my friend wants to sell me a hobie 14, mid hull 1/2 way down on the outside there is a 2 foot or so crack lengthwise caused by his lawnmower guy scaping his lawnmower against it. it looks repairable, but i'm not a total fiberglass expert. what is anyones experience with this. and yes I know all these old hobie hulls get mushy over time, i already have a pretty mushy h-16 and h-14

thanx in advance

If the lawn mower just ran against it I would think it is a scrape versus a crack, in which case it is cosmetic and easily repaired. If it is an actuall crack it is still repairable but would need some reinforcement in the backside. 14's are everywhere though, and might be easier to find another hull.

Are you running a marina or yacht club?

Sounds like a pretty easy fix since the H14 is pretty flat in that area. It will be slightly more difficult if the mower went through the foam core and cut through the inner skin, still not a big deal. Check out the most recent edition of the Hobie Hotline and look at Rick Buchanan's article on fiberglass repair.

http://www.hobiecat.com/hobieclass/

i've repaired a crack in a hull by cutting a hole for a port in the deck over the crack and working from the inside of the hull. i'd disconnect the hull, cut the hole, lay it on its side, crack down, on sawhorses. clean the cracked area with solvent (acetone?) paint the cracked area from the inside with epoxy resin (push on the crack to work resin down into the crack), then layer 3-4 layers of 6 oz glass cloth and epoxy resin on the inside maybe 2-3" bigger than the crack in all directions. allow enough time between layers for the epoxy to 'gel' before adding the next layer so the previous layer will stay put. you can trowel a thin layer of marine tex on the outside of the crack (be neat! i use an artists palette knife) then sand and fair when it sets up. hopefully the hull is white so you dont have to match colors. add the port, reassemble, and voila! hope that helps-

There is hardly ever any reason to cut a hole in the deck of any cat for this type of repair. Repairs, if done correctly, can most of the time be done from the outside. Cutting holes in the deck will weaken the structure and cause it to delam much more quickly. And...make another place for water to get in.

Remember, Hobies are a foam core sandwich, with the bread being the fiberglass skin. Carefully grind into the outer skin damage to get to the foam and assess the inner skin damage. Repair the inner skin if it's damaged, lay in a new piece of foam, glass outer skin, and gelcoat. Pretty easy with a little knowledge.

There are several problems with using epoxy when repairing Hobies. One is that gelcoat doesn't always cure properly over epoxy. It's always better to use what the boat was made out of for the repair. Epoxy is way more pricey, and unless bonding, the strength is not needed on an old 14. Save your dough for something else.

Was it a push lawn mower or a riding one ? One will cause little damage the other more damage for sure.

You can fix it and it gives you a great opportunity to work on your repair/glass technique w/o big (expensive) repercussions.My first boat was a P-16 with the stbd hull snapped in half. I still have it and sail it.
Todd

thank you all for the replies.

1) i am building a collection of old boats, planning to start a youth sailing program on my small lake.
2) i think it was a riding mover, and pictures of the crack, while appearing fairly minor, it looks like a through both inner and outer glass layers deal.
3) i still get confused with the epoxy resin vs. whatever.
my experience as a kid building rc planes was with 5 minute 2 part epoxy you would infuse through fiberglass tape and spread over area to be reinforced (joining the two wing halves together). Now when i buy the cheapo (sorta) kit at west marine, its a two part epoxy with the one part a real little bottle, but I assume its similar stuff. However when i tried to repair an old coleman plastic canoe, it doesn't seen to stick longterm, despite good sanding.
So I am confused when Marsh Hawk says to use epoxy resin and glass, but then Jeremy says to glass the outer skin, then gelcoat, but not to use epoxy. If not epoxy, then what do I use for "glue" for the fiberglass tape.

thanx in advance for all your help for a relative newbie to boat repair.

Larry Ferber

The 14 was build with polyester resin. The same stuff you can get at pretty much any hardware store for cheap.

Also, have you checked out the article yet?

http://www.hobiecat.com/hobieclass/

This will explain the process.

glassfibre comes either in a chopped strand mat or a woven material. When you use it, you either bond it in place with polyester or epoxy resin [Vinylester is an in-between]. the older boats like the 14 will be built of polyester resin, so that is the best one to use [especially if you want to finish it with gellcoat]. Epoxy built hulls have to be painted instead of gelcoated - like the tornado.
If you have damage during a regatta and need a fast strong patch repair - use epoxy.

Why it took me this long to get it, I have no idea, but thank you for turning on the light!!! There are 2 kinds of resin <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

So, which for fixing the soft spot on my H16??

thanks again

this is interesting. i agree with jeremy that cosmetics are easier using polyester resin (the 'other resin'- what hobies are made of, and what i assume he would use) however polyester resin is not as good an adhesive as epoxy. i also differ with his aversion to adding inspection ports, which is common practice on hobies. the boat i now own suffered a similar fate as yours. it was sideswiped by a riding lawnmower. it was 'professionally repaired' at a local boatyard, they did a beautiful job. the crack reopened while the boat was being rolled down to the beach on its beach wheels.. they redid the repair, and it cracked again. the owner then replaced the hull. i am not disparaging professionals. i defer to his judgment jeremy appears to be a pro working at a dealership. i trust he can do this repair successfully using his methods. i am merely an amateur boatbuilder/tinkerer. i wouldnt try laminating into a polyester surface using polyester resin as an adhesive, thats just my opinion. i hope others will weigh in : )

This would be epoxy, because you're bonding the skin back to the foam core.




Like I always say, "You talk to 10 sailors, you get 10 different answers." Most of the answers will work, some will work better. I do these repairs for a living, but I still consider myself a tinkerer like you. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

For help with your repair, this is what your boat looks like on the inside:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEZJd-LpUws

That's a gross snuff video!

That circular saw was getting me nervous - glad you put it away

Note to self: don't bring cat to SurfCity for a "buff job"...

Banzillz,
I foreget how to add a jpg, but if i can get it to go it explains fixing those soft spots. Information was from Hobie. the secreat resin comes in a kit called "GIT-ROT". It's a bit pricey.

My boat gets damaged like this, it's going to Jeremy @ Surf City, or at least I'll E-mail him for advise!!!!

Agree! That near chest cut was scary. And where were the safety glasses?

We recently cut up five H-16 hulls before disposal. Found the recip saw worked well, as shown in the video, but do not forget the safety glasses.

Caleb Tarleton
Sail Sand Point, Seattle

As a followup I did pick up the 14 soon to be rigged as turbo. I also had the opportunity to do some glass work on my i-20 under the supervision of a real good boat repairer. However the one side of the 14 was actually pretty battered, I think the lawn guy hit it about 10 times and about one third of the side was quite flimsy, like a flail chest for those of you trauma oriented. Anyway a guy in my small town fixed it up awesome for $200 bucks which although an old boat, yadda yadda yadda, it was worth it cause now its super bomber. so i'll let you all know how it sails once I rig it up.