I have an old 70’s era Hobie that had the same hull issues. I dont know the exact year, because the hull was painted once and I have no idea what the hull id number is now. The guy I got it from did not have it registered either, so its a guess. He basically gave me the boat, so hull issues were something I could deal with. Sails and everything else are in fine condition, for the age.
I spent a good deal of time, and spent about $500 doing repair to the hulls. But I enjoy tinkering with projects like this. Will the boat race ever again? No. But it floats and I’ve taught my 4 kids to sail on it and we have had a blast doing it. The hull may fail one day, but its been absolutely worth the time and money, and if they do fail, we’ll replace the boat then. So dont be intimidated by the work, especially if you have access to lots of epoxy - cause you are going to need it
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That said, I did 2 things. One was rebuild the keels which had worn through from years of dragging on the beach. Google “Hobie 16 bottom job”. There is a guy that did a great restoration of of the keels and painted them as well. Very easy repair.
For the “crunchy” sides and top, I did the epoxy injection. There are plenty of guides on the net for how to do this, but its basically drilling small holes in the first layer of fiberglass all around the hull and injecting the epoxy to re-laminate the two layers of fiberglass together. No need to re-glass the outside of the hulls. I have some video i did I can post. It shows the soft spot, the injection process, and the results.
We just got back from the gulf coast and no water in the hulls. It was rough a couple days and the hulls held fine. I always have it in my mind they may fail - and if they do its been worth the money and time and we’ll search for another.
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