I have a prindle 18 with large sections of soft pots on the sides of the hulls. The side of the boats flexes in and out when pressure is applied. Also, on sections of the decking you can hear a crackling sounds when pressure is applied.

The decking only makes the crackling at certain sections (I would say almost half) but only 1 or 2 small sections are actually soft (Less then 12 inch diameter).

The right hull its mostly soft on one side of the hull with the opposite side being pretty solid. The flex is mostly towards the center of the hull and as it gets closer to the decking or very bottom its becomes more rigid again. The left hull has soft spots on both sides of the hull but it still has solid sections hear and there.

I've experimented with a small section on the decking and the hull and had success with it becoming more rigid again with injecting epoxy but am realizing this will be a big project. However, I would really like to get my boat operational because I have never sailed it. I would hate to do all this work and have the boat be a bust.

So my question is should I call it quits before I invest more time, effort and money or does this sound like a doable fix that can have a payable outcome.

Thanks for any advice.

When the cost of repairing overcomes the cost of replacing minus what you can get for the relevant remaining parts?
I had an old Nacra 5.0 and replaced the hulls when I found an available pair for cheap. But that didn’t give it years of additional life as expected. I lost confidence on it because it was just old and parts kept failing. And that feeling sucks, especially if you have young crew sailing with you. So I sold it for nothing, less than what the mast or trailer were worth by their own, probably.
I’d say when you ask yourself that question it’s about time...

As stated above. When you start asking the question then maybe it is time to throw in the towel. On a good note
the Prindle 18 is a great boat and still quite a few around. Find a good parts boat and get out sailing. I found you one not too far away. Just need to make sure the hulls are worth the trip.

https://www.facebook.com/…e/item/1366128646908420/

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Pete Knapp
Schodack landing,NY
Goodall Viper,AHPC Viper,Nacra I20
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Sounds like the hulls are shot.

Maybe start by buying 16 or so ounces of epoxy drilling a couple holes in the hull and seeing how far that gets you. My assumption is that you will quickly conclude that the cost and weight gain associated with repairing is not worth it. The problem with fixing large areas of delam is that there’s no easy way to clamp the hull skins back together after injecting epoxy, so you end up with a large volume of epoxy that gets consumed.

sm

—

sm



Edited by Dogboy on Mar 15, 2020 - 04:41 PM.

Thanks Pete, I contacted the people from the FB link and am seriously considering it. I asked them to check for soft spots and they claim the side of the hulls are solid but the decking does have soft sport so that would be a lot easier to repair then minds. What do y'all think about that would that be worth it for that price point or should I be more patient? I'm wondering if most of these boats at that age are just going to have soft spots.

I've already invested in large quantities of off brand epoxy, so I'm going to continue to fix the soft spots until I'm out. What are the disadvantages to weight gains? As long as the boat sails and is structurally sound are my biggest concerns. I got some large spots already done; its actually what I've been working on all day. I HAVE THE TIME OFF DUE TO THE CORONA VIRUS.

From what I've worked on decking seem a lot easier to fix then the sides. I also made the mistake of accidentally drilling all the way through at some sections and then the epoxy just shoots all the way thought getting wasted. At this moment I'm thinking I can get it done. I have one hull half way done.

P.S I'm not really worried about the price of epoxy I just want a boat that works so I can sail.

Judging from the pics it looks straight on the hulls, you would have to look in person, worst come to worse 300 is a hell of a deal and the parts alone are worth that

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Captain Chris Holley
Fulshear, TX
'87 Prindle 19 "¡Hijole!"
'74 sunfish "1fish"
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I was just posting about this same topic for a Hobie 16 with about the same amount of delam. Just as an academic exercise, could one drill a ~3/4" hole in the outer skin at one extreme of the delam and hook a vacuum to it to pull the inner and out skins together? Then you could inject resin at the other extreme. Once that sets the inner and out would be much tighter and reduce the overall resin use for the remaining delam repair (if there was any). Obviously the drain plugs need to be pulled. I have never vacuumed bagged but the theory seems sound. Thoughts?

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FYC, Nacra 5.2 "Chris's Flyer" & Nacra Playcat & Farrier Tramp
Previously owned: Trac 14, H14, H16, H18, N5.0, G-cat 5.0
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Guess you are at the point where you are asking the right question "am I throwing good money after bad."

Hate to say this, but personally I would start hunting for another Prindle 18. The upside is, you'll be flush with parts for your boat.

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John Schwartz
Ventura, CA
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Quote

o my question is should I call it quits before I invest more time, effort and money or does this sound like a doable fix that can have a payable outcome.

question has 2 main parts to me: (I always try to think about what could be the worst case, but hope for the best case)

1. do you have the time and resources
seems like you have answered that, yes you have the time and you don't care about the cost of the epoxy

2. Is it safe?

that is hard to say. sounds like your entire boat has delam failure
I assume it is a foam core boat, and the next question is it delaminated on the inside? if it is ... your boat is being held together by 3 thin / weak layers


so to me it is structurally questionable.

I wouldn't sail it in heavy air

i wouldn't allow crew on it who weren't experienced sailors who will keep their wits in a catastrophic failure

I would sail it only close to shore

(i would't sail this boat for those reasons)

dannyv388

What are the disadvantages to weight gains?

