OK, Here goes. Picked up what appears to be a '71 H16. I knew it was gonna need repairs, but not to the extent of my other H16. The '71 had one puncture (very small, about 1 1/2") and a small ding(the ding was an easy repair) and a previously made repair wher the hull and deck meet.

I decided to try to repair the puncture first because the weather, while hot, seemed to be cooperating. I began by cutting out the damaged area and enlarged the hole to about 2" X 3" oval and found that the inside core material seems extremely damp. Inside of the hull is more foam (the type that cheap coolers are made of) that apparently resides in the top portion of the pontoon (from just below the deck to midway into the pontoon).

The hole has been open for two days and still seems very damp yet no water runs or drips when laid facing down. How best to make this repair?

1. Make a backing plate and epoxy inside the hull
2. Make a plug shaped to fit snugly into the hole the depth of the foam core
3. Layer a fiberlass patch,epoxy into place, sand and fair

Or something else???

If you estimate is correct and the boat is a 1971, the boat is already 38 years old. Material fatique has already set in with all the parts including the alum ones. I would probably look for a newer boat. These boats are tough but not made to last forever.

That response pisses me off "get a newer boat"... don't you people think that IF that was an option we would have elected to do so...???!!! If you can't provide technical input, then don't write anything....sheeeesh.

Don't sweat it Chesicat, you have all summer to dry the area....and yes it could take a few weeks. Your number one idea will work best, utilizing a backing plate and epoxy. I would NOT buy from your local supplier because they charge so much for so little material. You can order a gallon of epoxy for roughly the same cost as you'd pay for 32 onces at your local supplier..... Be prepared to spend a few weeks injecting as well, as this is a slow process. I would love to see a picture or two so I could get a better idea of what you are up against. Good luck man, keep me updated!

Do you have deck ports in your Hobie?

When i used to do bottom jobs on my H16 i would open them up and turn the boat over to dry,.. the hull bottoms would not dry unless i did that (due to wicking)

First off, Thanks to all.

1 Hullflyer: Present economic situation doesn't allow for that expenditure...Trust me, I'd LOVE to have a New boat. But this one also affords me the opportunity to learn.

2 Ouride 12: Thanks for the back man. I hope to hell it doesn't take all summer, I don't think I can wait that long. I'll seeif I can figure out how to get some pics posted and I'll certainly due some updates (this boat aint gonna whip me!). Oh yeah, materials...Boaters World is going out of business = Big Discounts

3 Andrewscott Nope, no deck ports. I can't even get the boat stored inside. I am thinking of some way to provide forced air thhrough the hull though and desicant bags. I have a pretty good heat shink gun that has a cool setting and access to mounds of desicant. Any thoughts?

I guess if you have a fan.. you can try to blow air through the hole and the drainplug... i wouldn't force air through ... pressure isn't good...

...Boaters World is going out of business because they SUCK! they were expensive, didn't care about sailors and even had a Calvin and Hobs bumper sticker peeing on a sailboat at the register!

Boaters World, the Bastards!!! Well I still managed to pick up alot of stuff at nearly half off. I'm not gonna complain. Probably won't miss'em much either, they were a considerable distance. I'm not too happy about failing business though...scary.

Ass for the heat gun, I don't think the pressure would be too bad on the low and cool setting. I wonder what a nitrogen tank would cost me to rent, I could hook up a manifold and gauge and set it at say 2 to 3 lbs and with the desicant bags hanging inside to draw the moisture out of the air. That way the nitrogen could be left on and unattended for periods in between monitoring. I bet I know a few cable splicers that might be able to help me out with that. Hmmmm.

I'm still curious about the best replacement material for the foam core. Would the type of foam board/sheet used home insulation work? or would plywood, cork or balsa be a better choice

Boaters world prices at 1/2 off = 100% markup as oppossed to the normal 200%.....F@%k em'!

Your foam needs to be replaced with "git-rot". I had my dought too, but I'll be damned if it didn't work like a charm!

Andrewscott might well be onto something......if you install a couple of well placed ports, u can gain valuable access. STAY AWAY FROM EXPANSION FOAM!!!!!! Its evil.

Nitrogen scars me......never rush a repair unless you want to repeat it....just a thought.

jeremy@surfcitycatamarans.com is the hobie repair guru. he is probably the best resource for advice... he knows all the tricks.

Thanks Andrew,

I've seen his videos on youtube. I'll check it out

Oh! By the way, I've got quite a bit of GitRot also. I plan on using that on the deck edge to hull repair anfter I remove the old failing patch that the previous owner made. These hulls are seriously solid for their age, There's not a soft spot on em anywhere.

I may consider the ports though. What's the best location? I've seen them installed in front of and behind the Tramp, and I saw one boat with ports between the pylons.

Any fiberglass repair that is made from one side requires an internal patch to seat and build out the cross section till the hole is filled.

The interior does need to be dry. if can be dried locally with a hair dryer.

Then...

On curved surfaces it is required to tape down a sheet of thin plastic on the curved surface next to the hole for shape, apply a resined piece of cloth at least half inch bigger all round than the hole. Let it cure, peel off the plastic. Poke or drill two small tooth pick dia holes 1/8 inch apart in the patch center to allow something like dental floss to be looped through. Sand the entire patch, thread the floss through the holes, sand the inside of the hole at least one inch all round.

Apply resin to the outer edge of the hole inside and slip the patch into the hole and pull the floss to seat the patch inside the hole. Do not pull too hard and cause the patch to bow out any. When the patch is cured in place you pull the floss out and start the successive layering till you are flush out.

It is actually pretty easy and makes a perfect patch.

Thanks Deepsees. I guess I need to remove some of the interior foam before I can place the cured patch. I've seen cutaways/cross sections of cut open hulls and none of them have the interior foam like mine does. Not a problem though, I'll work around it and fabricate/install the patch. I have the dvd from Westsystems as a guide. I checked the hole today and that area seems sufficiently dry to get started..but I'll give it a few more days to dry thoroughly before installing a patch. I'll try to get some pictures tomorrow.