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Hobie 20 soft spots
http://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=2786		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  John Eaton [ Mon Dec 12, 2005 7:50 am ]
Post subject:  Hobie 20 soft spots
In staying with tradition, heaven forbid we would buy a new boat and if one is less than four years old it should be in need of serious repairs :P We are very happy with the 14 year old, newest addition!

After close inspection one soft spot disturbs me on the Starboard deck in between the daggerboard trunk and the tramp rail, basically the whole length of the trunk and extending fore of it. There is also gelcoat cracking around both trunks, the Port side deck in this area being solid.

Is this a "classic" spot for 20's to get soft?
I'm thinking of repairing as if it was delam?
Any thoughts or comments?
Author:  Hammond [ Mon Jan 30, 2006 9:10 am ]
Post subject: 
My "classic" hobie 20 also had a few vintage soft areas. Like you, I know that an older boat with a flat deck is expected to have a few soft deck areas. Yes, treat it as a typical delam. I used epoxy get rot that expands as it is going off. be sure to tape off the deck really good, drill the center hole and a few "bleeder" holes at the edge of the soft area and inject the epoxy. Make sure you are doing the repair in the working temperature range of the epoxy or other laminating resin you choose to work with. One other note, the polyester gelcoat will not cure over epoxy, so you will need to find a white epoxy filler (marine tex) to make the repair look nice.

The cracks you see at the front and back of the board area are related to flexing at this solid point next to the flat deck. The soft area next to it on your boat makes the cracking problem worse. You should at least make an attemp to fill these cracks in to ensure there is no water incursion. Grind, fill, sand, polish. It will look better and the glass and foam near here will be better for your efforts.
Author:  xanderwess [ Mon Jan 30, 2006 10:14 am ]
Post subject: 
John- Paul Bommersbach in SD just fixed his 2000 stb hull for the same thing and it came out really nice. You can get his email off the div site and contact him to see how he did it. He was pretty upset when it went soft, but its like new he says.
cw
Author:  John Eaton [ Mon Jan 30, 2006 10:16 am ]
Post subject: 
Thanks Mike and Chris,

We're anxious to kick this repair off and get this boat wet :D Has been unseasonably warm, but not warm enough yet for repairs.
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