i'm hoping someone might respond to this before tomorrow...

...i'm wondering just how much, if any give you are supposed to feel when pushing on the hull sides or hull decks? what i mean is, exactly what does delamination feel like? is it easy to push in? on a boat i was looking at, if i put my hand flat on the deck and push with my weight, i could feel the deck move in just a bit, but it felt like i was moving the whole assembly of glass and foam, not just one layer of delaminated glass. i could only feel this on the widest part of the hull, on the deck and sides. also, it was perfectly symmetrical (i could feel the same amount of give on both hulls in the same places).

if you're not ever supposed to feel any give when pushing, then i've got some delam work to do.

if there's some amount of flexibility to the hulls, maybe i'm okay. mind you, i've really got to push on it with some force to feel this flexing.

any thoughts?

Cyrano,
I don't think that the hulls are supposed to give very much at all. When I discovered my delam area on my hulls they were in the traditional area, just in front on the foward pylon. My deck would depress about 1/2 inch in the delam areas but, it is rock hard everywhere else. If you'll get close to the area that you are pushing, you can actually hear a squishy sound when you depress the deck. If you can't get an accurate feel with the palm of your hand, you may want to use a light rubber hammer of some sort to tap on the decks. You would hear a noticeable difference in spots that are solid and spots that are soft. I'm in no way an expert on this topic, or any other hobie topic for that matter, as I am a novice. My delam area was unquestionable. My advice to you would be to have someone that knows a thing or two about Hobies to go have a look at it with you and determine if it is worth the purchace. You may want to remain patient. I hope that you will get some more expert responses, but I really don't think that the hulls are supposed to give, hence the term, solid hulls.
Good Luck
James

Flex... delamination?

You can get a little flex in broad flat areas. If you are using "your weight" to get it to move, likely it is not a big problem. Delamination would flex when pushing on it without a lot of effort.

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

I've got a similar question concerning my 16' Hobie. When I push on the exterior side of the hull, it has some flex in it (using 2-3 fingers and leaning in to it). This occurs between the forward and rear posts of the trampoline. It's perhaps 1/4" to 3/8" of flex. I could also hear a pop noise (at which point I quit messing with it!).

I know I've got a delamination just in front of the forward tramp post on the side of the hull. The decks are still solid (amazing for a 1976 boat). I don't mind trying to fix a small area but if I'm looking at an area that runs between the front and rear post is it worth it?

So my questions are,
1.) How much flex is to be expected between the front and rear posts for the trampoline on the exterior side of the hull
2.) If it is delaminated between the posts, is this something that the GITROT fix described on the forum is appropriate for or is this too large of an area?

Very little. From what you've described, you have delamination.

Yes.

The more I look in to the side of the hull, the more depressed I get. When I press on it with my palm, I hear a popping noise. This is along a large length of the hull. Guess I get to make a decision to throw in the towel and scrap it or perform a major git rot repair and hope for the best.

i had a pretty large soft spot on the outside of my starboard hull staring about 2' back from the bow and continued ove 2' long. I had several gallons of epoxy sitting around from a project boat my brother started and never finished so i decided to give it a shot. I am impressed how well it worked. It is now rock solid and you can't tell where the damage was. I would say its worth a shot at fixing it.

_________________
'73 hobie 16 restored 2011
'00 Seaswirl fishin boat

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL33jMcV4oM[/youtube]

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The video is what I have going on with the side of the hull. Thanks for the replies. If I decide to try and fix it, I'll post the results. Thanks again.

I finally got the boat to where I could check the opposite side hull. Both hulls are delaminated on the outside face for the majority of the hull length (sounds just like the linked above video). Is Git Rot a feasible solution for a fix and will it restore the hulls to a safe sailing condition? Or is this beyond hope?

Thanks!

Beyond hope.

You could try to re-laminate the hulls by injecting epoxy, but to do one whole side of each hull is going to take an immense amount of time and money and the hulls are going to weigh a ton after you fill them with epoxy. If the hull is delaminated to the point that the entire side of the hull is soft, then its likely that the foam core is also deteriorated from years of excess flexing. The inside fiberglass skin may also be damaged.

Seriously, the boat is toast.

sm