Just back from 2 weeks of sailing at Holden Beach, NC with my '76 H16 that previously had a large area of delamination in one hull that was re-foamed with a can of "Great Stuff" (gasp!)--after a 6" access port hole had been cut (see prior posts). We experienced periods of strong winds (25+ MPH), up to 6' waves, and a pounding heavy surf to sail through about 50% of the time there. The H16 carried up to two adults & three kids. Some minor hull flying occured (not intentional), as well as several airborne launches off waves with the resulting hard return to the sea. Despite this, the repair appears to have held up well--at least for this year. The hull remained rigid with no soft spots to date. The surf was heavy enough to shear off the loop of an upper gudgeon on one outing! I will continue to monitor the repair over time and report any problems.

Holdin,



Great post, it is the simple repairs that Hobies was designed for not expensive ones as seen in many posts. The use of bondo was being many years before gelcoat or fiberglass repair was available to average Joes, just keep it dry (painted) and enjoy.



I am working with an old timer, whose espression seems to be lacking on many boards. The hobie was concept orginally built and designed for "Po Folks".



Mike