VIN # and Delam

Just bought this boat. Why can i not find the vin #? Could it be anywhere else or painted over? Also in the second picture the top behind the rear bar cracks when i press down on it. Delam?

Should be on the transom just above the top gudgeon. It's done with a vibrating pen, so it's hard to see some time. If the hulls had been painted, the s/n would probably be invisible. But it doesn't look like it's been painted.

Brian C

I played with the photo in PhotoShop and it appears to be to the at the left of the top gudgeon, right at the shadow line.

Wet your finger and rub it where you think the HIN is. That will clean the dirt off the hull and press dirt into the HIN, making it more visible.

How are the rest of the hulls on this one? I see there is some cracking or weathering on the transom. I have this as well and think some sanding and feathering will fix it. How were the sails?

That boat has had it's rudders hit bottom hard. (Not unusual with the old-style rudder lock down mechanism.) The cracks are from the transom flexing around the gudgeons. Old gel coat is brittle.

I'm not sure I would even try to fix that, other than to clean off all the caulk that's been spooged around everything.

More caulk doesn't necessaily mean more waterproofing, but that might indicate the boat has leakage problems.

There should be another set of VIN numbers on the boat under the front cross bar. At least thats the way the newer ones are.

I don't know when Hobie started doing that, (engraving the HID # in the gelcoat under where the front crossbar sits) Maybe Matt M. can answer that question. However, the 1988 H-18 I had did not have the HID# engraved anywhere but on the transoms.

My 2004 H-18 has the HID # engraved on both places on each hull.

Stephen

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the other hull looks the same. lots of calking. the sails are in the cat box and look good. Based on the sails i put the boat at a 1980. The dagger boards are chipped along the edges.

Dual serial numbers have only been on the boats for a few years. Don't think we were doing that in the 90's or earlier.

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Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

does the boat look like it was painted? What is the best way to get the paint off so i can find the serial #s? Wire wheel? I need the numbers to get the paperwork done.

Boat hasn't been painted.

Matt's right. I think I can see the number on the STBD hull just inside the shadow. Let us know the last five #'s and we'll tell you about it.

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The Vin Number is OHM2799M80G Found it!

Do i need to do the delam repair to that part of the boat ( behind rear cross bar)? Just do the typical drill and fill?

HIN must start with CCM - that's the manufacturer code.

There's a missing character, too since HIN have 12 characters. Probably in the first 4.

Should be CCM C 2799 M 80 G

Look in the FAQ for the proper format.