[HELP REPAIR] - Hobie Kayak hole can it be fixed?

I have a chance to get a Hobie Kayak for cheap from a family friend. I was told that the Kayak has a small hole on the bottom of it near the front or rear I can't recall the location.

I don't want to let a easy fix make me pass up a great deal or my first Kayak.

So this is the picture of the hole. It looks like thy they attempted to repair it but maybe it wasn't a good job?

Also if I can fix it is there any tutorials for DIY that you can all share with me or recommend a place or people in or near Sacramento that could do this or guide me.

Thanks

Good lord... someone had to drag that thing down the freeway or something.  I'm sure there is someway to repair it, but wow.

thats a pretty big hole in a high wear area. My guess is the hole has a very thin/weak area around it as the clearly just drug it across 101 50 times. You can plastic weld it. but again that is a big area and you will need some serious reinforcing mesh....I wouldn't take that boat out in the ocean or far from shore if/when you fix it.

No. 

thats a pretty big hole in a high wear area. My guess is the hole has a very thin/weak area around it as the clearly just drug it across 101 50 times. You can plastic weld it. but again that is a big area and you will need some serious reinforcing mesh....I wouldn't take that boat out in the ocean or far from shore if/when you fix it.

You can see the two lines running up the hull away from the hole where it is essentially worn thru... just a flap sitting there in place really.  The actual hole is much bigger than it appears I bet.

If I tried to repair that, or had someone repair that, there would always be this little niggling feeling of "am I safe?"  There are nitrogen cooled plastic welders out there that could do the job. Send the pic to Hobie and ask them.

Why don't you call Tap Plastic and see if they have a solution.
there is a couple of their stores in Sacramento.

free? If not... pass... even free... warm water close to shore only. Good way to loose your gear and possibly your life. LIKE ROCK CLIMBING WITH OLD FRAYED ROPES. 

That is not wear. That is damage.
I believe it can be repaired, but I would have a secondary repair over the primary repair; independent of each other.
Does it come with the mirage drive?? 
I'd jump on it if it does.

The answer is yes!

That damage will probably take a few (2-3) hours of work to do a decent quality job and several pieces of equipment. Standard Soldering iron, plastic welder http://www.harborfreight.com/welding/plastic-welders/plastic-welding-kit-80-watt-iron-67102.html ,propane torch, wire brush, 10-inch half round body file (cheese grater), respirator, 2”putty knife, and some sandpaper. You will need to obtain a larger (single) piece of plastic from Hobie to cover "all" the affected area as well as use as filler material (don't use anything but Hobie factory plastic).  I would stay away from any metal mesh in the plastic, the trick is to melt the two plastics together and bond them forever is do a "stitch pattern" with the standard iron.
 
First clean the area and remove the old silicone, dirt, ETC with the wire brush, sand paper and putty knife. Then lay the new plastic piece (cut to size) over the affected area (both hole and thin area adjacent to the hole). Take the standard iron and melt a X stitch pattern penetrating the new plastic as well as the existing. Once completed all the way around take the plastic welding iron along with additional filler plastic and melt the filler plastic into the stitches. After that is done take the plastic welder and with a circular pattern heat and melt both new and existing plastic together smoothing it out with the putty knife and flat head on the iron. You will need to do this several times, wait a few minutes between each application allowing the plastic to cool otherwise you will have a runny plastic mess.  This process insures that you are physically blending and melting the two plastics together creating that bond.

Once you are sure that all plastic is blended and no existing holes, air pockets, ETC. are present, flip the kayak over raise it off the ground and fill the hull with enough water to cover the welded area. Once no leaks are determined then drain and flip it back over to finish the final process.

Final process is to smooth and knock down any imperfections with the cheese grater file, sand paper and plastic welder. Once smoothed out take the propane torch and do several quick passes over the area to remove any small sanding marks and restore to factory finish. 

I have fixed a few friends kayaks that have damage larger than yours but after the repairs the kayaks have been demoted to strictly river/ small lake use and no longer ocean kayaks. To date the repairs I have done on all the kayaks have not leaked or had any problem but going out in the ocean in a kayak that has had significant hull damage is like playing Russian roulette ….just food for though. If you are planning on rivers or smaller lakes you’re probably going to be just fine with the repair.

After repair, you might consider filling in that whole end of the kayak with expanding foam and make it solid. 

The answer is yes!

That damage will probably take a few (2-3) hours of work to do a decent quality job and several pieces of equipment. Standard Soldering iron, plastic welder http://www.harborfreight.com/welding/plastic-welders/plastic-welding-kit-80-watt-iron-67102.html ,propane torch, wire brush, 10-inch half round body file (cheese grater), respirator, 2”putty knife, and some sandpaper. You will need to obtain a larger (single) piece of plastic from Hobie to cover "all" the affected area as well as use as filler material (don't use anything but Hobie factory plastic).  I would stay away from any metal mesh in the plastic, the trick is to melt the two plastics together and bond them forever is do a "stitch pattern" with the standard iron.
 
First clean the area and remove the old silicone, dirt, ETC with the wire brush, sand paper and putty knife. Then lay the new plastic piece (cut to size) over the affected area (both hole and thin area adjacent to the hole). Take the standard iron and melt a X stitch pattern penetrating the new plastic as well as the existing. Once completed all the way around take the plastic welding iron along with additional filler plastic and melt the filler plastic into the stitches. After that is done take the plastic welder and with a circular pattern heat and melt both new and existing plastic together smoothing it out with the putty knife and flat head on the iron. You will need to do this several times, wait a few minutes between each application allowing the plastic to cool otherwise you will have a runny plastic mess.  This process insures that you are physically blending and melting the two plastics together creating that bond.

Once you are sure that all plastic is blended and no existing holes, air pockets, ETC. are present, flip the kayak over raise it off the ground and fill the hull with enough water to cover the welded area. Once no leaks are determined then drain and flip it back over to finish the final process.

Final process is to smooth and knock down any imperfections with the cheese grater file, sand paper and plastic welder. Once smoothed out take the propane torch and do several quick passes over the area to remove any small sanding marks and restore to factory finish. 

I have fixed a few friends kayaks that have damage larger than yours but after the repairs the kayaks have been demoted to strictly river/ small lake use and no longer ocean kayaks. To date the repairs I have done on all the kayaks have not leaked or had any problem but going out in the ocean in a kayak that has had significant hull damage is like playing Russian roulette ….just food for though. If you are planning on rivers or smaller lakes you’re probably going to be just fine with the repair.

I agree with you abdiver.  Nice instructions.  There is a guy on the Hobie Pro Angler forum who cut out his raised center hatch and made the new flat style hatch fit by welding and making pieces to fit.  It looks like you need some skill to do this though.  Here is a link to the post: 

http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=78&t=46585&sid=4ba9d61ba59f916ee8ce1aabe281b27b

holy shit, i'm not dragging my kayak around anymore 

     Good advice Abdiver gave.        I had one slip half out of my trailer once, it sustained the same damage.   Took several hours , but  it's good as new,, maybe a little  thicker now than before.         I raced it at the PIF that day...
   I use a hot air welder

Great tips thanks ill let you all know if I want to take on this repair job or pass on a cheap kayak.