Just purchased a 1979 Prindle 16 in pretty good shape excluding the port side hull. The top has been repaired, but the inside is now very soft and can be pushed in about an inch or so.

Question is, can the boat be sailed safely? Will the damn thing break in half under a good blow? Is it a waste of time to inject the whole hull?

We are currently trying to find a replacement hull, but I feel it's going to take a while to find one. Any suggestions are helpful, we are located in Dallas, TX.

http://www.youtube.com/wa…ure=youtube_gdata_player

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RW Smith
'79 Prindle 16
Dallas, TX
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Can ship you a white port hull with yellow deck at end of the month. Pete 909-800-5237

I'd say in a good blow you could have trouble. Possibility of the hull busting off between the beam and the bridles. In light might not hurt to take for spin but not stray too far from shore. I have some hulls here in Utah that still need some work but in much better shape than that.

As for repair my guess is at can be done but with a pretty fair amount of labor and time. Depends on how dedicated you are to it. The deck was repaired and probably mostly cosmetic. They just never took the time to make it pretty again.

How much did ya pay?

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Dustin Finlinson • Magna, UT
Member: Utah Sailing Association
1982 Prindle 18
1986 Hobie 17
1982 Prindle 16
1980 Prindle 16(mostly)
1976 Prindle 16(mostly)
Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook.
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Paid $300 for the boat with trailer, two sets of sails and rigging. The seller just put new bearings, wheels and tires on the trailer. All sheets, halyards and blocks are in great shape. Everything about the boat is in good shape, it’s just the one hull that is the bummer.

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RW Smith
'79 Prindle 16
Dallas, TX
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Overall still sound like you have an excellent deal.

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Dustin Finlinson • Magna, UT
Member: Utah Sailing Association
1982 Prindle 18
1986 Hobie 17
1982 Prindle 16
1980 Prindle 16(mostly)
1976 Prindle 16(mostly)
Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook.
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http://dallas.craigslist.…/dal/boa/3120042511.html

same cat is $750 on sailingtexas website, call and negotiate

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TurboHobo
H14T
H16
P18
G-Cat 5.0
P16
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try the injection first! you have nothing to lose...30$ mayby...

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Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook!
bill harris
hattiesburg, mississippi
prindle 16- "BLUE RIBBON"
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Don't think i'd ay $750 with soft spots I'd talk em down.

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Dustin Finlinson • Magna, UT
Member: Utah Sailing Association
1982 Prindle 18
1986 Hobie 17
1982 Prindle 16
1980 Prindle 16(mostly)
1976 Prindle 16(mostly)
Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook.
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A friend of mine has the same exact problem with a boat purchased a couple months ago. They recently followed all the proper instructions for injecting the deck, and most of it is still flexible and crunchy (Starboard side bow from front crossbar all the way to the tip of the bow is poor). So injecting did not work well. Maybe the soft area is just too large.

Also, the starboard hull is very wavey, very flexible / obviously delaminated from the foam structure inside. They purchased an foam insulation that could be injected in between the flexible hull layer and the foam. This meant drilling a few holes (spread out about a foot from each other) wide enough to get the hose from the can in, then filling the gap between the existing foam and the inside delaminated hull. The stuff expands rather quickly, so we're all optomistic it will adhere to the foam and inside of the hull, and provide a more solid, sound hull. If it works on the test area, then they will probably use it throughout the entire hull where it's wavey, crunchy and flexible to the touch. I'll let you all know if it works, for records sake, for the next people searching on the site.

I think they bought the complete P16, trailer, everything, for $300. Meanwhile, if all else fails there are sometime deals for incomplet P16's, but as long as the hulls are sound then you can just move the rest of the working parts over, or mix and match the good hulls.

The bottom line is a bad hull will stress out most sailors AND the boat while sailing, and eventually shoveling out a couple hundred extra $$$ to fix the problem is worth it, especially if attempting patch work and repairs isn't getting you far.

