does tracing around the port (inner flange) - drilling a hole within the trace and using a saber saw to cut right on the inside edge of the line. It is advised to reinforce the rim edge buy removing about a 1/4 inch of foam from the edge and replace it with resin soaked fiberglass cordage or resin soaked nylon line. Unlike others I do use nylon nuts/bolts to secure my ports, but only finger tight. This helps prevent 'popping' of the silicone bead.

just to follow up w/ what fastcat said- wear a dust mask and use a fine toothed metal cutting blade and take your time. Cut inside the trace then use a half-round file to widen the hole as needed a little at a time. I am not sure about using resin and all that though it sounds like a good idea. I just cut the holes, drilled pilots for screws in the bezel, put silicone around the hole and hand tightened the nylon bolts. I have done similar work installing hatches and ports on bigger boats but this was easier by far. The instructions with the kit are pretty clear.

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The fact that this windy world is largely covered in water obviously means that man was meant to sail.

widerisbetter - sounds about right, face mask is a good idea. Also if you put a small dab of silicone on the nuts (after finger tightening) - it will keep them from loosening, but still be able to remove if needed.