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| Thin Bottom of Hulls ? http://www.hobie.com/au/en/forums/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=52522 |
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| Author: | djshad0w [ Wed Aug 13, 2014 7:01 am ] |
| Post subject: | Thin Bottom of Hulls ? |
I just purchased a 81 H18, hulls seem solid (only a small soft spot forward to the starboard rear crossbar), but looking down the inspection ports, the bottoms of the hulls seem pretty thin. There are no cracks or soft areas in the bottom of the hulls, but you can see light shining through.... Looking at the bottom of the hulls from the outside the gelcoat is only worn off about 12" forward of the dagger board slots (my H16 has the Gel coat wore off the bottoms off the hull about half the length of the boat and the hulls feel solid) My questions are: Is it normal see see light shining through the bottoms of the hulls? Would it make sense to just add a few layers of fiberglass to the inside bottoms of the hulls? (I figure it can hurt anything and I am not worried about a little extra weight) If I do end up adding fiberglass to the inside of the hulls do I need to sand down the existing fiberglass / rough up the surface or is cleaning with Acetone enough? Appreciate any pointers.... Thx |
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| Author: | mmiller [ Wed Aug 13, 2014 8:21 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Thin Bottom of Hulls ? |
djshad0w wrote: Is it normal see see light shining through the bottoms of the hulls? Yes. Fiberglass is translucent. Gel Coat is more opaque and blocks more light. Since only a small amount of gel is worn of... you are fine. djshad0w wrote: Would it make sense to just add a few layers of fiberglass to the inside bottoms of the hulls? (I figure it can hurt anything and I am not worried about a little extra weight) Not necessary. Hobie 18 hulls wear more slowly than 16s due to the broad rounded hull bottoms. Rarely does a Hobie 18 need reinforcement... especially considering the small amount of wear to the gel coat seen on your boat. |
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| Author: | srm [ Wed Aug 13, 2014 9:27 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Thin Bottom of Hulls ? |
Sounds like very minimal wear. I think you would probably be fine just flipping the boat over and painting on a couple layers of gelcoat over the worn areas. You really can't tell the thickness of the hull just by looking at it. As Matt said, the bare fiberglass is translucent, so light will easily shine through the worn areas. sm |
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| Author: | djshad0w [ Wed Aug 13, 2014 1:07 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Thin Bottom of Hulls ? |
Thanks for the replies - makes sense that people strongly recommend using cradles instead of rollers for trailering. |
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| Author: | srm [ Wed Aug 13, 2014 3:37 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Thin Bottom of Hulls ? |
Trailer rollers will not cause wear on the bottom of the hulls (however they can cause other forms of damage). If anything, hull cradles will cause more wear than rollers since the carpet in the rollers has a tendency to hold sand. The real cause of wear on the hull bottoms is from dragging the boat along the beach - not a big deal, they just need to be rebuilt occasionally. sm |
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| Author: | moncasta [ Sat Aug 30, 2014 8:40 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Thin Bottom of Hulls ? |
How flat is the bottom of the hull(s)? My 83 was worn about 12 inches in front and 4 inches behind, but only had a layer or two of glass left on the bottom. Maybe it was dragged on concrete? The bottom should have a curve to it, if you have a nice flat spot an inch across like mine, some glass might not be a bad idea to add. |
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