New to the Hobie Cat World

Hi Everyone!

I am very excited to join the Hobie Cat world. I was given a 1988 Hobie Cat 16 yesterday by a family friend who hasn't been able to use the boat in three years due to health issues. She wanted to pass it on to someone she knew would enjoy it as much as she did and I was the lucky recipient.

A little about myself:

My neighbor founded the local yacht club and wanted me to know how to sail so I learned on his 65ft Ketch when I was 13. He sailed the Queens Cup 24 times so I learned a lot from him thats for sure. Unfortunately he passed away so after that I sailed competitively in High School mainly on 420's and Lasers. I haven't really sailed in 4 or 5 years, unfortunately I was to busy in college to find the time. Furthermore I have never sailed a Hobie cat before so this is going to be new for me. I am very excited to get back out on the water!

A little about the boat:

It has sat partially covered outdoors for the last three years in the same spot so its in need of a good cleaning. There are no soft spots on either hull, and thankfully and the sails and rudders were stored in the house and look practically brand new. It has a light blue vinyl tramp on it that will most likely need replacing as it is weathered and sun damaged. It has newer EPO race composite rudders and a carbon fiber tiller. Mainly all Harken Riggings on it also. I also have two trailers for it, a normal one with a large sail storage box, and a beach dolly with balloon tires as it will be staying at the family cottage on Lake Michigan its helpful to have both.

What it needs so far that I can tell:

New lines as the old ones are very weathered and moldy. I am also missing the harnesses for it so I am trying to track some down. Other than that it is complete. A new ballon tire for the beach dolly. I am also missing the door for the sail/gear compartment on the normal trailer so I hope I can track one down. I am also interested in putting a trolling motor on it in the future for getting down the channel to tie up in town. If anyone has any good sites or knows any good stores in Michigan/Indiana/Illinois for parts let me know!

Any advice and tips/diagrams for rigging would be super helpful also!

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A wise man once told me "God does not subtract from mans allotted time the hours spent in sailing"

'88 H16 Sail #91037

Welcome! Looks like you got a great deal on a used boat there! I hope you have room for another addiction. This forum is great and you will find lots of great information on here. Happy sailing!

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James
86' Redline Hobie 16
Sail # 76909

You got a real good start, nice boat! A little bit of work, cleaning it up, and maybe some new lines, a few parts, and you'll be off and sailing.
And welcome to the forum.
You can research a ton of info, right here, In the upper sticky section, Hobie Faqs, and at the bottom of this page, ( searchable links) you can find your nearest dealer using their searchable link. There are 3 on the west side of lower MI: Gull Lake Marine, Richland, MI, and Outpost, in South Haven and Saint Joesph, MI. I don't have any first hand knowledge of them, but someone will chime in about them. I have always used Midwest Sailing in Pickney, MI (because its the nearest) and they have been great to deal with, can always get what I am looking for.
If and when you replace your lines, parts etc. Next year, If you store it outside, strip it down, to just the hulls and tramp framework. your parts will last a lot longer, put a polymer on all your plastic left outside still attached to the boat, like turtle wax 2000, armour all, or something like that. it will keep it from drying out, and getting brittle.
Bar keepers friend, and a good scrub brush, 1 or 2 cans ( 12oz each) should be plenty and will clean up those hulls real good. If you use a pressure washer, just be real careful around those decals, it does not take much, to get them coming off by pealing.
Down at the bottom of the page, you can also find a link, for an online parts catalog, and/or a paper version, mailed to your place.
There is a wealth of information on this site, of about almost anything you can think of relating to hobie cat sailing, and a lot of great contributors. Just search, and ask if needed, ( Good pictures of what your working on, are a big aid, to help you get answers, to what your working on when needed ) you'll be good to go.

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79 H16 #46803

Thanks for the warm welcome guys! I have been perusing the forums and saw the rigging information/diagrams!

I've been to Gull Lake and Wolf Marine in St. Joes but not in years so I will have revisit them. I definitely have room for another hobby. I have been wanting to get back into ailing for years I just never had the cash to commit to it. So this almost free boat is exactly what I needed. I am a car guy so I have tons of waxes and also some boat wax from our old family fishing boat.

