Tinkertom,

I believe you are confusing delamination and water penetration - they are separate problems altogether.

Although water penetration can certainly lead to delamination, it is incorrect to assume delamination is always associated with water penetration, because it usually is not. Also, the reverse is not generally true either - delamination does not lead to water penetration (with rare exceptions).

Most delamination comes from local stresses between the glass laminate and the core - thus creating a separation between the two. As for water penetration, I believe my prior writings explain this quite thoroughly so I will not go into it again. What I will say is, water penetration is a much, much more serious issue and can certainly destroy a vessel`s hull by making it too costly to repair. This is especially true when the core has been absorbing the water (not just the glass laminate). Note: water in the laminate is often described as Osmosis. Though this term better decribes the chemical nature of the actual process, it can be confusing to some.

Delamination is relatively easy to fix with the epoxy injection method you have referred to. On the other hand, water penetration of the core can be a damn nightmare to fix - or practically impossible. In the latter case, the affected parts of the core MUST be exposed by cutting away the laminate (fiberglass) and a very extensive drying process must then be used. Shortcuts in this process can be very punitive. If large areas of the core are water-logged, just imagine how much of the boat you would have to cut away to allow proper drying. In the case of a Hobie hull, this can easily mean it is time for the scrap heap.

Do not assume that the water settling in your hull has anything to do with delamination or water penetration - it is most likely completely unrelated. Water could probably sit there for years and cause little damage as long as it doesn`t freeze. Let me repeat myself; the presence of that water is NOT DIAGNOSTIC for either problem. It is diagnostic for condensation, or more likely a leak. So, find the source of your leak and fix it. In the meantime, it is always a good idea to keep your bilge fairly dry.

As I previously wrote, there are immense differences in the relative time it takes for SOME boats to allow water penetration (of the core or laminate). As for how much water penetration is bad, the answer is simple - any penetration, at all, is very bad and is a problem in evolution. Meaning...it will go from bad to worse in EVERY single case. Time is of the essense here, as well as deep pockets. And remember, unless you cut open specific areas of your boat, you will NEVER see water penetration of your core until it is probably too late. Even after cutting, early stage water penetration of the core may actually feel dry to the touch and a moisture meter may be required to detect it. You can, however, see Osmosis (blistering) of the laminate if you know what to look for.

Water penetration left unfixed will progress at varying rates which are unpredictable. Ultimately, it will destroy the hull. You may get rampant delamination - both between the core and laminate and within the glass laminate itself. You may see core swelling and subsequent splitting open of the hull as well as and generalized breakdown of the laminate altogether.

Are you getting a sense of just how tricky this problem is to detect and fix? Half the battle is not mis-understanding it in the first place, so don`t feel bad. Water penetration is the unseen killer of fiberglass boats and the only thing that really worries me as a large boat owner (I don`t live in the Hurricane zone). But, let me qualify this by stating; HOBIE OWNERS NEED NOT WORRY as this is a problem that generally affects boat kept in the water. This topic has surfaced here in direct response to the issue of mooring a Hobie. So, don`t start losing sleep and calling the marine surveyor yet.

As for my personal screw-ups... I started fiberglass fabrication in earnest more than 10 years ago. With hundreds of wasted hours and thousands of wasted dollars, my only solace is in calling it the "cost of my education". Chemical contaminations of gelcoat, resin quality, poor catalyst mixing, and ambient temp/humidity problems were my main "hard lessons". I have lost several molds and ruined many finishes because of these. Thankfully, my projects were small scale.


Dave