The boat becomes less responsive and generally less fun to sail. In the extreme case, the boat will be dangerous if heavily overloaded - unable to be steered easily and more susceptible to capsize.

rch701

Just as an academic exercise, could one drill a ~3/4" hole in the outer skin at one extreme of the delam and hook a vacuum to it to pull the inner and out skins together? Then you could inject resin at the other extreme. Thoughts?

The resin will follow the path of least resistance. So if you only drill two holes, it’s unlikely you will saturate the entire delaminated area, more like just a narrow stripe down the middle. Typically when repairing delam, holes are drilled throughout the area and resin pumped into each hole individually. It is something of a cross your fingers and hope for the best approach. You could potentially drive a bunch of wood or sheet metal screws into the injection zone to help pull the skins together (then back the screws out after the epoxy goes “green”). Problem is that this is not likely to provide a uniform clamping of the skins - more like a bunch of small point clamps.

sm

Dogboy

the other extreme. Thoughts?

The resin will follow the path of least resistance. So if you only drill two holes, it’s unlikely you will saturate the entire delaminated area, more like just a narrow stripe down the middle. Typically when repairing delam, holes are drilled throughout the area and resin pumped into each hole individually. It is something of a cross your fingers and hope for the best approach. You could potentially drive a bunch of wood or sheet metal screws into the injection zone to help pull the skins together (then back the screws out after the epoxy goes “green”). Problem is that this is not likely to provide a uniform clamping of the skins - more like a bunch of small point clamps.

Kind of sounds like spot-treating for termites... which in the end the termites win.



Edited by JohnES on Mar 16, 2020 - 05:46 PM.

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John Schwartz
Ventura, CA
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Dogboy

dannyv388

What are the disadvantages to weight gains?

The boat becomes less responsive and generally less fun to sail. In the extreme case, the boat will be dangerous if heavily overloaded - unable to be steered easily and more susceptible to capsize.

rch701

Just as an academic exercise, could one drill a ~3/4" hole in the outer skin at one extreme of the delam and hook a vacuum to it to pull the inner and out skins together? Then you could inject resin at the other extreme. Thoughts?

The resin will follow the path of least resistance. So if you only drill two holes, it’s unlikely you will saturate the entire delaminated area, more like just a narrow stripe down the middle. Typically when repairing delam, holes are drilled throughout the area and resin pumped into each hole individually. It is something of a cross your fingers and hope for the best approach. You could potentially drive a bunch of wood or sheet metal screws into the injection zone to help pull the skins together (then back the screws out after the epoxy goes “green”). Problem is that this is not likely to provide a uniform clamping of the skins - more like a bunch of small point clamps.

sm

I would think pumping resin into each hole individually would create some air pockets between. When I did the large area on the H18, I masked the hole area, drew a grid of lines 2" apart, drilling a hole at each intersection. I had a bunch of small pieces of masking tape at the ready. I picked a hole at the corner, and started pumping resin. As it started coming out of the first hole, I covered it with masking tape, then covered each subsequent hole as the resin reached it, all the time still pumping at the same original hole.

--
Bill Mattson
Prindle 19 "Gelli Bean"
Prindle 19 "Cat's Pajamas"
Nacra 5.2 (Will sail her a bit and let her name herself)
--

~~~ Hey Danny, In my opinion... ''scrap it'' I had a friend that had a Hobie 16 like that. He was out sailin and his hull folded in-ward, the mast came down, boat 1/2 way sunk ETC ETC . After he got towed in he called me and told me to bring my trl with ropes . It was a mess. I had an extra set of hulls. He didn't have the funds for both so I sold him one of them. That worked out for awhile, then he moved to Fla... Haven't heard from him since... That was about 20 yrs ago... It just might be better to get a another cat, no worries ~~

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~ Vietnam Vet 69-71~ 17 Hobie w/big jib, ~18 Hobie mag,~DN Ice sailor,
and other toys.......
~~ I live in NY state on the north shore of Oneida lake in
Bernhards Bay. ~~~~~~
--

If the horse is dead, get off!

Where are you located?

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'82 Super Cat 15
Hull #315
Virginia
Previously owned: '70 H14, '79 H16, '68 Sailmaster 26, '85 H14T
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Delaminated hulls is what started building "FrankenKitty"... they were P-18 hulls that wrinkled when loaded up. When I cut them up, the outer and inner skin had separated from the foam. Unless you have some deep sentimental value with the boat, you will come out way ahead in buying another 18 and merging them together. I'm all about trying to make older things work instead of throwing them away, but it comes to a point it becomes unsafe.

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Scott

Prindle Fleet 2
TCDYC

Prindle 18-2 Mod "FrankenKitty"
Tornado Classic "Fast Furniture"
Prindle 19 "Mr. Wiggly"
Nacra 5.8 "De ja vu"
Nacra 5.0
Nacra 5.8
Tornadoes (Reg White)
--

There's an 83 Prindle 18 in the classifieds right now.

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'82 Super Cat 15
Hull #315
Virginia
Previously owned: '70 H14, '79 H16, '68 Sailmaster 26, '85 H14T
--

Out of general curiosity, has anyone seen a prindle 16 or 18 hull fail? I have seen lots of pictures of broken
Hobies but never a Prindle.

Pete

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Pete Knapp
Schodack landing,NY
Goodall Viper,AHPC Viper,Nacra I20
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gahamby

There's an 83 Prindle 18 in the classifieds right now.

Looking at the pic of the starboard hull, I can some soft spots...

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John Schwartz
Ventura, CA
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