I had a bump on the bottom of my hull that I thought was from hitting something. I ground it out and was going to glass it, when I remembered there is an internal strut in the hull from the front beam down to the bottom sharp point of the V on the hull. I looked inside and the strut goes right to the bump and someone had previously repaired the area. Glassing over the outside won't be strong enough, so I need ideas to fix it.

Does anyone know what the cross section of the hull is supposed to look like at the strut? Is the strut supposed to sit on a block to distribute loads?

Any ideas on way to fix this through the deck port?





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John Fricker
Prindle 16
Seabrook, Texas
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Since it has been repaired there are you sure the bump is not just excess glass/epoxy that was never really faired smooth with the hull?

If it was me I'd either just sand it smooth or paint/gelcoat it he way it is an go sailing. It's not worth that much effort to fix on a boat that old. But then my P16 is Franken Boat.



Edited by Quarath on Nov 19, 2012 - 05:02 PM.

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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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if the repair is sound and nothing is loose like quarath is talking about, then leave it alone...if there is flexing/movement then you may want to look at it.

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Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook!
bill harris
hattiesburg, mississippi
prindle 16- "BLUE RIBBON"
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Quote

Since it has been repaired there are you sure the bump is not just excess glass/epoxy that was never really faired smooth with the hull?

The bump showed up recently. It was not there before. The bump looked like the strut was pounded through from the inside then retracted back into the hull. The glass was torn and had the whitish color of glass with air in it, but there was not a visible hole through the hull. That's why I don't think the previous repair is sound. I have not been out in any extreme conditions, so something less than 15 kts caused this, or some jarring impacts on my beach wheels in the waves, so I think I need to do more than just glass the outside of the hull, or it will happen again.

I'll try grabbing the strut and wiggling it, and looking at the strut in the other hull.

Does anyone know if the P16 was built with the strut resting on a block at the bottom, or was the strut just glassed in place? I think I may have to grind the base of the strut area out with one arm in the deck port, put a support under the strut to distribute the load, then re-glass it in place.

If that's not possible, maybe I can cut it all away from the outside and build it back up from the outside.

Thanks,

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John Fricker
Prindle 16
Seabrook, Texas
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Yes the strut is glass to a flat reinforced area just above the bottom.

I would recommended using epoxy not fiberglass resin. I have a few pics of the area if you want to see a close up. I dont know how to post a pic on here.

Preston, here is the intel on posting photos;
http://www.thebeachcats.c…aq/view/Main/10002/#faq7
Damon has done a much better job of describing it than I can do. It only takes a few minutes reading to figure it out, or get your 12 yr old kid to show you
You can create an album, stick it in the Tech Help section, call it...Inside a Prindle or whatever. Then you link the photos to your post.
Paragraph 2 explains how to do it if you already have the photo somewhere on the web. It can be anywhere, Picassa, Photobucket etc. You can also link a photo from any website using the same technique, for example, Google "Catamaran" & you get a bunch of Cat photos. You right click the image, then select "Copy Image Location". Now, click on the "image" button (3rd choice of the buttons just below where you type your post)& paste you link between the brackets, voila!




Edited by Edchris177 on Nov 22, 2012 - 07:19 PM.

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Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
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I looked in the other hull and this is what the bottom of the strut should look like. The strut sits on a metal plate:


This is what the side that punched through looks like. Someone obviously did some repair. It may trap water since the path under the metal plate is blocked with fiberglass. I think the inboard edge of the plate lines up with the area that punched through.


I wiggled the strut and the bottom doesn't move, but the top does. This is what the top looks like on the side that moves.


The only explanation I have is that maybe the hulls flexed, opening up the top to bottom distance at the strut, and the strut shifted position to ontop of something else, so when the hulls tried to go back to normal, the strut was forced down and punched through, then later it shifted back.

I think the solution is to resecure the top of the strut with fiberglass. I'll have to do it upside down.

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John Fricker
Prindle 16
Seabrook, Texas
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