To buy a 18 magnum or not

Considering buying an 18 magnum project boat. At first inspection It looked like under all the dirt it can be revived. Found no soft spots even in the common places. First, I really want to here from some that have have both boats.
i am a very experienced 18 sailor who has never owned a cat with wings, will I like the wings. Our water here is fairly bumpy most days. I'm wondering about the wings in cross chop with 4 to 6 foot swells. Are they going to hang up and be more a pain than an advantage?
Secondly this boat has been fitted with a cross bar (pipe) below the jib furler. It's coming off but, does the 18 magnum need a bit more forward hull rigidity? I really don't see any evidence of a hook up for a spinnaker. I see no cracks or wrinkles on the hulls. Any thoughts?
Lastly, this would be a beach launch boat, Trailer setup each time. How much more time is there setting up the wings. This thing just looks heavy. Is it really only 50 pounds over an 18.
Thanks, Steve

Are you sure this is a Hobie 18? Hobie 17's have the front cross bar..... as you probably know.
Never heard of an H18 with a front bar.

From what I've seen, the only time wings 'dig in' is in extremely gusty and choppy conditions... with poor seamanship.
We LOOOVVVEE our wings. So much drier and you can hike out like you won't believe. My wife loves to snooze on them.

Beach launch? Get cat trax.

Leave the wings on the boat, just fold them up (like a grasshopper). The wings pivot upwards for trailering.
You'll need foam or pool noodles as cushioning to prevent 'rubbing' while traveling.
Set up of wings (lowering and pinning) takes around 6 minutes.

email me off line at lunnjohn at magma dot ca and we can chat about spinnakers, another dimension altogether.

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2015 H16, with spin,
SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..."
'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'

If your wings are 50lb, this is a H18. H17 wings are very light. I can lift and insert wings by myself, on my H17.


+1

I got used to my wings so much I would not consider a cat without wings. In light wind they will give you a great back support. When wind picks up with a chop, you get to sit on wings, for more leverage and away from the chop. Then in a blow, you can hike from wings for way more leverage than would be otherwise possible.


Yes, my wife does this as well

Here is more on the wings
http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=10576

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H17

Thanks much for the info. Yup This is a Hobie 18 magnum. The extra X bar was a cheep add-on someone did that I guess was worried the hulls would crack. I have seen where others break ahead of the front crossbar. No doubt by not being retired or cared for when they showed damage. I have my beach wheels made from ATV wheels for the beach. If I get it I will add a winch for mast raising. I love my Remote control winch for that on the mainland. I may have other questions and will email you if I am able to but it. It is a mess and nothing does not need lots of work from the Trailer up. What do you think an old Magnum needing a complete rebuild should go for on the mainland? I may have to give $1500 on island.
Aloha, Steve

The wings alone are worth several hundred bucks, so if the rest of the boat is in servicable condition, $1500 is probably not out of the question. It all comes down to condition and how much new stuff you will need to buy to get the boat on the water.

sm

Having had both...

Beach launching/surf launching is harder than a boat without wings. In the way you have to climb around the wings to get on the boat. Not a big deal... but yeah, it's harder.

They can be great and horrible in huge swell/chop. Up until that point where you pick up the hull too high, you have much more control, once you get the hull up far enough to dig the wing in... the boat REALLY digs in. This is only an issue above 25kts or so.

Hiking off the wings is cool... but my 200lb body in heavy wind conditions cracked my wings (they were 20 years old).

I opted to take my wings and sell them. I think corkguy has them up in the classified section now. I race in one design class racing and sail in the ocean with lots of heavy wind and big seas. If I were doing more pleasure sailing, the wings would be the way to go. I took my dad out for a cruise a couple times, he didn't even take his socks off. He could chill on the starboard wing on either port or starboard tack.

As SM said, they were worth money! So even if you dont' keep em, if the rest of the boat is serviceable, $1500 is quite reasonable.

If you do get it, or another one, there are a number of posts about hull re-inforcment and shroud anchor plates that you should look into further.

Tom

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Tom
Fleet 259, Central Coast CA
H18 ('81)
H18 ('85)
H20 ('97)
H18 ('78)

The only difficulty I've had with the wings on my 18 are launching and flying a hull. Launching, because the wings kind of get in the way when climbing aboard the side. Flying a hull, when you get high enough the leeward wing digs into the water and slows the boat and kind of wrecks the fun. They also get in the way of the tiller extension until you figure out how to keep the extension from banging into them.

Otherwise, they are great for recreational sailing. In chop they keep you above the spray from the bows (unless you're on the trapeze), and they are comfortable for all day sailing without getting cramped legs and back. And they are easily removed for when you don't want them. They are a nice option to have depending on the sort of sailing you want to do that day.