I am going to restore an old Hobie 16. One of the tasks I have set myself to is to paint the hulls. While I was sanding the first one I discovered some cracks on one of them. They are located on the straight end of the lip where the lower hull joins the decks. The damage is in the white, chalky material sandwiched between the fiberglass of the hull and the fiberglass of the deck.

Of course, before moving on, I'd like to repair those cracks. I was wondering what material I should use to fill those cracks. My first guess was epoxy, but I'm not sure.

Any advice from you all? Let me know if I need to clarify.

H77

We dribble a bead of resin along the lip these days. Flip the boat and pour to create a small hump all along the lip. Surface tension usually keeps it from pouring over the side if you are careful.

I don't think it matters what kind of resin you use.

Hi, Mr Miller,

thank you very much for your suggestion.

I went a little further, though. The stuff between the lower hull and the deck was cracked so badly that I routed it out with a Dremel tool. I hope to be able to post a pic or two tomorrow.

Currently, the plan is to refill the void with expoxy resin, without any fillers. I am not quite sure about this, as the stuff I routed out was white and chalk-like (though harder), while I believe that cured epoxy is clear.

So, I wonder whether epoxy is the right choice. I am concerned about mixing different material at this structurally important location. Could you comment on that again? How does Hobie glue the lower hulls and the decks together?

Thank you very much in advance.

H77

We use matte glass and a mixture of poyesther resins and fillers (Putty). That is the white stuff you see. You can use epoxy without worry. If you opened up a lot of the lip, I would recommend some glass fibers in the fill work.

Hi, Mr Miller,

thank you very much for your reply. Your advice helps me immensely.

H77