Hello all, I'm new owner of used Hobie Wildcat and unfortunately after a month or so of sailing a few cracks have developed on one of the hulls. I've familiarized myself with fiberglass crack repairs through YouTube resources that others have posted here and I also have a good friend who has done fiberglass repair on traditional monohulls.

I wanted to get some advice from the experts and longtime cat sailors here, is there anything specific I should consider or need to account for when repairing the hulls on the hits Wildcat vs a monohull boat?

A few pictures of the cracks are posted below. FYI, one of the pictures shows it on trailer with rollers (thats how I received it when purchased) but cradles have now been installed instead.

Thanks in advance everyone!








Edited by eastcoast_saylor on Aug 15, 2020 - 06:16 PM.

Looks like these cracks are close to the stern. Can you open the access port and see any damage from the inside of the hull?

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Looks like point/pressure cracks, like from weight from above while the boat was on the trailer. If you can't get to it from the inside (access port), then you've got careful sanding back to bare glass for the whole dimension of the crack. There may be more crack under the gel coat that you cannot see, but probably not much. Easy to fix - harder to make it look 100% again. Best to have glass on both sides of the crack...but not likely to be easy to do.

Good luck.

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Chuck C
NACRA 500 Mk2
Hobie 21se (sold)
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perhaps it's the angle but the roller in your pic looks like trouble too
it looks too small for the hull and if the hull was on the high part and someone was on top of the boat pushing or catching a mast - that would be a lot of point load

also the second u bolt is off?

Thanks for the information everyone.

I did suspect that the cause may have been due to the load and pressure on the hulls from the rollers and thankfully everything is sitting on cradles now.

I did open up the access port but the crack is far up enough that its hard to get a good look or have physical access to the cracks from the inside. When I did open it up though, there was water inside the hull and it was slowly leaking out through the crack.

It seems like the best course will be to sand it on the outside (making sure I get the whole dimension of the crack, like charlescarlis mentioned) and then do the repair. If I'll only be able to get glass on the outside, should I consider anything else? My plan is to fix it later this week and appreciate everyone's input so far.

Given the size of the cracks and location, I suspect this is more than superficial and the foam core is damaged as well... possibly the inner skin too.



Edited by wlrottge on Aug 17, 2020 - 06:23 PM.

Quote

I did open up the access port but the crack is far up enough that its hard to get a good look or have physical access to the cracks from the inside. When I did open it up though, there was water inside the hull and it was slowly leaking out through the crack.

I replaced both side stay tangs on my 5.5 via access ports in the front bow (forward of the beam).
I cut a whole through the bulkheads to gain access, and the tangs that were bolted in place 3 or 4 feet behind the front beam.
we used wrenches on home made poles to hold the nut while we slammed the outside of the screw with an impact screwdriver (ugg), cameras on sticks to view everything before, during and after the work, etc - i was surprised but it was possible to replace hardware like this

point is. i would look deeper before giving up on internal view/work

I would recommend you get a helper to shine a really powerful light on the cracks externally while you use a video camera (phone, gopro) etc on a stick to get a better view inside. look at the inside sans any light to view the cracks (with the light shining) and then add a flashlight or similar to get MANY other views of the inside (video is best)

If you are leaking through - you know you have internal damage and your best bet would be to get some glass cloth inside the repair as well as outside - this can all be done via remote work / but in the end you may need to cut another small access port sized hole to really get to this repair. and then re seal the new access hole.

this all stinks on a new to you boat. but almost all things can be repaired

If you can get a repair done from inside and outside, it's much stronger. Plus, inside glassing doesn't have to look super pretty - just neatly layered. Neat= more contact, less air pockets.

You will get varied responses here, but I like epoxy resins for work. Stronger than polyester, more predictable (maybe) but more expensive and absolutely must be mixed in correct volumes. For example, add extra hardener = will not cure. Either way, you are going to have to have enough access to clean and sand the area (and clean again) to accept the new resin as it will be "gluing" onto the old glass instead of curing as a complete piece. Getting a good, strong repair on the inside means your outside finishing will be easier to blend in.

If you go epoxy - there's another volume of recommendations...

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Chuck C
NACRA 500 Mk2
Hobie 21se (sold)
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