[quote=flatlander18]Whew, expert :-?
I've had two boats with this "condition" and extensive conversation with Mmiller of Hobie regarding repair.
That foam piece is called the pylon shoe. Is your boat a 1980 or 1981? ;-)
Cut back as much glass "flags" as possible (down to the top of the shoe) and wet out some big pieces of 6 oz. cloth to lay in there. Drizzle epoxy everywhere you can...above and below, in front and in back of the shoe.
Both of the instances I encountered the INSIDE of the shoe is what seperated from the hull. One had been sailed too long in this condition resulting in a 6" long, horizontal tear clear through the hull allowing water to seep in. Knowing the shoe was loose I thought I could fix it by cutting a port in BEHIND the pylon and using the above method. The tear had allowed water to soak in to the foam and repeated sailing caused the crushing and deterioration of foam a good 8 to 12 inches all around the tear, long story short was not repairable. You need a good STIFF hull surface to reattach the shoe. If you can catch this condition soon enough you can repair. Check the hull itself for soft spots (just like delamination) all around the shoe before spending the time and effort to repair. If too soft, find another hull.
John[/quote]
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