Hull Integrity

Hi,
I recently came back from a great day at the lake. 20-25 mph winds! Super fast sailing! Unfortunately, I had a crack in my left hull. I had it filled 1/3 of the way with water. A huge gust flipped us over and the water filled hull was up and at a 45 degree angle. We leveled out the hulls and as it started to go over tot he other side, I noticed the inside, front portion of the hull was literally pushed/sucked in! I could hear air being sucked from somewhere thru what seemed to be a very small space (the crack in the hull I think). At the apex of the sucked in area, I noticed what appeared to be a black crack or line. I thought the hull had cracked thru at that spot. I got us righted and got back to shore. By the time we got back, the hull was back to "normal". no evidence existed of the defect.
I was planning on taking my Hobie to San Diego in July. I'm a little tentative now with everything that happened. I've repaired the crack and firmed up the remaining hull bottoms. I'm not an expert on Fiberglass.

What am I looking at with regard to hull integrity/durability/life expectancy?

Thanks in advance!

Just curious what year is it?

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Bodhisatfa

It's a 1980

Have you done a leak test?

Put a little air pressure into the hull through the drain port and sponge the hull with soapy water looking for bubbles. They quite often have leaks at the seam where the top of the hull was attached to the sides.

Be very careful not to put too much pressure into the hull. Search this forum for safe ways to do this.

When/Where will you be sailing in San Deigo? Might be able to meet up.

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1980 18 foot class A Unicorn catamaran
1977 Super Sunfish (sold)
1979 Hobie (sold)
1983 Hobie 16 Hawiian Sunset (sold)
1981 Hobie 16 Tequilla Sunrise (sold)
2008 Hobie 16 (sold)
2023 Hobie 16
Founding member of the "San Dimas Yacht Club"
John

Without pictures, it's hard to say what's going on, but with statements like:



makes me think you've had a major structural failure.

That is very abnormal behavior.

Matt B.
Could this be that the shoe has become detached, and when under stress, the hull flexes, and causes a deck seam to open?
Then, when back at rest, it 'looks normal'?
I agree that this sounds most abnormal.

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2015 H16, with spin,
SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..."
'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'

I had a similar experience with my 1980 H16 earlier this year.

We flipped in gusty conditions. I stood on inside of port hull to right the boat. I am 200 lb male, so significant load. I heard crunching, collapsing of the fiberglass. I was able to right and return to shore. When I put on trailer, the hulls appeared good. When actually, I have a huge soft-spot where the fiberglass/foam delaminated. I do not have the confidence/comfort to sail a boat in this condition.

I would check for soft spots by pushing hard (20+ lb of force) along the inside hull. Compare the fiberglass flex to the good hull.

For me, the previous owner had a poor/bondo repair of a trailer-wheel puncture on this hull (I fixed with the Hotline tip. Worked great. Thanks). The PO, also, stored the boat with water in the hull. This led to the hull failure in my case.

Good luck, Blair

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H