H16 Resto Project

Day 1:

Well I'm back up in MI now, after a really fun week-long road trip from Florida.

Went out to the farm today, really more of a survey trip, to see what I'm in for to get the family H16 back on the water. (OK finally got the pic size issue taken care of...)

Background - My dad bought this boat around about 1986 or 87 by my best guess, but it might have been earlier. I was a really little kid at the time. Finding the serial number on the transom today reveals that it is indeed a year older than me (CCMP2964M80I). We sailed it fairly often on Lake St Clair, and inland lakes here in MI and in Minnesota for a brief stint. Then back to MI for most of the 90s.

After I got into college, my dad and I really didn't get much time on it anymore, he was crewing on bigger boats and I was away most summers on internships or foreign studies. So instead of storing it alongside the house, we moved it to the family farm where it was out of the way. The last year it was in the water was 2002 as evidenced by the most recent tag on the hull.

Here's how I found it today:







Fortunately my grandfather keeps a shed back there stocked with a decent array of tools necessary for tackling the vines and low branches that have hemmed it in - my weapons of choice for the afternoon's "yard work":



Mast is all aluminum, was the easiest part to extract from the overgrowth (my trusty VW GTI, from now on referred to as Sheila, was essential to my success today):



I remember it being a lot heavier...

So after spending the better part of an hour cutting the hobie out I was able to start rotating the trailer, strapped the boat back down to it, and pulled out the blocks that were holding the wheels off the ground. It moved, but was reluctant... (more on this in a bit) so I figured more muscle was needed, and I pulled Sheila around.

Here's where the fun started: Even though its been parked about a quarter mile from the nearest road, under dense trees, and behind a cornfield... dear old Dad locked the hitch...



So I improvised (Sheila will be the 3rd VW towing this boat, we had an 87 Golf and Jetta back in the day, but mine has about 3x the HP and Torque... having a turbo make towing fun!):



And here's the culprit for the reluctance to move:



I figured the tires would be toast, the right one is totally rotted out along part of the sidewall, the left appears to be OK but will also be replaced next week for good measure (and safety).

So I put the pads back on the trailer for the mast, the clamp on the back, and loaded it up there for the time being.



I felt around on the hulls, tapping, listening, and all appears solid. I'll do a much more thorough inspection when I get started on the cleaning (possibly tomorrow, but more likely Monday), which will take a few days at least. I pulled the tramp and all the lines out of the sail box (which has been in Dad's garage nice and dry, and out of the sun, all this time), and that is looking good at first inspection.

So next step will be the cleaning and surveying what needs attention before I start putting the rigging and tramp back together.

I didn't see any mention of you having a 3000 - 3500 PSI pressure washer at your disposal. Soak the moss & mildew with some fresh water for a few days while you go buy the pressure washer...then blast the living daylights out of the boat (with a fan spray pattern, not a jet stream). I'll bet it comes out looking great! Send us some more photos when it's done.

I pulled one out of a backyard after it had been sitting since 97 or so, similarly dirty. I used a citrus cleaner and scrub brush, but also had to wetsand entirely to get the gelcoat looking nice. Heavy sanding on the top, except where it's textured (200 grit, then 320, then 1000, then buffer with polishing compound). At least you have a trailer-this one was sitting on the ground and I had to rig it to my other boat trailer (not recommended!). I'll post some pictures this weekend.

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'77 Goldfinger, blue hulls

Day 2:

Took a while to make it back out, got tied up with a lot of family stuff this past week.

Good news though, was that I found the keys to the lock on the trailer.

First thing in mind was the tire swap. We had a good spare still in the garage, so that replaced the flat. The other tire is, as suspected, toast as well, but still holds air so until I'm ready to hit the road, it will do. (still planning on buying two new tires)





I sprayed the lugnuts with some WD40 so the wouldn't be an absolute nightmare to remove, and let them sit while I moved on to the cleaning.

I had considered the pressure washer... but renting one will run $80+ a day... and I didn't really think it was necessary, so I went with the orange dish soap to see how it would do.







Perfect! Most of the port hull's topside came clean in about 30 minutes!

