Hull Deck Cracks

I picked up this new to me 1980 last year and sailed it almost every weekend. Figured I would gage my interest before deciding to do any upgrades. Only blemish that has me concerned is this 'cracking' on the top deck of the port hull. It does not seem soft, but there is some exposed fiberglass. Is this a structural concern? Is a repair necessary?

Looks like something impacted the deck hard in that area. I would check closely for excessive flex/soft spots. Cracks like that aren't likely to just "happen" for no reason. If the deck is good and solid, then probably nothing to worry about. If it's flexing, then likely there is damage to either the inner our outer skins or delamination which would require a bit more investigation. You may also want to inspect the hull/deck seam closely.

sm

Agreed, it does look like it was caused by an impact. If there is delamination, is the standard epoxy injection method appropriate here?

I peeked at the hull/deck seem when I took the pictures - they weren't separated as far as I could tell, though I do recall seeing some cracks there as well. Is there a fix for the separation issue?

If it's soft, there's really no way of knowing ahead of time if epoxy injection will work. Since it is likely an impact damage, it's possible that the fiberglass skin was fractured. If that is the case, the repair is more involved. Bottom line, I would check it closely for softness. If the deck is solid, I would open up the cracks (you can use an old-fashioned can opener for this to widen the cracks) and fill with gelcoat to seal. If the deck is not solid, epoxy injection is probably the easiest repair method to start with. But if the area will not accept the epoxy or if it still isn't solid after epoxy injection, you would need to start grinding away material to see if the skins are fractured.

For the hull/deck seam, if it is separated, you can repair by spreading open the damaged area, cleaning out & roughing up the contact surfaces as much as possible, and then epoxying and clamping the seam back together.

sm

Matt,

Did you post a photo of that anti-slip deck fiberglass in the raw form and is it available as a patch that could replace existing damaged deck?

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Bill 404 21SE

To be honest, I am thinking about grinding that off the front of my boat. Everyone reads that as 'please, step here'. I don't want people stepping there, for fear that it will cause soft spots.

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Steve
2017 Hobie 16 "Cayman" sails 114795
1985 & 1973? Hobie 14 "Sea & Ski"