What do people think of a last-ditch-effort idea of just sanding the top of the deck a little (where the injection failed), and coating on a couple layers of fiberglass with epoxy resin to provide more stability. Does adding fiberglass to a soft deck/ weak surface just add more layers of unsound deck, or could it be enough to reinforce the deck?

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Redondo Beach, CA
'80 Prindle 16.
(Got it for free!)
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Simply adding glass to the deck does not sound like a good plan to me, foam sounds like your best bet. Be careful because too much foam will make it very wavy.

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Greenville SC

Offering sails and other go fast parts for A-class catamarans
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Philzy, Did you ever get any response on your idea of just glassing the top of the hulls where they are soft. I don't have an option so looking at the same thing. Left hull along the whole top and the right just between the rails. Cheers

nilespecial1

Philzy, Did you ever get any response on your idea of just glassing the top of the hulls where they are soft. I don't have an option so looking at the same thing. Left hull along the whole top and the right just between the rails. Cheers

Don't do it. Fix the sandwich.

One drop of H2O in a full bottle of gorilla glue, and inject that mess in a couple of stages with a few minutes to give it time to foam slightly. I'm a 200lb guy that goes wave jumping at 25mph, and haven't broken any hulls and they are solid... Epoxy will drip through the lower mat, but the gorilla glue will seal itself up if there is moisture in the hulls to accelerate the cure. Use a bit of tape as a drill stop (on a drill the same size as the tip of the glue nozzle). Look inside the very shallow hole you drilled to see if the delamination is between the deck and the foam. If it is, drill your vent holes accordingly.If you don't see the gap in the hole, use a bent dental pick to poke through the foam cope to reveal the void between the core and the inner layer of glass mat (don't poke through the mat!) I've done it on 16s and 18s sides and tops with great success. Epoxy is too heavy and real foam is too expensive. Your mileage may vary. Read up on the other options, but realize the strength is in the sandwich, NOT in one layer of glass

I don't recommend the injection method on large areas, especially an entire deck. I guess it could buy you some time. If you are going to be doing inland lake sailing in light to moderate conditions it could last a while Unrepaired. In heavier conditions it's not a gamble worth taking. Dallas is pretty big freight hub so hopefully you can get a replacement shipped to you reasonably. You got a great deal so spend a little extra for a solid hull. that being said in my younger and less financially stable years I sailed the heck out of my Hobie 16 in the Gulf of Mexico with spongy decks and hulls and they never had catastrophic failure

Both hulls are 38 years old and it is obvious that old age has set in. Keep the good gear and look for a set of newer hulls, in the 90's if possible. Material fatigue will set in due to age in all parts. Be careful

I am new to sailing but after flipping my 1972 Hobi cat 14 turbo forward I had a wrinkle or crease in the side of the right hull. It was a 650.00 boat so I drilled a few holes the same size as a can of foundation foam's tube, put down masking tape over the hole and injected until full. Quickly tape over the hole and place a sand bag over the tape to hold the foam in.
7 cans of foam and I am out tipping over again!!

For what it's worth, I got a great deal on a Hobie 18, that had a large area delaminated. Basically, it was the area of the deck between the crossbars where you sit. Almost the entire width of the deck, and about 3 to 4 feet long. I drilled holes in a grid, about 2 inches apart, and injected epoxy. One problem here is the amount of epoxy, and heat dissipation. Once the stuff started cooking off, I moved the boat away from the house and cars as I thought it may catch on fire. It was that hot. Once cured, it was solid as a rock. That was over a decade a go, and I have sailed the hell out of the boat, including channel crossings to the islands. I've got another small delam repair just forward of the forward crossbar on the starboard side. It has increased in size and I just repaired it again. That one has me spooked, and I am considering replacing the hulls. If you are getting an inch of play when you press down, I'd say the injection method will have such a large mass of epoxy that you risk a fire. That would be my concern in this case.

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Bill Mattson
Prindle 19 "Gelli Bean"
Prindle 19 "Cat's Pajamas"
Nacra 5.2 (Will sail her a bit and let her name herself)
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Will be back in Calif in couple weeks & have couple good H-18 hulls available in Big Bear. Pete