At that point I replaced the tire, and pulled the trailer up within range of a hose for the rest of the cleaning. Spent most of the afternoon on it, I'd say 95% of the moss and grime is gone. I reinstalled the rudders as well.

wow. well i guess thats a big difference

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1981 Hobie 16
1982 Hobie 14 turbo (sold)
1996 SeaDoo GTI
1999 Hunter 340

It's amazing how old boats that you think are toast will clean up.

A couple of things:
- don't go on the road with the way you've got it tied down. You've got it tied down, but nothing to keep it from going backwards or forwards. You'll have a nasty surprise if you slam on the brakes.
- What's with the chunk taken out of the deck lip, just forward of the port rear pylon?

I don't live that far from you (Commerce Twp.). Let me know if you want me to take a look at it for you. I've raced 16s for 36 years and have owned six of them in that time.

mbounds(at)comcast(dot)net

Boat used to be stored between the family house and a fence, with inches of clearance... and one time dad was less than careful putting it away, crushed a bit of the lip... I'm thinking about having it professionally fixed, since the patch he made at the time is functional, but oh-so-gross looking.

We've always tied it down like this?

I also found today the the lights on the trailer are not working... I have a spare set though that hang on the boat.

Deck lip repairs are easy. If you're into the resto, you should learn how to do fiberglass work.

There are better ways to keep the boat in place that 1) don't touch the hulls and 2) keep it in one spot without having to crank down on the straps.

Yea, there is spiderweb cracking in the areas where the straps contact the hulls.

Exactly.

Day 3:

Got the new plate for the trailer (ouch, 75 for a "permanent" plate), new registration for the boat too.

Trampoline, jib travelers, such are all on now as well.

All that's left, that I can see, is cleaning the bearings on the trailer and repacking them with grease... they're scary looking.

Unfortunately I've been conscripted to fill in for a sick uncle on a whitewater rafting trip (its a hard knock life, really!), so my plans for hitting Lake Huron this weekend are pretty much shot.

So see you all next week!

-Fred

FINALLY!

Further inspection of the bearings and seals ended up with several days of hunting for new ones, tearing the old ones down, and fully rebuilding/repacking.

Put the mast up a few times yesterday with some family assistance for practice and to check the condition of everything.



This is on try 2... only to find the line for the mainsail was tangled up a bit up in the mast tip... so it wouldn't go higher than this. Took it down and got it all sorted...

Now I just need wind! Friday is the target day now, going to hit up Stony Creek Lake (closest park to where the boat is!).

What hitch did you put on your gti? I have an 09 gti.. not really thinking I'll put a hitch on it.. I traded my jeep comanche as a clunker on the gti.. and now have no tow vehicle... but a buddy usually helps me launch and pickup the cat each summer anyways..

I never would have towed it with my corrado though.. she's in storage now waiting for an overhaul.

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1982 H16 (C:\Worthy)
Yellow/White Prism type sails

Its a Hidden Hitch, had it installed at a Hitch House in Sarasota, FL. The wiring harness is a NIGHTMARE on these cars... but the hitch itself is really easy. It was about $450 for everything installed (the wiring harness has some special decoding box for the multiple signals on the same wires for the taillights).

I towed a 4x8 Uhaul box trailer from FL to MI with no problems, but I have the manual transmission, the DSG isn't rated as high for towing... but I don't think my hobie + trailer is even 1k lbs, which is half my rating, and about 2/3 the DSG rating.

I'm chipped too... so torque is not an issue at all (260 ft/lbs at the wheels).

Corrados are awesome (if you can keep up with the repairs) but I wouldn't put a hitch on one...

Mine's manual, 6 speed.... which chip? APR?

The h16 looks good! I doubt I'll hitch the gti anytime soon.. I have friends and family with trucks that I can borrow to launch and pickup the boat each year.. it sits on the cat ramp all summer ready to go at a moments notice!

My corrado was a good one... not many issues over the years, I drove it daily until just recently.. lost compression on #1.. so it's time to rebuild the engine.. supercharger is still good!

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1982 H16 (C:\Worthy)
Yellow/White Prism type sails