Sailing on borrowed time

Anyone care to speculate on the structural viability of older Hobies? I sail an '82 with all new standing rigging that overall seems pretty solid (to me). However when I go out in high wind and heavy seas I hear a lot of creaks, cracks and clonks. This is somewhat unnerving. After ten years of sailing I wonder if my skill and courage hasn't exceeded the capability of my 26 year old boat. I visualize being trapped out, slamming into a big wave and having my whole boat fold up like an accordion. Am I being paranoid? What is the life cycle of the major structural components like beams, pylons and corner castings with their attachments? Am I sailing on borrowed time?

As far as the creaks go, I've only heard those in newer boats, from the corner castings. Sign of stiffness, and that's a good thing.

clunks, could be the flotation foam?

cracks, hmmm, that's not a nice sound, fiberglass? yikes!

The early 80's Hobie were built like tanks and, unless they've had water sitting in the hulls, they just keep on ticking.

_________________
Sheet In...Max Out
www.fleet297.org
sailflatlands at gmail dot com

I had my 81 H16 out this past weekend in moderate winds and pushed as hard as I could. It creaked at the corner castings abit but otherwise felt real solid. Don't worry, sail it hard until it breaks!

Well, the Navy starts to decommission ships after twenty years due primarily to corrosion and metal fatigue. Obviously a Hobie Cat is not an Aegis destroyer but they are both made of aluminum. I just wonder what sort of limits I should put on my boat. The guy I got the boat from told me he bought it to replace a '76 model that disintegrated on him when he took it into the Atlantic Ocean after a nor'easter. And that was over ten years ago.

Hey Sunvista!

Not sure if you are tied into Hobie Fleet 32 in Va Beach, but if you aren't...check their website at http://www.hobiefleet32.org. That fleet has a good mix of old and new boats and are some great folks to sail with.

Like anything, stress, usage and age takes its toll on boats. But has J_Eaton said, the 80's boats seem to be built like tanks. If the boat has been well cared for, it really will sail a very long time. However, if it has been left uncovered on the beach, exposed to the elements, allowing some corosion to set in, that time will shorten.

Stories you hear about boats folding like accordians are usually due to a delamination issue, something you can continuously test for simply by knocking on the hull. Without being overly scientific, it seems that several things help promote delamination

1. exposure to elements
2. Moisture inside hulls (and they aren't dried out)
3. Improperly installed deck ports (exposing laminate to elements)

I recently sold an 84 that is still hard as a rock and I have sailed it in very demanding conditions down at Va Beach (the Version 2.x regattas). Its also been raced hard for years (by 2 prior owners to me) and the guy I sold it to will continue racing it.

As for other noises, you sometimes seem to hear more creaking in new boats than on older ones, probably because the newer ones haven't worn a bit. I would imagine that you may also be hearing the foam bouncing around in the hulls. One thing I would check is to make sure that the stress of waves hasn't knocked loose the shoes that hold the pylons to the hull. If you see a bulge through the side of the boat, that could be a possible symptom. I believe there are posts on here about fixing that, but it does require installing pot holes to access the shoe.

Take care of the boat and my guess is that it will take care of you! BTW...smart call on replacing the standing rigging. Dismasting in the Atlantic isn't that much fun.

Cya!

Uh oh, I did notice a bulge on the starboard hull, outboard around the forward pylon. Now what? Guess I'll have a winter project.

Yeah...I had that on a previous boat I had. I can't remember, but it also might have "thunked" periodically, even though it felt very solid. I asked around and never got a satisfactory answer, but it continually made me nervous NOT knowing what it was.

I eventually chose to cut port holes forward of the pylons front pylons so I could inspect the shoe. Fortunately, that boat, an 81 I had prior to my 84 earlier referenced, only had a crack in the fiberglass that attached it to the hull - the shoe was not totally separated. I have seen elsewhere on this forum, discussions on how to repair more serious damage to that area.

My boat felt very solid, but it did make me nervous not knowing. After I installed the ports, which I did have LOTS of thinking, at least I could continuously inspect the shoes and that gave me peace of mind.

Might I suggest seeing if someone in fleet 32 could look at it and give you some thoughts. I am up in Richmond and don't think I will be down at the beach for a while or I would volunteer meeting up with you (possibility I will be down columbus day weekend, but not certain yet). I could give you names of people there that would be good to talk to . An email to Matt Miller or open post here might also provide thoughts on it.

Andrej

My hull bulge is almost unnoticeable unless the sun hits it just right. It is definitely there but you have to look for it. Maybe it is not a problem. I wonder if anyone has a photo or cut away of the "shoe" you describe and how it is attached to the hull? I was a member of Fleet 32 a couple years ago. The club was kinda biased toward racing. I'm not really into the competitive side of cat sailing so I dropped out. I sail for fun.

http://tinyurl.com/625dof

Jerome Vaughan
Hobie 16
Clinton, Mi'sippi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEZJd-LpUws

_________________
Sail Revolution
Join us on our new FB Page!

Very cool! Presumably the shoe is epoxied in place or some such. If it actually separated from the hull though it would also seem like the pylon itself would work itself loose. What I'm seeing is not so much a bulge but the outline of the shoe since it is detectable only at a certain angle and in certain sunlight. I'm thinking my clonk is the flotation blocks when hitting waves.