Damaged Rudder Attachment

Hi all,

Just bought myself my very first sailboat and it is an older Hobie 16! I got it for an unbelievable price ($850!) which included a trailer. The owner assured me that the boat was ready to go, and I verified that all the rigging, sails, mast, etc. were all in good condition. Obviously it may have been too good to be true, but due to my inexperience, and the lack of time I had to close the deal, I missed a critical issue near the Port rudder.

Fast forward a few weeks, I was discussing with a more experienced Hobie owner than I. He pointed out that I may have a leak in the hull. Desperately wanting to take it out on Memorial Day, I decided to risk it and took it on the water. It was very light winds, and I ended up taking a few people out with me, which put the waterline above the supposed leak. I didn't have any issues on the water (fortunately we didn't sink!) but upon later inspection I confirmed the leak as the port hull had taken on a good amount of water.

Normally I wouldn't turn to a forum to ask about a simple fiberglass patch job, but unfortunately there is a substantial amount of damage to the part of the hull where the rudder is connected (photos below). The faceplate that attaches the port rudder assembly has somehow forced its way into the hull, damaging a lot of fiberglass around it. I would imagine that this is a problem that would require me to repair and re-mount the rudder assembly, but again maybe it's fine just to grind it down, slap a bunch of marine-tex on it, sand it out, and call it a day.


My question is:
based on damage to the hull from the rudder attachment faceplate, do I need to re-mount the rudder, and if so how is the best way to accomplish that?


EDIT:
here is a link to the photos https://imgur.com/a/GubFIk2
while I try and figure out why my links aren't working

Overview of Damage:


Degrading drain plug hole seal:


Profile of hull:
(easier to see how the angle of the face plate and how it has penetrated the hull)


Close-up of face plate:


In-board side of the port rudder assembly:



TL;DR
New Hobie owner, limited repair experience. Found damage where the port rudder attaches, looks more involved that a simple patch job (see pics), plz help!

You have to put the photos on another site and link them to the forum for them to show up. If you have a place you keep photos on the internet or facebook then copy/paste the photo location.

_________________
Buxton
18' T16 Silent Lightning (16' T2 Hybrid)
11' H16 White Lightning
79' H16 Green Lightning

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

Thanks!