16 To 18 Leap? What to Look For?

Considering making the leap from my H16 to a H18. I have read a few threads about construction issues, crossbars having a certain number of bolts, and color of sealants, being imperative to making used H18 buying decisions. Anyone have a good thread reference for an outline on this? What color is the "good sealant"? Was there a year that was better or worse than others? Any specific issues that should always be a "deal breaker" to look for besides some of the obvious like soft hulls?

I will be primarily open ocean sailing the boat so want to make sure it would be seaworthy to say the least! I think I would prefer without wings. I heard when you fly the hull, the leeward wing can act as an emergency brake into the water!

Thanks!

The 18 is a great boat, and coming from a 16, you're likely to love the added control and ride stability the 18 gives you!

With regards to what to look for, I think most of what you know from the 16 translates to the 18 pretty well. Soft spots & corrosion are the biggest concerns, and just making sure that the gear and rigging is generally in good shape. Check bottom wear, and if the boat has been left on a trailer with rollers, look closely at the bottom of the hulls... rollers can cause the bottoms to crack (too heavy a boat for rollers).

The comments about "sealant" and age of boat are really minor concerns... But essentially, boats from '78-84 were built like a rock (very solid), so long as they're still in good shape with no soft spots. boats from '84 - '86 were what they call "redline" boats, when Hobie really refined their production process. These boats are some of the lightest and fastest, but also can be more prone to hull failure, hence all the discussions about reinforcement. I believe they're still more sturdy than the modern F18's, just not as up for the typical beach cat abuse that the 18 is known for. Boats produced in the late 80's and onward were a bit more robust, while still being relatively light.

Common upgrades include the D-shaped reinforcement plates at the forward crossbar, to ensure the longevity of the hull & reinforce that connection point. The crossbars are just bolted to the hulls (2 bolts per cross bar per hull), so that's where the bracket gets added, under the lip. It's also recommended to upgrade the mast step from the old, 2-rivet style to the 4-rivet style, which provides a more secure anchor point for the mast. Wings make the ride much more comfortable and much dryer, and really help keep the boat down on the water. If you do want to do some hull flying though, the leeward wing can dig in on you.

Some minor inspection items to keep in mind: Check for hull leaks after sailing the boat. The most common spots for leaks to occur are around the daggerboard wells, drain plugs, hull lip or deck hatches, but all are easily fixable. Check the hull lips to make sure they're not separating. If they are, you'll need to flip the boat over and glue them back together with epoxy. I had to do this on my boat, as my hull lips were separated for nearly half the length of the boat!

_________________
Mike

'79 H18 standard 'Rocketman II' sail #14921 RIP
'78 H18 (unnamed) sail #14921
'08 H16 sail #114312
'97 H21SC sail #238

I have wings and I love them. The hobie 18 is a wetter boat than the 16 (lower tramp) but with the wings it becomes a very comfortable boat by beach cat standards. For the most part the wings only touch the water when you are heeled too far over or while crashing through big waves. When the wings do make it to the water they slow you down, but only a moderate amount.

My experiences are with choppy waves on the inland seas around Michigan. Perhaps others can comment on the behavior of wings on ocean swells and surf.

I think Sabres covered most of the main stuff. One nice improvement on the post-1987 boats is the upgraded rudder castings. This is particularly good to have if sailing in the surf as the old style have a tendency to stay locked down and break the casting when coming in. Otherwise, the weight and the hull flanges cracking were the main issues. Older boats were strong but a bit heavy. Mid-1980’s had a tendency to crack up under the hull flanges where the crossbars connect. Newer boats were lighter but also strong.

Regarding wings, they’re nice under certain conditions, but I would probably not use for ocean sailing. For one thing, you need to be able to easily jump on and off of the boat when launching and landing in the surf. Wings are going to make that more difficult. Also, with the more “textured” water surface on the ocean, they are probably going to contact the water more frequently. That said, if you find a boat that you like which has wings, you can very easily remove them, so I wouldn’t let that stop you from getting a particular boat.

