A real heartbreaker

got my big yellow beauty out on Brookville lake yesterday (pehaps you saw me; big yellow&black cat flying a hull with capt'n&crew grinning ear to ear)
I have few questions:
1.drained the hulls and had like 3 cups in the strbrd hull WTF? where do these typically leak?
2. having a hell of a time getting the main up (lubed rope&clean track)
3. jib never seems to trim in far enough?
4. WORST OF ALL! my boat has the sx wings, kind of a hassle but very dry, as e all know females walk on their heels (inherent design flaw) long story short someone!...eh'hem stood on the hull and now theres cracked glass on both sides from the rear crossbar all the way to the dagger-board tunnel... on BOTH sides! this sucks
its not a soft spot but a crease in the upper layer of glass, this b!tch feels like you could fall right through...I don't even want to sit on it.
I'll post pics soon
is this a common problem?
words cannot explain m frustration!!!
I' m going to have to route a grove int the deck, lay in pultruded glass, and hide the repair

thought i was done working on this was pumped about sailing...for being know as tough cats I've been Very underwhelmed thus far.

(but boy do they hustle in a 15mph wind )

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Jack

Hi Jack, I'm brand new to H18 sailing myself, but my understanding is, depending on how long you were on the water, 3 cups of water in the hull might not be out of the norm, especially if you were flying a hull. If you want to find the leak you can wet the hulls with bubble soap, zap your drain plug hole with your shop vac's exhaust and look for the bubbles. I, too, had a hell of a time raising the main for the first time this past weekend. The posters here will tell you make sure the sail track is lubed and clean (sounds like yours' is) and to make sure you don't have too much tension on the battens. As for trimming the jib, the "Hobie U" pfd might be helpful:

http://www.hobieclass.com/site/hobie/ih ... HobieU.pdf

With regards to your soft, cracked decks, that sounds like a real problem to this rookie. I believe there are several postings on this in the forum (try using the Search button). You might also want to try looking through the Hobie Hotline's "This Old Hobie" column archives here:

http://www.hobiecat.com/hobieclass/

It's a long summer. Good luck!

Your boat has typical soft cores on the decks. If they have collapsed as you describe it will be more work than just a little grind and fill. You need to get inside with a mirror or camera and get a good luck. My guess is the inner glass layer is compromised and your hulls will need extensive repair. Sorry!

I remember reading an excellent article in one of the Hobie Hotlines that detailed (with great interior photo's) H18 deck repair in the exact location you describe. They cut a hole and came in through the bottom, being careful to save the cutout to use when the repair was done. Very neat and clean. I believe they installed a couple partial inner bulkheads to stiffen the decks up as well. Someone will have a link to this article soon...

I'd be wiling to take of the top deck and replace it with 1/8" aluminum at this point I've got serious time and money invested in this boat. didn't know if this was a typical fix on these boats.


p.s. why on forums are you ranked by how many posts you make rather than the validity of what you've said???

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Jack