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 Post subject: Cracked Hull Repair
PostPosted: Wed Jun 03, 2020 4:06 pm 
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Joined: Sun May 17, 2020 5:36 pm
Posts: 35
I have posted several times before, about the 2008 Adventure Island that I am now seeing was not as good of a deal as I thought. The padeye socket at the front hatch was cracked, and even after that was repaired I found more water leaking into the hull. The plan is to make these two boats into long distance camping boats, and I have been disappointed in the amount of water getting in mine, especially considering how dry the other one is.

Well, I found another crack, this in the bottom of the hull at the front of the mirage drive section. What is the accepted repair here? Will Hobie look at it? I assume they are VERY out of warranty. I am reasonmably handy, and am willing to try to DIY the repair, but a hull crack below the waterline may be not something I want to mess with. I work in the rotomolding industry, but I use crosslink and not linear polyethylene, which doesn't weld. But I am perfectly willing to learn a new skill for this.

Photos: https://imgur.com/gallery/1sNbRSc

Image

Image


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 Post subject: Re: Cracked Hull Repair
PostPosted: Thu Jun 04, 2020 6:14 am 
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Joined: Mon Mar 19, 2012 11:29 am
Posts: 134
I had purchased an older 2010 oat that had similar cracks. I drilled small holes at the end of the cracks and used JB Plastic Weld on the inside of the hull and outside. Also, on the outside I used some type of marine putty. Been years with no issues.


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 Post subject: Re: Cracked Hull Repair
PostPosted: Thu Jun 04, 2020 10:06 am 
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Joined: Tue May 27, 2003 12:44 pm
Posts: 15027
Location: Oceanside, California
Not a warranty possibility at this point.

The guys who sell the KC Welder Pro have great How-To videos if you attempt this.


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


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 Post subject: Re: Cracked Hull Repair
PostPosted: Thu Jun 11, 2020 11:34 am 
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Joined: Sun May 17, 2020 5:36 pm
Posts: 35
mmiller wrote:
Thank you! We love to use the product too and always try to build it as best as possible.

Fyi... since 2009'ish some of what we have done:

Changed plastic suppliers
Come up with industry-unique testing on plastic fatigue. We test all of the materials and some after production to document (we require our suppliers to test cook batches of new materials).
Changed cooking methods
Added molded in brass reinforcements to the drive ledge
Changed the way the drives lock into the well (Now click and go)

Building these kinds of products is part science and part art.



By the way, @mmiller I saw this on one of the posts around here, and as an engineer in the rotomolding industry, I CANNOT stress your last line enough to anyone that sees this. Rotomolding tolerances for our parts are in the tenths of inches. We work with a couple machinists, and one guy asked if it was okay that a diameter on a tooling part was 10 thousandths outside of their tolerance, he apologized and offered to remake it, and I just laughed and said they would be fine (it was fine, it was a bolt insert ring, and the part fit fine when bolted on). The cook recipes have HUGE ranges in which the result is basically indistinguishable without destructive testing.

As recommended by a kayak repair guy at a local dealership, I ended up using g-flex epoxy instead of plastic welding it. I figured if the epoxy fails I'll weld it and do it "right".

I followed the guy's instructions and cleaned the surface well, and "flamed" it a bit with a small butane torch before I applied the epoxy, and I ended up doing two applications, since as it set it was drawn into the crack and I couldn't tell if it still sealed. I also gave it a thin coat on the front and back keel sections, to see if it protects it from abrasions and so on.


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 Post subject: Re: Cracked Hull Repair
PostPosted: Sun Jul 26, 2020 5:19 pm 
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Joined: Sun Sep 14, 2008 9:09 pm
Posts: 187
Location: Sayville, NY
tomcfitz wrote:
I have posted several times before, about the 2008 Adventure Island that I am now seeing was not as good of a deal as I thought. The padeye socket at the front hatch was cracked, and even after that was repaired I found more water leaking into the hull. The plan is to make these two boats into long distance camping boats, and I have been disappointed in the amount of water getting in mine, especially considering how dry the other one is.

Well, I found another crack, this in the bottom of the hull at the front of the mirage drive section. What is the accepted repair here? Will Hobie look at it? I assume they are VERY out of warranty. I am reasonmably handy, and am willing to try to DIY the repair, but a hull crack below the waterline may be not something I want to mess with. I work in the rotomolding industry, but I use crosslink and not linear polyethylene, which doesn't weld. But I am perfectly willing to learn a new skill for this.

Photos: https://imgur.com/gallery/1sNbRSc

Image

Image

Had the drivewell crack on a '14 AI. Did the repair & still holding tight. https://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=75&t=65495

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Bob
Proud member Kayak Fishing Association of New York


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