I will probably be storing it outside again next year so I will definitely tear it down and still cover it up then.

The tramp is pretty dirty, but I am hoping after a good cleaning it might be salvageable.

Here are the sails. I cant find what these were named does anyone know? My friend has "tequila sunrise" sails on his Hobie so I am interested in knowing the name for mine.

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A wise man once told me "God does not subtract from mans allotted time the hours spent in sailing"

'88 H16 Sail #91037

Wow - awesome sails - they look brand new - those are probably the Mid 80's National combo - here's a link to some sail http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=35170

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Jacques Bernier
http://www.hobie.com/
http://www.facebook.com/HobieCatCompany

You definately got some good equipment to work with. Nice sails!
If you go to the main forum index page, at the very top is " Hobie cat sailing Faqs " click on that. Then you'll have to click on it again, at the next screen, ( at least on this android tablet anyway ) There will be a bunch of threads that will be real informative. As you scroll down, there should see a thread titled "Sail color History " click on that, and download it. you will find the name of your sail colors.
I would keep that out door carpet on those side rails ( replace only if you can't get it to clean up, or its rotted bad ) That tramp should clean up also, better to scrub it with soap and water as opposed to putting the pressure washer to it. If the tramp is dry rotted and rips easy, its time to replace it, otherwise you can live with a small tear here and there. The Hobie brand tramps are pretty durable, last a long time. You'll be alright with out the hiking straps for now, just put your heels of your feet between the lines, connecting the 2 halves as leverage ( beach shoes or booties work good for that )
During the winter, I just strip that tramp off my boat, and store it inside. it will last a long time if you do that ( plus cover it in the summer, when your not using it, keeping the sun off it)

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79 H16 #46803

The boat (and the sails) are from the 1987 Hobie 16 Nationals, Coyote Point (San Francisco Bay), CA. The sail pattern doesn't have a name other than "'87 Nationals Dark Blue."

The sails are in remarkable shape, especially considering the abuse they took at that event (it was windy). The venue was shallow, too - a lot of those sails had mud stains on the head by the conclusion of the event.

Those sails look incredible. I love the pattern. I'd say you are off to a better than average start for getting into hobies with a used boat.

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James
86' Redline Hobie 16
Sail # 76909

I think I've got a great start too! I plan on giving it a good cleaning once it gets warmer here to see what is good and what isn't. I I will keep the carpet I don't think it is to bad just has some moss growing on it like the rest of the boat haha. The tramp seems to be strong, it just has some sun damage in places where the tarp that was covering it blew off/bunched up. By sun damage I mean the white fibers are showing and coming away from the blue vinyl in places. I will post pictures once its cleaned up so you guys can see what I mean.

Is there a spec sheet on the line lengths/widths anywhere that I can take to the shop so I can get them made now? Or do I have to take them all off and bring them in to get made? Every single line has rot/mold/moss on it so I plan on replacing them all.

I have booties for sailing so I should be set there. I am hoping the original owner an find the harnesses tho she seems to think she saw them recently. Side note, I need a new tire for the Cat Trax Trailer, and I was wondering if anyone found any decent places for them? It is 225 for one from amazon S/H included. The rim is fine and one side has a new one already but the other side has huge cracks in the sidewall and dry rot.

Thanks for that history on the boat! I am amazed at how brand new the sails look also! I definitely lucked out there. Thanks for all of the help so far guys!

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A wise man once told me "God does not subtract from mans allotted time the hours spent in sailing"

'88 H16 Sail #91037

Hobie line guide http://static.hobiecat.com/2010_archive/support/pdfs/LineGuide.pdf

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2001 H18 w/SX wings & spinnaker #16740 (purchased new)
1989 H18 w/SX wings #14565 (purchased new, sold 2000)
Would buy another if Hobie would build it.

Be sure to replace the standing rigging. The boat probably had a few years of sailing and 3 years of sitting. They should be replaced. You are a lucky dog!