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Stress Fracture
http://www.hobie.com/au/en/forums/viewtopic.php?f=71&t=52786		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  West C. [ Fri Sep 05, 2014 6:16 pm ]
Post subject:  Stress Fracture
Noticed a stress fracture along the top edge of my rear Mirage drive-well. It's about 2 inches long, .5 mm wide and nearly deep enough to reach the interior of the hull. Real bummer, as sailing season is finally here after a long windless summer. Anyone else hear of this problem?
Author:  Slaughter [ Fri Sep 05, 2014 10:58 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Stress Fracture
Use the search facility West C ( top right of this page ). That's the most common spot for hull cracking. Not that it happens often but there are threads on the topic. Hobie are very fair with their warranties.
Author:  West C. [ Sat Sep 06, 2014 3:59 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Stress Fracture
I'll try not to. Thanks for the advice, but what search terms should I use? Don't want to Seem like an idiot, but I tried just about every combo of words which might apply.
Author:  TI_Tom [ Sat Sep 06, 2014 7:16 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Stress Fracture
I just entered "drive well crack." Make sure you do it from the main forum index that way it will search all of the categories. Remember the AI and TI are not the only Hobie kayaks that have mirage drives so you should always expand your search as much as possible.

Here is one topic:

http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=51438
Author:  West C. [ Sat Sep 06, 2014 3:15 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Stress Fracture
Thanks so much! I'll try out a patch just to get out. Probably a good idea to hold off any blue water sailing for now though.
Author:  Slaughter [ Sun Sep 07, 2014 4:25 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Stress Fracture
How old is yours ? Is it under an warranty at all ? Even if it isn't under warranty, it would be worth taking it to a Hobie distributor for his opinion before attempting a repair. You may be surprised.
Due to the huge loads at that point, most home repairs are not very successful. A friend of mine's Hobie suffered the same fate. The hull was way out of warranty however the change over deal offered to him by Hobie was a no-brainer. Best of luck mate.
Author:  fusioneng [ Sun Sep 07, 2014 4:57 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Stress Fracture
West:
If you can take photos of the crack and send the photos to your Hobie dealer they can advise what to do. If the crack is where you discribe (at the top of the mirage well (at the floor of the kayak)) this is above the waterline and not in a high stress area of the mirage, and might be repairable via the Hobie welder. However I strongly suggest you 'do not' try to repair on your own until after you have had it evaluated by your dealer ( and Hobie (Hobie 'only' works thru their dealers, never directly with end users (FYI)).
If the boat was purchased new within two yrs it is likely covered under warranty unless of course a tree or something fell on the boat ( that's not Hobies problem).
Like I said do not try to repair until after you have had it evaluated, pretty much all hobe dealers are expert welders and make repairs on kayaks all the time and are usually well qualified to do so. If you try to fix it yourself with epoxy or goop you will likely muff it up and make it completely un-repairable unless of course you know exactly what your doing and willing to accept the responsibility of the repair ( out of warranty).
Hope this helps you.
Bob
Author:  West C. [ Sun Sep 07, 2014 8:27 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Stress Fracture
Thanks for all the advice. My TI is first generation, so I seriously doubt it's still be under warranty. In I'll stop in to our Hobie dealer with some pics to get a proper assessment of damage and repairability. As far as how the crack appeared, the only thing I can think of as a possibility, is kneeling or standing on the spot as I moved around while sailing solo. Hoping for the best.
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