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Hull Tape
http://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=51114		 Page 1 of 2
Author:  BamaQ [ Mon Apr 28, 2014 2:52 pm ]
Post subject:  Hull Tape
I took my TI for its maiden "kayak only" voyage in the Mobile River delta this weekend. Left all other boats (including a Canoe with a trolling motor in my dust). Pushing back in (fully loaded from camping) it must have drug a nail or a rock and I got a pretty decent 1/16 deep scratch. The dealer told me not to overreact, but use a West System to fill it if I had to. I ordered the Hobie welding kit of Amazon because I have seen it discussed here. I will likely fill the deeper parts of the scratch.

I was thinking of taping the centerline entire length with either Gaffers Tape or Vinyl Tape. I really would rather the shiny Vinyl so it will look more like a stripe and less like a strip of duct tape. Any experience? I tried searching this forum and found bits and drabs but not an entire discussion on the topic. I did learn not to make a bong out of PVC though....good to know.

John
Author:  Tom Kirkman [ Mon Apr 28, 2014 3:26 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Hull Tape
It's not a big deal and the plastic welder, once you practice and get decent with it, is the way to repair such things in these plastic hulls.

Tape is fine, but you almost never scar the hull in the location you put the tape, unless you want to cover the entire hull.

Scratches take the "new" off the boat and let you begin to really enjoy it.
Author:  fusioneng [ Mon Apr 28, 2014 4:00 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Hull Tape
BamaQ:
I agree with tom, I don't worry too much about the hull bottom anymore. It's soft polyethylene they get scratched and shallow tears easily. About once a year I take the boat off the trailer and clean and scrape the bottom. Any deep gouges I repair with the Hobie welder. You can basically clean the whole hull up so it looks almost new in 2-3 hrs of work. What I do is take a new single edge razor blade, held in one of those razor blade holders. I hold the blade vertically then just scrape back and forth till the scratch is gone (shallow scratches only). The plastic peels off the hull like snow flakes. The hull is between 3/16 and 3/8 thick on the bottom, you could literally scrape the hull every week for ten years and still not scrape thru it. You would have to scrape a really long time, and get very tired scraping off .010" of an inch of plastic. Like I said I only bother doing it once a year. I doubt very much anyone could detect any speed difference from a new clean bottom and a scratched bottom.
Now this doesn't mean you can drag the boat across a blacktop parking lot, but I wouldn't sweat normal wear and tear from launching and beaching unless your anal about the boat being like new.
Hope this helps
Bob
Author:  tonystott [ Mon Apr 28, 2014 6:08 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Hull Tape
If you really do feel the need to apply tape, there is a product designed specifically to (literally) cover your problem, called Keeleazy.

A kit providing an 18 foot by 2 inch strip will cost you $78, which should be enough (remembering th Miragedrive slots don't require taping)

http://www.keeleazy.com/home.html

Here are the colours currently available.
Image

Obviously it would be best to smooth any existing gouges with either the Hobie welding kit, or using fusioneng's scraper first. BTW, I would discount that advice from your dealer to use the West Systems product though, as I doubt that would be a viable long-term solution.
Author:  BamaQ [ Tue Apr 29, 2014 3:11 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Hull Tape
I wanted to send pictures to confirm the "rest easy" messages that I have been getting.

Image

Image
Author:  fusioneng [ Tue Apr 29, 2014 4:57 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Hull Tape
BamaQ :
That's the worst scratch I've ever seen, definitely not a rest easy situation. It can be fixed with the Hobie welder, if you don't have one, or are not comfortable making the repair yourself you may be able to take it to your dealer for repair (most are very good at hull repairs like this).
I agree that it's too severe to just ignore, it should be repaired IMO. And perhaps in your area something like the Keel easy product might be a good investment.
I haven't tried the Keel easy product myself, but in your case, you might want to look into it. (hopefully someone else will chime in here)
Do you have any idea what caused the tear (if so I'll be looking to avoid doing that myself).
Good luck
Bob
Author:  KayakingBob [ Tue Apr 29, 2014 5:10 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Hull Tape
Ouch!
Author:  Tom Kirkman [ Tue Apr 29, 2014 5:31 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Hull Tape
Rest easy - believe it or not, that's not a scratch or gouge that puts you in any danger whatsoever. It's highly unlikely you'd put another scratch right inside that one, and which you'd have to do, several times, before you breached your hull.

The plastic welder can fix it if it bothers you.
Author:  BamaQ [ Tue Apr 29, 2014 6:55 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Hull Tape
The twelve year old in the front seat, me in the back, fully loaded for camping. One guy pushed me off of the muddy bank. We felt it snag, but I saw some mud pushing up into the mirage drive hole. I assume it was just goop slowign us down. So we did what any good seasoned redneck from Alabama would do....push harder. Must have been something buried inthe mud. I have a welder on order from Amazon. $60. Will give it a go.

Thanks for the input.
Author:  NOHUHU [ Tue Apr 29, 2014 7:07 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Hull Tape
"Shoots, it's just a flesh wound". :mrgreen:
Author:  PassWind [ Tue Apr 29, 2014 8:04 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Hull Tape
.. I'd consult a plastic surgeon :wink:
Author:  NOHUHU [ Tue Apr 29, 2014 9:01 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Hull Tape
BRAVO!

Image
Author:  Chekika [ Wed Apr 30, 2014 2:45 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Hull Tape
NOHUHU, you've stole the show!

Yes, that is a nasty scratch, and, like Fusioneng, the worse I've ever seen. Out camping, I occasionally "sweep" the beach of real bad stuff (chunks of coral & occasional conch shell) in the path we are going to drag our boats. Our fully loaded boats probably do not have more than 80-100# gear & NO PEOPLE. The Mirage drive hole frequently does dredge up sand.

Keith
Author:  PassWind [ Thu May 01, 2014 7:37 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Hull Tape
Quote:
The Mirage drive hole frequently does dredge up sand


Hmmm .. has anyone ever tried modding their drive well plug into a landing gear ?

It could be inserted when the flipperflappers are removed right before beaching

.. something like the nose gear on this gentle lady

Image
Author:  BamaQ [ Mon May 19, 2014 7:44 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Hull Tape
I thought I would give an update to everyone on my hull "sctratches" and the Hobie KC welder.

To remind everyone, these are the scratches I was dealing with (brother in law inflicted).

Image

Image

After receiving my KC Welder and stock. I was successful in the repair job:
Image

Image

Learnings:
1) The obvious one make sure the hull is totally clean prior to welding. I though I had done this, but you can see the melted stock picked up some dirt and burnt stock. I cleaned the affected area with with soap and water and MEK prior to welding

2) The extra stock that I ordered from Amazon that they suggested are a bit too small in diameter, and the stock is alot "stickier" when molten and harder to work with than the Hobie stock

3) Do not accidentally set your KC welder down on the rag that you cleaned with MEK with. It will catch on fire. :? :shock:

All in all decent results I would say.
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