Tramp questions

I bought a used 70's ish (the hull numbers are long since sanded away,) that has an aftermarket tramp. I need to re-lace it this year as the rope is faded and started to show signs of fatigue when I put it up for the year.

The tramp itself is in great shape, it's black vinyl, but the previous owner let it sit outside uncovered so the hiking straps that were sewn onto the tramp went to ash before I even bought it. Is it better to send the thing out(or if anyone that knows of someone in the KZoo Grand Rapids MI area that will work on something like this that great too.) Or is this a DIY project, maybe not sewing new straps into place, but rather running a few grommets through the tramp, and holding the hiking strap down in key places with rope? Any suggestions are welcome, and yes, the hulls are in good shape(I read a lot here and elsewhere before I purchased.)

here's some pic of the boat in question


100_0976 by David Jachym, on Flickr
Wife both excited and horrified it floats(now she has to go on it.)


100_0975 by David Jachym, on Flickr
You can kind of make out the 3/4" sheet that I used as hiking straps/righting lines last year, and were being used as a main sheet(I to this day wonder how that worked.)

Any upholstery / canvas shop can sew new hiking straps on for you.

Take a hint from the way new tramps come and have them put a 1/2 twist in the strap between each attachment point. Makes it much easier to get your foot underneath the strap.

If that's the original sail number, then your serial number will not be on the hulls - it will be a 4-digit number stamped on the front pylon.

You should hook up with the group at Austin Lake, just south east of Kalamazoo. Talk to Dave Stiemsma (djstiemsma(at)yahoo(dot)com) - he's rescued many boats and has a yard full.

Austin Lake still has racing every Tuesday night during the summer. They have a strong singlehanded Hobie 16 group, as well as traditional 2-up Hobie 16s, Tigers and a few others.

I've wanted to get to Austin Lake but due to weird schedule(pilot,) and my wife working in Grand Rapids we haven't been able to.

This was a goal for this summer though, and thanks for the contact.

I'll get the 4 digit number it has on the pylon, as both front ones have the same number. Is there a web site to decode the 4 digit number?

The 4-digit number is a simple serial number. There are no records of what number goes with what year, etc. It's just a number - higher is newer, lower is older.

'73 or older if it has the four digits on the pylon post. System of numbering moved to the transoms after this.

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