"Metal Jacket", sort of, using an embedded stainless steel screen:
I wrote Hobie to complain about the drive well crack they told me to buy a KC Welder with color rods and directed me to an instructional video.
The repair in the video used a stainless steel screen. The bond was very impressive. I could not manually pull it apart. Previous tests without the screen always seemed to fail. I think the trick is to use the screen to mechanically interlock the plastic into the screen and create a plastic-metal-plastic bond. Plus, the screen provides extra strength, particularly when placed on both the inner and outer walls.
Here’s an unofficial step by step. Do this in a well ventilated area with PPE as needed:
1. Watch the video sent from Hobie:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gAFsDDNm2o2. Run tests on a sample piece. A good source of thick HDPE is most likely your neighborhood street side trash can. Roughness does not matter because the surface will get melted away. You should be able to get a bond you cannot pull apart. It’s probably important that both surfaces are very clean.
3. Improve your access to the area. For the forward end of the drive well on the AI this means removing the mast cup. Its not that hard to do and is well worth it.
4. Put your drive in the well and get a feel for clearances. Mine had plenty of room for plastic.
5. Do the outside first because its easier and it serves as a good warm-up for doing the inside. Fashion a piece of screen running from the top of the interface, through the drive well, and to the underside. My piece was about an inch wide on the underside and narrowed into the gap.
6. Press the screen into the plastic until it is flush with the surface. My method was to press the iron into one spot at a time, as shown in the linked video. After pressing in the screen, pile on the filler plastic.
7. Repeat for the inside using a v-shaped screen described earlier in this thread.
So far the patch is holding up. I will re-post if it fails, but it looks solid.