Cracked deck lip

The deck lip on my hobie 14 has developed a crack down the the over hanging lip of the left hull. The crack had been there before (though it was only a foot long or so and mot as wide) and it leaked a bit so I put a bit of epoxy on the outside of it (you can’t see it in the photo). We sailed it all summer including one 20 mile round trip out of mackinaw. The last weekend we had it out I had over loaded it with three people, usually just me and my wife on it. The wind was blowing hard we were all on one side to keep the left hull down when the wind suddenly died, maybe even blowing a bit in the opposite direction. With all the weight to the one side We abruptly capsized . This would usually be no big deal but when we righted the boat we stood on that left hull. I believe that in the process of righting it and standing on that hull it owned up the crack wider. It subsequently filled with water took quite along time to get it to shore.

The crack is now 3 feet or so. In general I feel like the hulls are pretty firm, Growing up we’ve had 18s with soft spots so I’m familiar with what that feels like. I don’t really think this boat has any, but now you can certainly flex the side of the hull beneath the crack I believe that the cracked lip has resulted in a lack of stiffness for the side.

I could just epoxy the outside of the crack but I’m not sure if that will be strong enough for the event that we eventually have to right it again.

If I were to make the repair today, my guess would be to wedge the crack open then try to inject epoxy into it??

Any thoughts on making a sturdy repair?

-ryan

Just for clarity the crack that I am talking about is in the center of the edge of the overhanging lip. There had been some white sea lent applied to the boat at some time and the crack I’m talking about is above that in the photo.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/184744156@N04/shares/vo63NA

The hull is made in two separate pieces - the deck and the hull. They are bonded together at the flange. This looks like the adhesive at the flange has failed. It is not all that uncommon.

To fix, I would suggest you flip the boat over. Clean out all caulk/sealant in the area using a knife or flat blade screwdriver. Then spread open the crack using putty knives, paint stirrs, door shim stock, screwdrivers, etc. Then get in there and clean the area as much as possible. If you can get sand paper into the crack and scuff up the fiberglass, you will get an even better bond. Clean with acetone.

Then mask off the hull and deck so you don’t risk getting epoxy all over the gelcoat.

Then apply epoxy to the joint. My recommendation is to use West Six10 epoxy. It is pre-thickened, dispenses using a caulk gun, and has a self mixing nozzle that you can just point into the crack and squirt the epoxy in. Remove the wedges, wipe away and epoxy squeeze out, and let it cure for 24 hours. Once cured, it should be rock solid.

I would also avoid putting 3 people on a Hobie 14. Way overload for a boat that size.

sm