crack in hull at top of sail mast area / advice ?

I bought 2 used Hobies a few months ago. 1 think they are both 2010 Revolution 13'. Am I in the right forum? I didn't see a specific Revolution forum. Anyway I was looking at one kayaks yesterday and disappointed to find a crack in the hull above the cap for the tube for the sail mast, and inside the hatch, the rest of the crack. Don't know if I missed this before or if I caused it somehow by strapping them to my roof too tightly. Anyway, the other kayak doesn't have this crack.

Is it safe to use with the sail kit as is, cracked? Or do I need to repair it somehow? I'd appreciate any advice on repairing, if advised, thanks.

I haven't tried the sail kits yet, but they were included with the kayaks. Also included were some plastic strips in the correct colors that I assume can be melted into imperfections in the hull.

You will need to repair it. The sail kit would further damage this area. Maybe even Hose clamps to hold it together. Weld the area or use something like DP 8010 to coat/bond it.

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

Thanks, sorry I missed your reply for so long. I assumed I would get some update from the forums when my post was moderated and posted and replied to, but I guess I probably have some settings wrong, because I only saw this when I came back and logged in. ANYWAY. I was thinking hose clamps. When you say "Weld the area or use something like DP 8010 to coat/bond it" do you mean weld the area by melting in the colored plastic strips I have? Or is the DP 8010 the material I use to "weld" it ?

Also, do you have any insight on what causes this particular cracking? Is it possibly from the previous owner actually using the sail kit and over stressing it? Or sitting outside in UV and sun? Or from the way I roof-racked and strapped it ? Thanks.

Could be compression from the straps. Hard to say. I think the DP 8010 and hose clamps could work. Welding would be melting material and melting the crack together.

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

thanks for your reply, can you direct me to a "how-to" or instructional at Hobie about the welding technique ?

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

The first thing you should do is drill a small hole at the tip of each crack to keep the crack from getting longer. Currently all of the stress on the hull from each crack is concentrated in a small area at the tip of the crack. If you drill a hole at or just in front of the tip of the crack, that stress will be spread out around the circumference of the hole, and the crack is unlikely to get longer.

If you decide to weld the cracks, you can buy inexpensive plastic welders from a variety of sources on line. However, I think it's worth spending the extra money to buy a Hobie KC Welder Pro, because the welding tip has a hole for a plastic welding rod, so you can melt the rod at the same time that you're melting the hull, and can blend the plastic together. You can buy plastic welding rods from various sources such as https://www.nextadventure.net/harmony-weld-rod.html.

Did you end up fixing this? I have exact same issue and wondering if some epoxy and hose clamps will allow me to safely sail it. Thinking of just leaving the mast receiver in and epoxying it all together.

I have a similar problem
I was denied warranty since it wasn't below the waterline
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0d0IcIQMfJpis4sAPJweuY3qA
I drilled a hole to stop the crack from spreading as you can see in the photo.
How do i go about fixing this? It's hard to close the gap especially with the mast tube.