Fiberglass...

So...I'm going to upgrade the crossbar brackets because my boat is a 'redline' boat and has a history of cracking. I've read as many posts as i could find and i think i know what to do.

I removed the access ports (because i got the screw type) and began looking around inside the boat and took some pictures. There are a number of spots that appear to NOT have much if any epoxy in the glass cloth. The cloth looks dry. Both of the daggerboard boxes look really dry too.

Dry area near stay anchor:


This area looks like there was originally something glassed in - you can see lines of epoxy on both sides - looks like a board was glassed in or something.



Another dry looking area:




Should i put some epoxy into these areas while i'm in there ?

Thanks !

Beuller ?

Not sure you can soak that dry glass (if it really is dry), and you may have to inject resin in the gap either way. Won't hurt to try (but a little more weight). I'd just do the repair as suggested on the forum and be more secure than you were. Good Luck.

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H18, H17 & Various motor boats

If you do anything, you should use polyester resin rather than epoxy. The boats are made using polyester resin. I've got an '85 redline boat and it has some areas like that too. I don't think there would be any harm in adding resin. Probably use a roller. Unfortunately, there are probably a lot of other spots in the hull like that that are unaccessible. These boats were made at a time when Hobie was changing their construction process and I think some of these boats were part of the learning curve of that process change.

The good news is that the boat has held up for 25 or so years, so it's probably fine. I'd make sure the hull anchors and reinforcement patches are in good condition, then roll in some resin where you can and go sailing. It'll probably be fine.

sm