Soft spots

OK - got my first hobie and have been sailing the %#$% out of it! Bought it off a friend - its a 79 that had been stored for the last 15 years in his garage. When rigging the other day - I stepped on the deck right in front of the front pylons (support for the tramp) and it felt kinda soft. UH -OH - is this the dreaded 'soft spots' people refer to? What does this mean? Do I have to address this prob soon? Will the hull fall apart? I paid an average amount for the boat - it has great sails and is in otherwise excellent condition. But now I am worried....

It should be repaired, here's how:
http://www.hobiecat.com/support/articles/archive/?src=http://2010.archive.hobiecat.com/support/tech/delam.html

Depending on the size of the area, it might be safer to ditch the hull. Also depends where you sail and how intense. I sail in a small and rather calm lake, compared to the ocean. I fixed a similar soft spot, was about 12" long by 8" wide, so not that small. After the repair, the area is hard, but I monitor it closely.

I found another soft spot on the side of the same hull, slightly behind the front pylon, so I'll address that next.

_________________
Marc...
1978 Hobie 16 Keoke, sail# 36 84

Well, that fix doesn't seem so bad. How deep do you drill? Without any reference to how thick the top glass layer and foam is - how can you know??

Somewhere around 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch. You can put tape on your drill bit to prevent it. Instead of drilling across the foam and stop before the bottom glass layer, I just went through the top layer, then poked a nail through the hole and wiggled it to make it through the foam, but not the bottom layer.

I used Git-Rot and it comes with a squeeze bottle to do the job.

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Marc...
1978 Hobie 16 Keoke, sail# 36 84

The top skin of the deck is less than 1/8" thick. I would definintely use some sort of stop on your drill as suggested above. I find it best to use the electric drill to only punch through the top skin. Then remove the bit from the drill and get down to the bottom skin by hand. A sharp drill bit will cut through the foam easily by just spinning it with your fingers. This way you can feel when you make contact with the bottom skin. You can clear out more foam if necessary by bending a nail at 90 degrees, putting it in the hole and spinning it. Then use a shop vac to clear out the foam particles. If you goof up and accidentally go through the bottom skin, you'll have another repair to do before you can start injecting.

You should also stick pieces of masking tape on the deck wherever you plan on drilling and then drill through the tape and into the deck. Cover the remainder of the deck with newspaper. This way when the resin starts oozing out of the vent holes, it won't get all over the deck.

Also be sure to wear eye protection for this repair. High pressure resin being shot in your eye is not a good thing.

sm

Two seasons ago I used the drill and fill method that's being discussed. Both hulls were soft on top just in front of the front pylon. I found complete and thorough instructions on TheBeachCats.com. They were posted Nov 02, 2003. They were named "Do-It-Yourself [1]: Catamaran Sailboats Delamination Repair Instructions [2]".

One hull has held up well but the second is starting to give. The hull isn't soft anymore, it now just flexes way too much. I think the bad hull was too far gone when I repaired it the first time. I've now given up on repairing it again but it was a worthwhile process. I would definitely recommend giving it a try. I'm still sailing it today so I got two more seasons out of it.

I just googled "Do-It-Yourself [1]: Catamaran Sailboats Delamination Repair Instructions [2]" and found the instructions again.