Return to Hobie.com
Hobie Forums
It is currently Sat Mar 30, 2024 12:11 am

All times are UTC - 8 hours [ DST ]




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 7 posts ] 
Author Message
PostPosted: Thu Oct 08, 2015 8:40 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Deck Hand

Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2015 6:33 pm
Posts: 21
Location: Georgia
Hi guys,
I'm looking for a link to a good video showing how to do the epoxy delamination repair on soft spots on the top of Hobie hulls. I've found a lot about fiberglass work on the sides and bottoms of hulls, but only one really short video (about 45 seconds or so) on the top delamination epoxy repair and it leaves parts out. I'm particularly worried about how far to drill into the top of the hull. That's what I would like to see in a video, as well as the injection process in its entirety. I would appreciate any help, advice, or any first-hand tips someone's picked up when they made this repair.
Thanks so much!
Chuck


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Oct 09, 2015 5:44 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Mon May 09, 2005 10:25 am
Posts: 4176
Location: Jersey Shore
Drill into the hull no more than 1/4" using a power drill (use a piece of tape or a drill stop to mark the depth). The outer skin is maybe 1/16" thick. The foam is about 5/16" thick and the inner skin is less than 1/32" thick. It is very easy to punch all the way through the inner skin by accident. After you drill the holes with the power drill, remove the drill bit and carefully drill down to the inner skin by just placing the drill bit in the hole and spinning it with your fingers. You're just drilling through foam, so this is very easy to do.

sm


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Oct 09, 2015 7:59 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Sun Dec 23, 2007 1:20 pm
Posts: 493
Location: Clearwater, FL
This photo shows a cross-section of a hull and the thicknesses of the inner and outer fiberglass skins and foam.

Image

_________________
Tim
84 H16
82 H16
87 H14T
Tortola Sails: 115222
Blue Prism Sails: 88863
Clearwater, FL
Image


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Oct 09, 2015 8:09 am 
Offline
Site Admin

Joined: Tue May 27, 2003 12:44 pm
Posts: 15027
Location: Oceanside, California
mmiller wrote:
Hulls - Soft or Delaminated hulls on older boats

Soft hulls are caused by the foam and fiberglass layers becoming seperated or delaminated. This can be caused by heat, repeated compression (walking on) or other factors related to materials and age. This is normally correctable. A soft area is a structural breakdown and should be corrected before sailing the boat. Soft areas in decks near or ahead of the forward cross bar can cause complete failure of the bow and must be repaired before sailing the boat.

If your Hobie has soft or "delaminated" hulls or deck areas, take a look at the following link:

Image

I did a search on Google to find information on the material that is excellent for this kind of repair "Git Rot" Flexible penetrating epoxy:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=Git+Rot

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


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Oct 09, 2015 8:30 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Sun Dec 23, 2007 1:20 pm
Posts: 493
Location: Clearwater, FL
This video may help:

Fixing Hobie Cat Deck

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veTtdImAfOo

_________________
Tim
84 H16
82 H16
87 H14T
Tortola Sails: 115222
Blue Prism Sails: 88863
Clearwater, FL
Image


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sat Oct 10, 2015 3:24 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Deck Hand

Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2015 6:33 pm
Posts: 21
Location: Georgia
Thanks guys! I appreciate all the help! Thanks sm for the actual thicknesses of the layers of the hull. That makes me feel a little more confident about how to drill. Thanks Tim H16 for the picture of the hull crosssection--that really gives me a better idea of what I'm dealing with. I couldn't get the video to play, but that's okay. I'll try to search under the title you listed. Also, thanks Matt for the diagrams about the repair. With these combined resources and the other information I've read, I'm ready to tackle the repair! Thanks again! I'll let y'all know how it turns out. It's been raining here a lot lately so I don't know how soon I'll get to do it--I hope really soon! I would like to get a sail or two in before it gets cold here.
Have a good one,
Chuck


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sat Feb 06, 2016 11:29 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Deck Hand

Joined: Sat Feb 06, 2016 10:55 am
Posts: 1
I recently purchased a yellow Hobie 16 for cheap - just to get it out of the weeds of a friend's backyard. Not sure of the year or if perhaps there's a way to determine this based off of sail number, etc...The boat has had quite a bit of use - biggest concern is deck delam and this blog thread has been most helpful in understanding this type of repair. I'm curious about the extent to which resin injection will solve my issue.

All methods the same, it seems that the success of injecting resin into the hull foam will depend largely on the severity of deck damage.

In my boat's case, the symptoms are for an area similar to that shown in miller's Oct. 09, 2015 diagram. The rails, bow and 6" surrounding the pylons are solid. When I push on the middle of the deck forward of the pylons with my palm, however, there's substantial play - as much as ~3/4" depression in places, with a distinct foam "crunch" or "crackling" sound[/color] - (censored) is soft. Again, at least 2" inboard of the rails, sometimes more, is still solid. This video shows symptoms definitely more pronounced than mine, but not far off:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL33jMcV4oM

**Is a deck with this much play and this formidable crunch sound still repairable with resin holes, or does it likely merit open surgery to replace the damaged foam, and perhaps fiberglass?**


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 7 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 8 hours [ DST ]


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Jump to:  
cron
© Hobie Cat Company. All rights reserved.
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group