Can I fix it... or is it trash?

I recently picked up this 1989 H16. I really bought it for the trailer and beach wheels since the bow tang is completely ripped out of the port hull.

Before I chop up the hull and take it to the dump, do you think it can be repaired? I'm very concerned about the amount of force on the bow tang and would be concerned about any repair here... unless there's something I'm missing.





What do you say? Fix or trash?

Anything can be fixed.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

How'd I know you'd say that Matt.... and I had my sawzall all ready to go.

Seriously though, I'm open to any and all recommendations on how to pull this off. Anyone ever fixed a bow this destroyed before?

Sand it back 6” and start laying up fiberglass. It’s gonna take quite a few layers but you can build it back up and it will be strong again. Just make sure you sand back into the hull a ways to get strength from there.

Ouch! Curious how that happened? The cross section looks like the glass was in decent shape. Agree it can be fixed but I might only do that if the rest of the hull was worth saving too. I’d also think about laying in some reinforcement for the bow tang while you’re at it.

If you lay in fiberglass, don't worry about the hole. You drill that out afterwards. I'd be concerned about cracks extending further back that aren't showing in the picture.

A different approach would be a metal piece going back from the bow on either side. You might want to merge approaches and put a large steel washer into the glass.

Repairs are mainly going to be time consuming.

Jim Clark-Dawe