Two years ago, I almost lost my mast when the port side bridle leg let go. Since then the starboard hull takes on quite a bit of water sometimes, but sometimes is dry. It turns out that the water gets in under the hull to deck joint lip around the forward chainplate in breezy + wavy conditions. I need to fix this. ugh.
Sol cat forward chainplates have two 5/16's bolts, and a welded stainless crossbar fits under the lip, while the tip of the chainplate extends up through a hole in the lip. The cracks are on the hull behind the crossbar.
I think I'll have to do exploratory surgery to get a better idea of what the repair needs. The rear part of the hull is foam cored, but I have a feeling the front is not. Does anyone know the construction? The boat is from 1975, if that makes a difference.
I recently read that you basically can't paint gelcoat by hand without a mold. Using an outside mold to get nice gelcoat will require inside access, and cutting out some deck somewhere. Working from the outside will require painting, which I haven't had good success blending very well. Either way, getting the lip right is going to be difficult.
What to do? Epoxy and epoxy paint? Polyester + gelcoat? I'm thinking that laminating the lip and backer area from a mold with a separately, then clamping that in place in the middle of the layup might give good results. Any advice would be appreciated.
It's raining today, but I may be able to get pictures tomorrow.
Thanks!
Dan
Sol Cat forestay chainplate repair
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Posted: Apr 10, 2013 - 09:21 AM
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Posted: Apr 10, 2013 - 10:37 AM
I had the same problem and was thinking about using a screw method to fix it but end up changing hulls to like almost brand new ones that I found on CL. My plan was to lay hulls upside down, drive screw to expand the lip, injecting the epoxy into that slot and removing the screw. Clamping was also considered.
Don't do that just yet, I did post mortem on those old hulls to learn more about their construction and I have some pictures that I will try to upload tonight or sometime tomorrow. Those old hulls were built in 1976. It is foam construction in entire length, the epoxy fiberglass is only on the bottom of the hulls. I have to admitted that I was suprised by that since other cats switched to that type of construction in mid '80s. Even Nacra which I think purchased SolCat didn't change until 1983.
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Adam Bartos
Nacra 5.0
SolCat 18 (sold)
Lake Zurich, IL
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Posted: Apr 10, 2013 - 08:24 PM
The album is ready under SolCat hulls. I couldn't find picture of cross section near the bridal tang but it is the same construction all over.
One place also that you may look closely at is the tramp extrusion. Those rivets most definitely leak. I couldn't see it from the top but the cross section reviled that nicely.
http://thebeachcats.com/i…es&type=&g2_itemId=10570
Good luck.
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Adam Bartos
Nacra 5.0
SolCat 18 (sold)
Lake Zurich, IL
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Posted: Apr 12, 2013 - 03:50 PM
Those are some *great* pics. This one shows the lip leak that I think you''re talking about: http://thebeachcats.com/pictures/?g2_itemId=101561 I definitely had some leaks like that, but it's not what's going on now.
Currently, I have a more structural problem. There are cracks running fore-aft on the hull right where it begins to curve over into the lip joint. So it's up very high where there' no foam in the laminate. It's clear enough today that I'll get some pics and post them later. -
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Posted: Apr 12, 2013 - 04:07 PM
Thanks Adam, those pics are sure to help future SolCat owners.
Could you take one more step and add some descriptions as to what exactly is pictured in each photo? I know it's obvious to you, and is discussed here, but some future owner won't have this and the titles and descriptions in the photo albums make those pictures searchable.
To add titles, summaries, and descriptions for all the photos in an album, just go to your album and click on the "Edit Captions" link in the left menu.
Thanks,
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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN
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Posted: Apr 13, 2013 - 10:47 PM
I think not only the SolCat owners but also other cat owners may find them helpful since the construction (especially the lip) may be similar to H18 hulls.
In regards to the descriptions, I will add them in the moment.
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Adam Bartos
Nacra 5.0
SolCat 18 (sold)
Lake Zurich, IL
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Posted: Apr 13, 2013 - 10:51 PM
Pictures will help
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Adam Bartos
Nacra 5.0
SolCat 18 (sold)
Lake Zurich, IL
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Posted: Apr 14, 2013 - 05:39 PM
Yup. Here are a few:
http://www.thebeachcats.c…ctures/?g2_itemId=101625
If I lift on the lip, the gaps open a bit. It's not as bad as I remember, though. I may have to pressurize the hulls and do a soapy water leak test to confirm. I probably ought to do that anyway... -
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Posted: Apr 14, 2013 - 09:14 PM
Wow, didn't expect that kind of crack pictured on 1 and 2. The wall cross section is pretty thin at that area and it is in place where foam sandwich construction starts. Regardless of if it leaks or not I would not leave it like that.
In regards to pictures 4 and 5, thats what I had on my old hulls, see the cross section where I cut across those holes:
http://www.thebeachcats.c…ctures/?g2_itemId=101561. Some of those holes especially located at cross beams leaked.
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Adam Bartos
Nacra 5.0
SolCat 18 (sold)
Lake Zurich, IL
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Posted: May 18, 2013 - 02:27 AM
I'm going to grind today, and see what the damage is. More pics coming... -
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Posted: Jun 03, 2013 - 11:29 AM
I got busy, and forgot to post pics. However, those cracks appeared to be superficial. I'm going to seal up the ground away gelcoat and go sailing. I'll do the soapy-water-bubble-test sometime this season. For now, I want to sail (no matter how cold the water still is!)
