Gelcoat repair or glasswork - Would you buy this boat?

I'm a new to Hobies, but strongly considering buying a used Hobie 18 and would welcome feedback. The boat hasn't been used in many years, but the owners are fantastic, very forthright, and helpful, and the boat seems to be in pretty good shape.

I'm not scared of doing some repairs, but am ideally hoping to sail it a bit before needing to do that. Does this (see pic) look like an urgent repair? Is it a gell-coat repair or a glass repair?




I've printed out the list of equipment for the Hobie 18, and will go through it with the boat before purchase to try to figure out if anything major/needed is missing. What are some of the bigger or more subtle items that I should look for?

Any concerns about the boat being outside under a tarp for many years if there are no soft spots in the hull?

Anything else to look for?

Thanks a bunch.

That's not a terribly bad or involved repair as repairs go, but it will take a bit of work. It's definitely gone completely through the outer layer of fiberglass. depending on how long it's been like that, it's allowed moisture to get into the foam core, which will hasten delamination/soft spot formation. The sooner you seal it back up, the better. It's something that it'd be prudent to get repaired right away, but, it's not something that will break the boat if you don't fix it first.

The fix is pretty simple. You've gotta sand through the gel coat, then the outer layer of fiberglass, until all of the exposed glass is semi-translucent (just sanding off the gel coat you'll see white, fractured fibers. This is damaged fiberglass, and needs to be sanded out for a proper repair). I'd stop sanding just before reaching the foam core. The damage for something like that goes deeper and spreads out further than it looks. I'd bet it's a ~4" diameter area that needs repair. Once it's fully sanded out/opened up, you'll cut a few pieces of fiberglass cloth and/or mat to build the area back. Then you'll need to mix polyester resin & catalyst, "wet out" the pieces of fiberglass, apply them to the repair area and cover the repair. Once it hardens completely, sand it down a bit, mix some gel coat and apply it over the repair. Then sand it flush with the original hull. It'll take probably 8 hours total, spread out over 2-3 days (cure times).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9hfpOCnzEs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGr-OsU ... ion_604527
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-kVRKhyb3g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MWN7kbzutM

These videos provide a VERY thorough explanation of the why's and how's to fiberglass & gel coat repairs. It really is simple once you have all the material, it just takes time.

Just do yourself a favor and try pressing down all along the length of the deck and even on the sides, especially if you find any bulges or bubbles. Don't be afraid to put some weight into it! The boat can take it! If you hear a crunch at any point, or it feels soft/spongy/springy, you've found a soft spot. Anything else can be repaired (soft spots too, if they're not very large), but the hulls are the most irreplaceable part of the boat. Take a look at the bottoms for wear, check along the lip of the hulls for cracks/separation, check inside for standing water. Just about anything can be fixed on these boats, including most of what I've listed off here. It just depends on how much time, money & effort you're willing to put into it. If it needs a lot of work or has very large soft spots, you might be better off looking for another boat.

If you get to looking it over and have any more questions, feel free to ask!

_________________
Mike

'79 H18 standard 'Rocketman II' sail #14921 RIP
'78 H18 (unnamed) sail #14921
'08 H16 sail #114312
'97 H21SC sail #238

Hi Sabres,

It does sound like it'd be best to do the glass work immediately. The links are a tremendous help. Great points all around as well.

In the videos they build up the glass from both sides but it's hard to imagine getting good access to the inside of the hobie hull very far away from the drains (in ~the center of the hulls) if needed, should the foam not be intact. To repair the sides towards the bow or stern, would you cut a hole in the top of the hull (and then repair it)?? [Basically, I'm not sure how thick the foam is and whether it'd be in good shape throughout the hull after 30-35 years, and how to do repairs if it's not.]

Thanks again!

No need to sand down/build up from both sides, I'd say most typical fiberglass repairs are only undertaken from one side unless it's a hole and there's easy access to the opposite side. In your case, I'd sand down the outer layer of fiberglass until you're just about to the foam core. I'd stop just short of going all the way through the outer layer of glass, to make the repair a little simpler. Then I'd cut a few pieces of fiberglass cloth to fit the repair area, mix the resin and build it back. Sanding it back down and applying gel coat is a good idea for the longevity and aesthetics of the boat, but it's not completely necessary or immediately pressing. The fiberglass is the most important part. You can buy a small fiberglass repair kit at most marine stores for ~$40 that will have enough resin, catalyst and fiberglass cloth for this repair. There's also a gel coat matching kit for ~$30 if you want.

All that said, the damage isn't such that it's going to break the boat if you try to sail it. You could very easily put a piece of tape over the damage and go for a few sails before attempting the repair. It's been that way for a while, so a little longer doesn't really hurt.

Also, the images seem to have stopped working. If you fix or re-post the links, I'm sure some of the other forum members would have some advice & suggestions for you as well.

Thanks again, Sabres.

Will give it a go as suggested.

[Tried to fix the images about ~5 times but it might be a site issue; they're visible to others at the same url. Will followup some more.]

In addition to what SabresfortheCup said: Make sure to sand the gellcoat off about 2 inches in each direction around the damaged area, and cover that area with a few more layers of fiberglass after you build up the "inside" of the damaged area. That should prevent an O-shaped crack from developing over time.