by Jason Sanchez, Hobie Hotline September 2022 (Volume 47, Number 3), pp 26-27
Many older boats, primarily the Hobie 14 and Hobie 16, are often “glued up” after a period of time. The concept or purpose of gluing a boat up is to stiffen the overall set up.
On a H16 and H14, the pylons are that part of the hull fore and aft, mechanically fastened into the 4 corner castings of the platform. The initial and easiest way to stiffen a boat is by tightening the trampoline. When this no longer works, many of the more competitive sailors will take the boat apart and glue the pylons into the corner castings with epoxy. The overall goal in stiffening the boat is to get the boat to move as one. If you have sailed these boats you may have noticed that in a breeze, the hulls may “walk “over or through the waves. Another telltale way to know the boat is loose is by picking up the bow on one hull and the other hull does not move. When you’re looking for any possible edge, this is not the fastest. Additionally, the more the hulls walk, the more movement in the pylon / casting, which ultimately wears down the tightness within the two. Performing such a task can bring an older boat to a more
competitive application.
FIRST, MEASURE FOR SQUARE
With the boat intact, measure the boat for square. This is performed by using a tape measure and placing on the starboard bridle screw head to the port rudder pin. Write down this measurement. Do the same from the port bridle screw head to the starboard rudder pin. This measurement should be within a 1/2″ of each other. If it is really out of square, you may have to use a strap or line to rack it back to square while gluing the pylons back into the castings.
REMOVE THE PYLONS
Remove tramp and all lacing. Remove all 4 bolts at bottom of the casting fastening the pylon into the casting. Use a rubber mallet to take the frame off of the hulls. Note: the hulls will fall or topple over, so this should be a 2 person job.
GLUING
There are MANY methods used to perform the actual gluing with epoxy. You must be familiar with mixing epoxy before you tackle the task, especially set times with certain hardeners. I highly suggest having a large can of acetone and a handful of rags on hand for cleaning any excess epoxy that may drip from areas. I used a standard epoxy and a standard hardener, provided by FGC (Fiberglass Coatings) which is a local manufacturer to central FL. Temperature plays a big role in set times, so please make sure you check the temps / setting times on the product you choose.
I personally chose to perform the task by having everything upside down, for the simple reason that I did not want epoxy to drip on to the top of the hulls and I wanted the epoxy to set up in the top of the casting around the pylon. As you can see in the pics, I built a jig on the floor. This allowed me to keep the frame square, and level. This also allowed me to keep the frame in place when setting the hulls into it. Do one side at a time! Do not mix any additional hardener in to the mix, it will set up, and you need time! Once you’re ready, really ready, Mix your epoxy, apply to both the pylon and the castings on the one side, and place the pylons down into the castings. This is a fairly tight fit by the factory and some of the epoxy will be pushed out. Take your finger and push the excess around the pylon down into the casting, as much as you can, all the way around. Clean the excess off with the acetone, there should be a nice even bead of epoxy at the pylon to casting joint. Perform the same task on the other side.
While the epoxy is setting up, check the boat for square again. If it is out, use the straps or line to get it square. Leave the straps on and let everything setup overnight or for a good 6-8 hours, or use the set time recommended by the epoxy manufacturer. Once all is set up, turn boat back over and reapply the trampoline. Personally, I lace the tramp along the rear crossbar first, applying pressure from front to back, then run the lacing up the middle.
This can be an extensive exercise, but it DEFINITELY helps. Again, there are many methods to do this. The above is my personal process. If you talk to some of the long time sailors, many have performed this and may have additional steps to help achieve a “newer boat” performance!
