New Hobiecat Convert, Questions regarding Hulls

Hello all, long time first time and all that. Nice to meet you all!

Firstly, I'd like to thank all the sailors, kayakers, and sailor/kayakers here on this lovely forum for their incredible (often contradictory) advice
Without it, I would have never gotten through my first Hobie Outback restoration, and it certainly played a part in me being infected with "The Hobie Way of Life," to the point that I now seem to own two old catamarans haha. Introductions out of the way, here comes the big ask.

Two questions.
After much, much reading, soul searching, and sanity checks... I still do not know how a soft spot would feel. My decks are hard as a rock, bow to stern, put when I press equally hard on the sides of the hull, there is the tiniest bit (less than 1mm) of movement or flex over a wide area. Is that normal and I'm just new boat over worrying? Or is that tiny flex indicative of bad news?

Then there is this.

A gouge. I've read the This Old Hobie article on fixing gouges, but it seems daunting to a total neophyte like myself. Does this look like something I can small patch (like in the article), or am I gonna being cutting out fist sized chunks of hull?
(Please ignore the previous owners questionable attempt at mooring paint, it's got a date with some wet sanding)

Thanks all!

P.S. This started out as an introductory post quickly turned into a "please help me" instead, so if the mods think it belongs elsewhere, I'll happily delete.

_________________
82 H'16 "Gonzo", Chrono Rigger
83 H'18 "Blue Hawaii", The Artemis (currently being overhauled)
07 Outback, Custom Sloop Rig, Onion Runner

Looks like somebody painted your hulls. That is too bad, paint chips and wears off. Paint sadness aside, your chip is small, limited to the gelcoat and is a very easy fix. Go for it. One of these days you might hit something and crack your boat. Having completed this repair will give you the confidence to tackle bigger jobs in the future.


https://static.hobiecat.com/2010_archiv ... 6_2009.pdf

I agree, it looks like a minor chip. Knock out the loose material, sand and clean with acetone. Then fill with putty and shoot witb gelcoat if you choose to do so.

Regarding your hull’s condition- a slight amount of flex on the hull sidewall is normal, especially for an older boat. If you experience a noticably spongy area, crunching sounds when pressing down, or flexing of more than 1mm or so, then I would say its time to be concerned.

sm

Thank you both for the advice, and a chance to take a deep breath. While I wait for New York to fix a trailer registration snafu, I’ve had nothing but time to go down a forum horror story spiral, and needed to get slapped out of it. Looks like it’s time to learn some fiberglass repair! Regarding the paint, it is unfortunate, but luckily very old and in the process of removing itself for me. Next season when I plan to get deep into refinishing the hulls, I think it will come off in great chips and waves with the encouragement of wet sandpaper.