Need Some Advice on Hull Repair

I just picked up a Hobie 18 (for free, not that any boat is free). . . I'm stoked to say the least. I've been sailing with my friend who has an f-27 and I'm at that point where I really needed a boat of my own to get to the next level. He has sailed 16's for many years so he will be my "coach" untill I'm confident to go off on my own. . . Oh it was a craigslist find. . .the 18 sat for about 7 years until the guy said someone just take the stupid thing. . .

So the boat is about 95% complete. . . The problem I found was it has soft hulls. I've searched the forum on how to repair delamination, but I just needed some direction to see what option is best for my situation, so any help would be greatly appriciated.

The hulls have delaminated mostly on the inner sides of the hulls. It seems the more I push on the hulls the more delamination that happens. So far I think it's about half of the port side inner hull, and about 1/3 of the starboard inner hull. There are also some soft spots on the decks. . .not too many though.

I'm at the point of thinking it's not worth the repair, but I may be wrong. . . Need some advice from some who have been in this situation. I've also thought about filling the hulls with foam, just to get a couple seasons out of it, then moving on to the next boat. Or maybe just parting it out, because it has most everything with it and all the parts look to be very serviceable.

Your opinions? ? ? please. I'll answer any questions that I may have left out.

Can't comment on whether it is worth the repair...but I remember reading somewhere of an individual drilling a series of small holes (in pairs, each hole of the pair maybe an inch apart) throughout a major delam area similar in size to yours....then running zip-ties around/through each pair of holes to pull/hold the inside of the hull to the foam while injecting penetrating resin. You might want to start with the zip ties loose, inject the resin, then tighten to squeeze and spread the resin. Probably would want some tape handy to plug holes as resin started to come out. It sounded like a good idea to me to minimize added weight and resin cost. Obviously you would need to cut the zip ties and fill those holes after the first resin was cured. The huge advantage is that everything is done from the outside - I have read of people doing massive surgery (removing large pieces and reglassing) on the topdeck just to access the inside.

There might also be some sort of drywall or wallboard anchors with expanding wings available that could be used instead of zip ties...might work even better for clamping. FYI full thickness of the hull is probably around 3/8 of an inch (based on a cutout I did on the topdeck of mine for a deckport, aft of the rear crossbar).

Thanks for the advice given so far. . . I'm thinking I'm going to be looking to part her out. The more I mess with the hulls, the more I'm finding small area's of soft spots. Sitting around for years was not too kind to this boat.


The sad part is that it looks like someone sailed her and kept good care to buy nice upgrades, then just let it sit. . . I'll have to keep the parts that are harder to get. . .

Thanks all.

p.s. anybody know of a good set of hulls in FL for cheap so I can get sailing. . .lol

I recently purchased a Hobie 18 with major delaminations in both hulls.

Luckily I found someone who was able to "rebuild" the hulls and I am now enjoying myself immensely on the water.

HUGE holes were cut in the bottom of the hulls, foam replaced, holes fixed.

Only problem.... I am in Australia.

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H18 Newbie, Too heavy for the 14

I'm thinking I'm going to sell the boat as a whole and turn it over as a parts boat or let someone else work it out. It's too complete of a boat to just part it out. . .

So you'll probably see it in the for sale section soon. . . lol

My experiance with soft hulls is that they are usually caused by water freezing inside the fiber glass between the foam. This means that it's probably stiil damp in that neverland of foam and fglass. However,I have had success on the decks by drilling 1/4 inch holes and pumping Git Rot or epoxy. As far as the hulls are concerned,it could work,but if it's a large area it could be tough. If you decide to drill,flip the boat,let it really dry out after you drill. You should drill holes just through the outside shell just to th foam.About an inch apart. Inject the stuff when you're sure it's dry inside If it works,plug up the holes with Marine Tex or Murrays epoxy. If the hulls are white,use Marine Tex,since Murrays turns yellow. Otherwise paint the hulls.
Best advice! Scrap it and find a better boat!!

macotac

Yeah,the guy who said sell the parts is right on. Since hobie is out of 18's,parts will be at a premium. We have a lot of 18's in our fleet and are always looking for parts.

macotac

Did I read that right? Anyway, Hobie is definitely not out of H18 parts.

Marinetex has no place on a Hobie hull other than a temporary repair...and hardly even then. It's brittle, doesn't combine well with polyester, and has to be completely dug out in order to do the repair right. Usually, due to poor surface prep and the way Marinetex bonds, it allows water to leak through and saturate the foam.

If your boat is totally soft, the best advice may be to look for some more solid hulls.

Good luck.

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What I said was Hobie is out of 18's,like nomore boats. I would think as time goes by,parts will b ecome more and more scarce. Hobie Bob???
I never realized the problems with Marinetex. I guess the yellowing of West is a better choice. It isn't quite so bad if you use the powder additive.

Oooh, I didn't read it right. We have most parts now. West is better for soft spot repair, let it cure thoroughly then sand very well, wash with acetone, and gelcoat. I have a personal grudge against the tex. Every time I do a repair I have to grind that stuff out and it makes a huge mess all over the shop just makes me angry

J