1980 Hobie 16 to restore, or not

Hi all-

I’m the original owner of a 1980 Hobie Cat 16. About 15 years ago, living in Connecticut near LI Sound, I got into a partnership on a larger boat (30’ Catalina) and ended up leaving the Cat at a home on Cape Cod sitting dismantled on a trailer on blocks and under a tarp. About 6 years ago the Catalina partnership ended and, though I had checked the Hobie every couple of years, I found the steel trailer it sat on completely rusted out. I have since replaced the trailer but have now found, even though under a tarp but exposed to the heat of summer and cold of winter, the old Cat has a number of issues.

Before spending a considerable amount of time and money on restoration, I thought it would be best to run a few questions by the experts here as I have noticed a number of posts about older Hobies.

1. There is a considerable amount of pitting on the black anodized parts; mast, boom, sidebar, etc. Is this something that can be treated by sanding and refinishing other than re-anodizing?
2. At the base of the mast by the corner rivet under the cheek block, an area about 3/4” has corroded through. Can this be filled with something like Marine Tex? Could this indicate other hidden areas that may be at risk?
3. I drilled out the rivets and tried to remove the mast base, for a closer inspection inside, but it seems glued in place. Any secret to getting it off besides a big hammer?
4. I removed all the stays and plan to replace them and as well as all the cordage.
5. Regarding the items above, I thought of cutting off about 6 or 8” off the bottom of the mast and remounting the base. Of course this will shorten the stays.
6. There is no corrosion evident around the mast tang but I am concerned about its integrity. Is there a backing plate attached inside the mast if I decide to drill out the rivets to have a look?
7. The rudder cams are frozen and the rudder end caps are just about white with corrosion. Easy enough to replace the cams but the end caps are frozen to the shafts.
8. The anchor bars and bow tang on the hulls that hold the mast stays seem sound. The question is, how does fiberglass hold up year after year of heat and cold, though it appears solid, can it become brittle?

A number of people have said to just throw it back together and see if it still flies. My concern is getting a mile offshore and having the rivets pop out of the mast or the hulls coming apart and everything goes flying. I might be able to handle if I were back in my twenties but both me and the Cat are a little worse for wear.

This is a great forum and if not for it the Cat may have ended up elsewhere. I appreciate any advice or comments you wish to share. Thanks!

My best advice to you is to take pictures and place them on this post so the folks here will be able to tell you the best way to fix your cat.

The hulls can become soft with delamination but that doesn't mean they are trashed, just means you'll have to drill some small holes through the top layer and inject some type of epoxy filler to stiffen them back up. Check for soft hulls by pressing your thumb down firmly against the hulls and if there is an give at all your hulls have gone soft on ya.

Again take pics so we can see what you're up against.

Good luck!

The boat shows all the signs of living in a salt air environment for many years.

Most of your issues are cosmetic.

The only thing I'd be concerned about is the mast. A 3/4" hole? That's pretty big - and indicative of an even larger problem. Your idea of trimming the mast is OK, but you''re planning on taking off too much. An inch or two is OK - 6"-8" is too much and will create a host of problems - the mainsail will be that much closer to the trampoline - even if you move the mast tang up by the same amount that you cut off the bottom (that's the best way to deal with a shorter mast, BTW).

Pull the base off the mast, remove the sealing plug and take a look on the inside.

MBounds and Selfdad-

I really appreciate your responses. As I mentioned, I live in CT and the boat "resides" on the Cape. The only part I brought back was the rudder assembly, I figured that would be a good place to start with the frozen parts and pitting issues. I'll take some pics and post. As for the mast and hulls, I plan to go for a visit sometime in the next month or so, I'll be able to get you some more update pics and info then. Thanks!

Well, I spent about 2 hours taking the rudder assembly apart. The toughest part was removing the rudder adjusters from the tiller crossbar. As the two parts were seized together I broke out the torch and heated things up. At first they wouldn’t budge but after placing the adjuster end in a vice and wrapping the crossbar with a cloth and twisting with some channel locks, 30 years and two tbls of salt were let loose.

I used a Scotchbrite pad and rubbed down the rudder casting and was surprised how good it looked, as MBounds mentioned it was mostly cosmetic, though any recommendations for cleaning and protecting are welcome.

I had to drill out the cam pin and the delrin screw was frozen in place but the plunger and spring popped out the top. Don’t know that I really need to replace it. I’m just taking inventory at this point on what to replace, that is if the mast and hull seem sound enough and worth investing in.

BTW I tried to post some pics but can't figure out how to do it. I clicked on img above but can't insert, hmmm. TBC’d

Look in the FAQ how to post a photo. They must be hosted on another side (like Flikr, Snapfish, or Photobucket)

To anyone out there who can help...

Does anyone know where I can find/get a double block and a ratchet block assembly for a 1979 Hobie Cat?

Any help would be greatly appreciated

With any new to you cat purchase, make sure the hulls aren't soft... Like these:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL33jMcV4oM[/youtube]

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