Nick and Tinkertom,

I just read your posts on another website (from todays` date) and realized that their may still be some confusion regarding the water penetration issue.

Worth emphasizing is that if water penetration actually does occur (over many months/years of having the boat in the water) you will still not see the water as an accummulation inside the hulls (with rare exceptions). And, if it is occurring at all, it is NOT NORMAL and you have a "sick" boat with a VERY serious problem - serious enough that the hulls are probably garbage/scrap in the case of a Hobie. The point is, even though gelcoat is porous, it should NEVER allow a detectable amount of water - even with a moisture meter - into the laminate or core - never mind inside the hull. If it does, this is probably the worst thing that can happen to a fiberglass boat...hurricanes and fire notwithstanding.

Once water does get into the core, it cannot simply be dried out or otherwise removed. Even if you keep the boat out of water and indoors for many years, you will not likely be able to get the core dry ... no kidding! The fiberglass actually has to be cut away to expose the core in the vicinity of the penetration to allow many months of drying - often with an external heat source. This is unfortunate, but true. On a Hobie hull, unless you can do all this yourself, it is time to buy a new hull.

...just trying to be of help,

Dave