76 HC16 deck crack help

Howdy, I'm trading an older Flying Junior Dinghy for a '76 HC16, I'm planning on sailing our kids around on the lakes here in NM in the mellower breezes, the dinghy's just too small. The HC seems to be in decent shape, with a new set of sails, newish running and standing rigging, and a trailer. The only real problem is that there are soft decks in front of the front crossbar on both hulls. The epoxy injection for this does not seem like too big of a problem, but one hull has a has a crack about a foot long in the deck and is extra soft in this area, here's a link to a photo of the crack -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/49274790@N00/4600719561/

This looks like a job that may require adding a port and backing up the area below the deck, which is not beyond my skills. I'm looking for advice and solutions for this, or am I just wasting my time with this boat?

thanks

Hola Solarboy,

I had a couple soft spots on my 82 H16 that I took care of with the injection method last year and it seems to have taken care of the problem. That method works. Both the areas I fixed were about 10" long and were on the top of the hull. As far as how large an area that method will take care of I do not know. You might want to contact the local Hobie Fleet(Fleet 48) and see if any one in the fleet has an idea. http://hobiefleet48.org/hobie/contact.html .

_________________
Mono slugs of various sizes and shapes
H 14 About 15 years ago
H 16 1982

Making Wake on A No Wake Lake!!!!!!

You can cut away the top layer, remove the foam and build up the glass to replace the foam layer... then bond the deck section back on top.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

thanks for you replies. It sounds like it would be better to cut the section of deck out and rebuild that area rather than install an access port, backup the interior laminate with glass & then inject resin to try to rebond the existing foam to the interior & exterior laminates? Is this because the access port would weaken the hull there, or?

Would you go 2-3" larger than the visibly cracked area itself?

I believe this question has been asked many times before, but would it be ok to make the rebuild repair with epoxy laminating resin (which I have on hand), or vinylester resin? I definitely do not plan on re-gelcoating the boat.

I'll also try to get in touch with Fleet 48 & Turtle Dave.

Peter

You can use epoxy.

I would cut a larger area for sure. This is a process a company in San Diego used years ago for this delam repair.

Just seems like more work to use the access port idea. This would be pretty quick. Note that the foam only spans about to the outer edges of non skid area.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

Thanks Matt, sounds reasonable.

More questions, what tool would work well for cutting out the top layer of the deck, a utility knife, circular saw, etc?

How thick is the foam layer there?

again, thanks

A dremmel with a thin disc saw blade.

The foam is about 3/8"

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

Upon further inspection, two questions.

In a soft area of the deck just in front of the forward pylon, I planned to inject resin and I drilled holes through the top layer of glass. The foam inside was wet. This hull had a little water in it when I got the boat <1 gal, boat was stored covered, but outdoors. So the damp deck has several small holes in it now, and the weather is warm & dry, and I'm hoping to let it dry out for several days, then inject it with resin. How long could this take to dry in the desert southwest?, the area was about 6-8" square. I assume water is coming in from the pylon, I'll search for sealing tips.

Another question, maybe I don't have enough epoxy to repair the deck cut out. I could thicken it, but that might not be enough. Can I use some less expensive polyester resin for the repair?

thanks,
Peter

About a week later, a week of hot, dry, windy weather, and the foam still shows dampness when a dry stick is inserted into the holes I've drilled into the deck in front of the crossbar. This could take a while, but need to protect it in case of rain. Any ideas to speed the drying? - I've drained the water from the hulls.

thanks,
Peter

When you find a crack, drill a small hole 1/8" at each end of the crack , this will stop it from going further. Then you may make the crack V shaped. With help from DURO fast welding for plastics, mix, and apply within 15 min, filling the grove ( following directions) the mix will cure in about 1 hr, and be yellow in color. Then sand with 220 and paint ( one of Walmarts paint # 1501 seemed a good match for me).....stu-b