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Yes, I think the biggest things with wings would be the seas and textured water really slowing down as well as the launching and return when there are waves. Good to know that you don't have to commit to them though and they are easily removable. It might even be an advantage as it means usually the skipper was not sitting on the deck of the hulls the whole life of the boat. One less soft spot

It seems you just have the two hatches on the deck behind the rear crossbar, correct? Does anyone have a picture of the upgraded D reinforcement for the front crossbar? We do not have a huge H18 following in the mid-atlantic so I imagine most of these boats will be from pleasure sailors and probably missing most if not all the upgraded items.

Is there a part that if it goes is "near impossible" to find since they stopped making these?

Thanks again for all the info guys!

Part availability is very good on these boats. The only parts I can think of that are harder to find are the hull reinforcing plates, which aren't necessary on most boats.

The hatches are actually just aft of the forward crossbar, 6" diameter... really great for storage! Get a pair of fat bags and you'll wonder how you ever sailed without them!

Parts that have gotten hard to come by are hulls, masts & crossbars, daggerboards, the hull reinforcement D-brackets, and old style (pre-1987) lower rudder castings. A lot of these can be found used on ebay, however. OEM trampolines & sails are still made, but only in white... plenty of third party suppliers for those. All the other regularly replaced parts are still fully supported by Hobie.

_________________
Mike

'79 H18 standard 'Rocketman II' sail #14921 RIP
'78 H18 (unnamed) sail #14921
'08 H16 sail #114312
'97 H21SC sail #238

Are these D reinforcement brackets sometimes referred to as a "crossbar channel reinforcement set"

I think this would probably be my biggest concern for safety and construction reasons. I've also determined from your guys info that the boat I would prefer would be a 87 or newer. As much as light construction and going fast is fun, 6 ft seas, 20-30 mph winds, and beaching when coming in needs strength and correct rudder castings!

Thanks

https://imgur.com/a/95h9DKy

Is this it? Fair price for something like this if it is it?

Yes, those are the brackets. But if you’re only looking at boats from 1987 or later then you don’t need to worry because they will already have the brackets installe - unless you also want to add them to the rear crossbar. That would require cutting in an access port behind the rear beam.

sm

Ahhhh I see! good to know. Always a learning curve to follow all the little iterations of the various Hobie years. Thanks for letting me know. So these go inside of the hulls by the crossbars and they can be seen by opening the forward hatch, correct?

Incorrect. They mount to the outside of the hull and are visible by just looking at the side of the hull. Very obvious if they are there or not.

sm

Theres one for sale in the area that is very inexpensive. The seller claims it to be a "89 or 90" but he isn't positive and trying to get the HIN to confirm. In the meantime, I wanted to ask if you guys are able to tell from this picture if it is the updated rudder castings? https://imgur.com/a/oTFRcrK

Im skeptical on it being an 89 or 90 as it has 84 Yellow Nationals sails. I thought that might be a clear indicator of an earlier edition as well. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Those are the newer style rudder castings, but they can be bought and added to an older boat for around $600. However, there's no reason to avoid an '84 if the price is right and the hulls are in good shape. The D-brackets can be added easily. An '84 likely has the updated 4-rivet mast step also.

_________________
Mike

'79 H18 standard 'Rocketman II' sail #14921 RIP
'78 H18 (unnamed) sail #14921
'08 H16 sail #114312
'97 H21SC sail #238

The starboard hull had soft spots aft the dagger boards. The port side had two surface cracks down the top layer of fiberglass that ran about 18-24" each. The belly of the starboard bow had a questionable material repair in a 2 ft radius. The inspection ports were unable to be opened. The rudder cams were locked as there was 0 grease left in them. The rudders were down to the fibers. Standard rigging needed replacing. Needed all new lines. Jib furler didnt work and had sand all in it. Jib had two rips on stitching of sail. Trampoline needed replacing....Other than that, great boat It was very much at the right price... but I passed.