mmiller wrote:
The plates were a stop-gap measure... Fiberglass in the hull (connecting the decks to side walls) is the ultimate answer that we ended up in H18 production. You can do that too.
Matt, that's actually really interesting, I never realized that Hobie made a change to the production process on the later boats, rather than (or in addition to) using the plates. So that would suggest that it was determined that the epoxy joint between the deck and the hull was a failure point/weak point, and that additional glass was needed to better reinforce the joint? I had thought the purpose of the plates was more to do with spreading/transferring the load from the hull lip to the hull side more effectively, i.e. that the lip design was the problem, not the joint between the hull and deck.
Also, I think the idea that you're doomed to hull failure without the plates is a little extreme... If you have an early - mid 80's boat without them, you may be in trouble, but if you have a 70's boat or a late 80's boat or newer, the boat will be fine. Just be sure to inspect the hull lips once or twice a season, and if they start to separate flip the boat over and fill the hull lip with epoxy. Maybe add some epoxy on the inside too, or if you're really concerned, Matt's suggestion to add glass inside would surely take care of the issue.