Lets see it...

yeah mine were wavy and soft. I thought you might have the same issues i had. as long as your solid no worries. didn't mean to panic you.

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'73 hobie 16 restored 2011
'00 Seaswirl fishin boat

Here's the before pictures.

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1974 Hobie 16 (not to mention my age, but that's the year I graduated from High school)
1993 Hobie 17 For Sale
JMBoatStuff

I wish I could, but I haven't looked at those stripes since 1980 and other than "looking right", I couldn't tell you if those are Hobie OEM.

Also, I don't remember Hobie putting windows into the sails back in those days. My guess is that was an aftermarket modification. But, I could be wrong.

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Stayin' Thirsty...
2011 Hobie 16SE
Atlanta, GA

I believe they are the original stripes (not positive though)

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1979 Orange Crusher Hobie 16

Interesting, they are different from mine. I have a 1/4" narrow orange stripe, a 1/4" gap, a 1.25" orange stripe, a 1/4" gap and a 1/4" narrow orange stripe. There is no Hobie name or logo anywhere on the hulls, so perhaps mine isn't original. It sure looks old enough to have been original.

Thanks again,

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Steve
2017 Hobie 16 "Cayman" sails 114795
1985 & 1973? Hobie 14 "Sea & Ski"

The "triple stripe" as Steve describes it was a common feature on the late '70s early '80s package boats. For example, White Knight had black stripes, Red Rocket / Hot Flash had red, Emerald Blue had navy, Keoke had brown, Jalapeno had yellow, and Orange Crusher had orange (on the gray hulls).

The multi-color stripes were introduced with the Carumba pattern in 1980.

The distinguishing feature between an Orange Crusher and a '79 Nationals Orange is the sail numbers. In '77 and '78, the numbers were larger, such that each side took up a whole sail panel (like tritontr20's 42970). After that, they became the size they are today, with both sides able to fit in one sail panel.

That being said, sails and boats are easily swapped and the age of the sails may not the same as the boat they are on. Stripes are easily changed, too. I had a Jalapeno (yellow triple stripe) that I replaced with a custom teal triple stripe when I went to all-white mylar sails in 1992. I still have a few feet of it left.

In the late 70's / early '80s, Hobie Cat wasn't too meticulous about maintaining cosmetic "purity" on the package boats. They were pumping out hundreds of boats a month. Dealers mixed and matched boats, trampolines and sails at customer request.

That's why dating a boat based on the sail number / hull graphics is imprecise at best.

Thanks Matt, so assuming that Triton and I have mostly original un-updated boats and sails, and we both have the big numbers which were carryover sails from previous years, then they are both Orange Crusher designs, not the '79 Nationals boats.

Clears up that mystery! Here is a better picture of mine, by the way, in keeping with the spirit of the thread.

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Steve
2017 Hobie 16 "Cayman" sails 114795
1985 & 1973? Hobie 14 "Sea & Ski"

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Matt Baden


http://www.thehobielife.blogspot.com



AFTCO, Kanan Lures, Astral Buoyancy and Alltackle.com Pro Staff
2012 Yellow Pro Angler 12 and 2014 Pro Angler 12

[img]http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/44591_112918558763378_100001357028644_76294_4694332_n.jpg[/img]

My brother's now retired 82 H18 and my cherry 77 H16 on Flathead Lake, Montana

Very nice! This is the first time I have noticed the clear windows for the tell tales. This must be standard on the newer sails? Great idea. I can sort of see mine thru the sail, but only if the telltale is up against it.

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Steve
2017 Hobie 16 "Cayman" sails 114795
1985 & 1973? Hobie 14 "Sea & Ski"

I thought all H sails had the tell-tail windows. I'm pretty sure my sails are original to the 77 year. They at least show their wear as such....I can never get the leach and clew of the jib to stop flogging at speed. I think it's just worn and stretched out, reflecting it's age.

As winter sets in with its traditional lack of blue sky, snow, and short cold days, I find myself ogling this site and looking forward to spring. There is some good skiing yet to come, but I'm having trouble getting excited about it this winter...ha!

It's pics like the aforementioned that give me the warm fuzzies...nice stiff evening breeze, a good buddy on a similar boat, and some lovely girls to add to the fun factor. My Mrs like to say "make it go faster..." like a 5 year old that has no idea what is really happening. She's got the perma-grin from ear to ear while out in trap and I'm gritting my teeth and doing all I can to keep the thing upright...all the while teetering on disaster...good times!!! Only another 5 months to go...

Here's a vid of my 72 and I finally got some mast shots:

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/34490979[/vimeo]

http://vimeo.com/34490979

Looks like the vimeo embed isn't working.