Sail numbering.

Hi all
Can anyone please explain how sail numbering on catamarans work? Is it similar to dinghys in that the number stays with the hull despite how many suits of sails you have? Someone told me you get a new number for your Hobie 16 every time you get new sails, is this true?
Thanks in advance.

Yes, True. Sail numbers are assigned during sail production, not related to the boat at all. You can order custom numbers with a sail for a fee.

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

That's cool - even if you want no numbers at all?

Yes... you can order without sail numbers, but same up-price due to handling.

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

Thanks Matt
So how can you tell what vintage the hulls are when looking for a second hand boat. The reason I ask is I had a Hobie 16' about 7 years ago & did nationals & other regattas with her but didn't do well, would've done alot better if the boat was newer. She had a 75@@@ number, & I believe those were the original sails. Been sailing dinghy's, keel boats, windsurfing all my life & decided that it's back to the 16' for me (& my wife enjoys crewing for me on the 16 too). So I'm looking for a second hand 16' again (new ones here in South Africa are way too expensive for the average person), older hulls are not just heavier from advancement in technology but heavier from progressive water logging too. So the trick is to get the newest hulls at the best price.
I heard that hulls were manufactured here in SA at some point & then went to France & have been told that French hulls are much better than the SA hulls, does anyone have any more facts on that?

A 75XXX sail number would be from 1983 or 1984.

May be more of a vintage thing. The class rules changed in 83-84 to allow for lighter boats. Was 340 and went to 320 lbs.

I don't have any info on SA vs EU construction.

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

Would anyone know how old my sails are roughly.
sail number #90031.

I always wondered about sail numbers and their relevance to to boat year. From what I can tell, my boat is a 1986 (yellow hulls and tramp) and sail #89013.

1986.

The sails for the 1986 Nationals (in September of that year) were sequentially numbered starting at 90101, so your number would have been made a bit earlier in the year.


Also 1986

That's probably from the beginning of 1986.

The production rate was tapering off quickly after 1985. In 1987, the Nationals sails started with 91001 - only 1000 more than the year prior.

Matt---I bought my boat from a guy in Toledo in 2000. You've probably seen in the area back then, as the previous owner was pretty active in racing.

You may want to check out this article:

"The Ultimate Sail Pattern Guide" on pages 18-22 of the Mar /Apr 2006 issue of HOTLINE.

http://2010.archive.hobiecat.com/hobiec ... 4_2006.pdf

_________________
Tim
84 H16
82 H16
87 H14T
Tortola Sails: 115222
Blue Prism Sails: 88863
Clearwater, FL

My sails don't seem to match any one year exactly. They are close to the 84 Nationals yellow, but my color stripes are lower on the sail. I'll see if I can get a pic of my boat to show up here.

a href="http://s904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/AlanRV8/?action=view&amp;current=scan.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/AlanRV8/scan.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Try that, see if it works.

http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac24 ... 8/scan.jpg

Try that.

That's great to know.. Cheers. They are in amazing condition for there age then.. Would u be able to help me with boat serial numbers aswell? Lol I was looking at them the other day and noticed something interesting. One hull has serial #bb2593 and the other #2285.. Would that mean I have two different aged hulls? Could you help me find out how old each one is if that's the case? Thanks so much