Hobie 14 hull repair, should I bother?

I recently bought a one owner Hobie 14 built 1976. It sat unused outside for many years. Paid very little. Has fiberglass rudders, 6:1 mainsheet and excellent sail plus the original. It needs a tramp which is ready to put on. In reviewing the hulls, I noticed that the decks have a little bit of crunchiness. No blatant softness. I've read a lot about the epoxy repairs and think I could do it. I've worked a lot with fiberglass in the past. If I do the repair, I'll probably use Raka epoxy.

It will be kept on a small protected bay beach, and will only sail it on smooth shallow water with 6 inch chop or less. I won't sail in heavy air and I won't push the boat. Should I bother doing the repairs?

Is it crunchy on the entire deck, or just specific locations?

If you plan to sail the boat, then I would definitely suggest repairing. The crunchy sound is the fiberglass separating from the foam core and the core breaking down. It will continue to get worse if you do nothing. Drilling and injecting epoxy is easy and can be done in a day (less than an hour if its only a small area and you aren’t concerned about cosmetics).

You might also consider adding 4” inspection ports behind the front pylon so the hulls can air out. If the boat sits with moisture in the hulls for a long time, that can contribute to the fiberglass delaminating.

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The crunchiness is pretty widespread on the decks. Based on a spot check as I don't want to disturb more than needed. Boat has sat unused outside for 20 years,and was likely outside its entire life. Pretty dry climate so the good thing is the foam should be dry. I have the time for repairs as the conditions for sailing it (tides, wind temperature) may not come up before March. Longer if a wet winter. I may do the entirety of the decks with epoxy injection then follow with gelcoat. I have the advantage of no tramp as the old one is rotten and the new one will go on last.

The most important part of the deck is right in front of the forward pylon. At a minimum, this area should be structurally sound, otherwise the hull can collapse under the load from the rig/forestay tension. The areas aft of the forward pylon are less critical since they are rarely stepped on due to being covered by the trampoline.

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FWIW...Gelcoating (or any other cosmetic efforts) could very well turn out to be a waste of time, money, energy on a boat so old and unkempt. I'd recommend you do those after you make sure it floats, it doesn't break in half under a load, and you actually enjoy sailing it and plan to keep it. I probably wouldn't do them at all...I'd sail the crap out of it until it's ready for the landfill!

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Jerome Vaughan
Hobie 16

I have been out 3 times so far, all on flat water. First and second time was moderate then light air. Yesterday it was 20 kt! Very exciting. Being alone and new I held back, not going faster than 10 kt or so (by GPS). Lots of depowering with the traveler. It is a good boat, tracks well with hands off. No troubles until after my high speed beach landing on a lee shore. Made the mistake of trying to drop the main without heading to wind and the halyard jammed with the sail up. Why???? Was very concerned with 25 kt gusts. Had to get the sail down. Pointed to wind and after multiple tugs the sail dropped. I suspect the halyard stop got stuck in the track. I'll be more careful next time!

An experienced beach cat guy where my Hobie is parked looked at my hulls and thought I had no worries. Very reassuring. Glad I did repairs. I did rebuild the rudders and they work great.

Also, why all the talk of trouble tacking the 14? No trouble at all. Maybe it would be harder on open ocean chop though.

Glad to hear the boat is serving you well! You should always, ALWAYS (especially in high wind ALWAYS), spin the boat into the wind and settle it down before hitting a lee shore, then get the rudders up and back it in easy. I have seen boats that, when failing to do so, trip over the beach and just keep cartwheeling along in high wind. That's how masts and such get broken.

Any side load on the mainsail will jam the luff rope, making it harder to get down. And, as you learned, it pays to keep an eye on that nicopress fitting to make sure it's out of the luff track. That can be kinda fiddley, especially if not head to wind, but gets easier with practice.

Yes, tacking in high wind is much more difficult when the waves/chop knock back your momentum. The boat will soon begin drifting backwards, and you need to be prepared to reverse rudders and back into the tack.

Where are you sailing? Good wind, flat water, and warm enough to get out...that sounds nice!

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Jerome Vaughan
Hobie 16

Good advice which I learned the hard way. My location is Morro Bay, CA. There is protected tidal back bay about 1/3 to 1/2 miles wide and a couple of miles long, usable at mid tide or higher only, otherwise mud. Typical water temps are high 50's and air temps are 55-65 year round. There is an informal fleet of Hobies, Nactras and Prindles along with countless kayaks and canoes that keep boats the land above high tide.