Hull weight?

any information on approximately what each hull should weigh? i am restoring 1983 H16.

Hobie has made changes over the years to lighten the hulls as much as they can to make for a faster boat. 83s are supposed to be heavier than the 84 model hulls, as they made quite a reduction on the 84s. Not sure if Hobie kept records on what weights they were shooting for each year. I have a pair of solid pre 73 hulls sitting around that are probably alot heavier than the early 80s. I've cut up enough late 70s, that were coming apart.

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JKK
83 yellow/ white decks Hobie 14 Corando turbo
82 yellow hulls Hobie 16 Cat Fever
84 yellow hulls hobie 16 Yellow Nationals
plus a few extras that I'm restoring

Modern hulls (each hull, stripped down with no hardware) are in the 67 - 73 lb range.

Minimum weight for the full boat (including all rigging, but no life jackets, harnesses or other personal gear):
340 lbs from inception to 1983
320 lbs from 1984 onward (however, 1984/85 boats were fragile and actual weights crept up until 1991 when they dropped down to 320 lbs again).

Many (most) boats are significantly heavier, especially older ones.
Boats built in the last 15 years are generally very close to 320 lbs or lighter. My 2007 was 311 lbs.

thank you. i am finding information about legal boat weight, but not much on individual hull weight. i have one hull weighing approximately 83lbs and the other 93lbs. that old foam in the hulls has definitely absorbed some water, but i don't think i am too far out of whack. i just don't want to spend time, etc. restoring a waterlogged cat. i am slow enough as it is

Why are the '84-'85 boats considered "fragile"?

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Marty
1984 H16 Yellow Nationals Redline, "Yellow Fever"
Lake Martin, 'Bama.

Originally, the Hobie 16 was overbuilt - there never was any real engineering done - it was all done by hand and by eye.

In mid-1983 (1984 model year) Hobie Cat reduced the weight by reducing the amount of resin, the fiberglass cloth weight and by vacuum-bagging the layup. It was a win-win - the boats were lighter, more lively and they cost less to make. However, they went a bit far with the weight reduction program and the result was an increase in hull warranty claims - so the weights went back up for a while until they gained experience with the process.

'84 and '85 boats are not as long-lived as the boats from other years, so they're "fragile." There are very few of them around these days, compared to the early '80s models.

Well, okay. I guess I'll have to keep that in mind with my boat being that it's a 1984 model. What exactly are the weak points of the 84-85 boats? What should I keep a lookout for? Keep in mind that my particular boat, even as old as it is, hasn't been sailed much in its life and has no cracks, repairs, or soft spots. I want to keep her that way.

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Marty
1984 H16 Yellow Nationals Redline, "Yellow Fever"
Lake Martin, 'Bama.

I've seen two failures in redline boats....both were the deck ripping up from the hull at the bridle tang. Happened to a friend and I on his '85 H16 when we were double trapped getting our 15 minutes of glory in the downdraft of a summer storm!

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Jerome Vaughan
Hobie 16