New-to-me 1983 H18

Well, here I am back into catamarans... I sailed a '77 Spirit (H16 knockoff) in the 90s, and I'm tickled to be back on the water. Heck, I'm tickled that there's actual water in Folsom Lake -- last summer lake activities were hiking, running, and otherwise enjoying the bottom of the reservoir minus appreciable water. I have much enjoyed reading the cumulative knowledge that you all have vested into these forums. THANKS!

A 1983 H18 recently followed me home, and I've been working through the boat and everything that came with her. Somebody up-optioned or otherwise spent some time and money on her; she has SX Wings, harken blocks just about everywhere, a 5:1 downhaul, EPO boards, a new-ish main, and a mother-of-all-blimps masthead bob. The starboard hull has been fiberglass-repaired (and tread-taped over) between the rear beam and the shroud, but it looks like a passable (if not pretty) job was done of it. I threw my wallet at new standing rigging and some maintenance parts (mast seat; bunch of bushings, bearings, and sheaves; some roller furler bits; and a few lines) and I've been rubbing and polishing the oxidation from the hulls. The boat seems well-loved and well-used, and I look forward to continuing both.

A few questions:
* I was pleased to find reinforcement plates on both sides of both ends of the front beam, as well as on each shroud. Should I add reinforcement plates to the rear beam, as well?
* On a 'heavy' old '83, is reinforcing inside the hulls as necessary as on a 'Red Line' boat?
* The sail feeder is AWOL, with bare screw holes. Will the bolt-rope snag regular round-hole screws, or should I just epoxy? The mast appears to be dry.
* Rudder-release needs some work. I've browsed a bit here, and hope to have this handled before the weekend. How delicate are these older castings - should I be using plastic rudder pivot pins?
* I'll be moving the front roller to pair with the back rollers and setting up a sliding bunk for the front. Beyond astroturf, should I worry about adding padding?
* The deadeye on the rear crossbar is a little wobbly. When I re-rivet it to tighten it up, should I worry about sealing the 'bar like the mast?
* The reeving on the 3 boom blocks, lower triple block, ratchet, and cam-cleat was a bit confused when I got it, and couldn't have run well that I see. I spent some time on it and like the way it runs now, though it probably won't like being pulled askew from the back of the SX wings. Was the stock system 6:1 or 7:1?

I'll take this boat all the way apart over a winter and smooth/glass the hull bottoms, touch up the dagger wells, repair some shipping at the shroud anchor bolts, and look into upgrading the rather fuzzy/ratty mainsheet. I'll keep an eye on Ebay for multiple-sheeve blocks to clean up the jib, and maybe a few other do-dads. For now, I'd rather just get out on the water and enjoy...

Randii

I would only add reinforcement plates to the rear beam if you see cracking under the hull lip. The recesses under the lips are smaller in the back, so getting the plates to fit can be a little tricky (but doable).

Reinforcing the insides (glassing) is probably not necessary. Again, check around for cracks. If there aren't any, then I would say you're fine as is. Also check all around for soft spots.

Many people remove the sail feeder because it tends to cause more trouble than good. Use two round head stainless steel sheet metal screws with a dab of silicone to plug up the holes in the mast. You don't want it to leak if you go turtle.

The old style castings can be made to work. Make sure you put grease on the cam and roller pin. I also suggest backing off the pre-load on the adjusting spring as much as possible and using bungee cords to help hold the rudders down. I did this for years and years and it worked well. I would not recommend plastic or aluminum rudder pins on a H18.

You don't need to seal the rear crossbar. Keep in mind that the reason the dead eye is loose could be because the existing holes in the crossbar have enlarged. If that's the case, you may need to use a larger rivet or thru-bolt the dead eye to the crossbar.

The original system is a 7:1 purchase. It works best if you use a single triple block hung off of the center boom bale rather than the three single blocks on the boom which was the stock setup.

sm

Thanks for the feedback, SRM. I don’t want to let my enthusiasm run away with me, but I’m jazzed to be back on two hulls!

There are small gelcoat cracks at the rear beam, maybe ½ inch on the deck and a few inches below (those are very fine and narrow). I’ll keep an eye on them. Same with the front beam, and inner reinforcement. No soft spots all around, which is great for a 33 year old boat!

I’ll pop some round-head screws into the sail-track holes, and trolley the mast over to a bud’s pool to check for bubbles. My old Spirit was pretty easy to right except for the one time the mast flooded – I don’t want to experience THAT again any time soon.

I pulled the rudders apart and have polished bits and cleaned up threads. The castings fit TIGHTLY around the EPOs for sure. I bought new cams (oops) which aren’t much of a match for the old bits, and a bit of searching explains why. I’ll ether return or toss them in the Boat Bits Bag as a karmic investment. This forum is a great resource – there’s even illustrations to follow: http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=48470&p=215565 Handle-release and -locking were good before, but board release is MUCH improved. I bought some Kisme Kleets to add, but will need to shim them out with some SS washers before I test rudder return.

Not having to seal the rear crossbar makes tightening up the deadeye simple. I’ll probably redrill a size larger to make sure I’m grabbing fresh metal that fits the fastener.

I’m waiting on the UPS man to deliver my standing rigging… hope I can get on the water this weekend.

Randii

SaltyDog.com mailed out my new standing rigging on Saturday… no sailing for me this weekend, so I worked on more inspection, maintenance, and upkeep while UPS does their thing. I was rewarded by finding some loose hull/stainless assemblies that needed snugging. Next weekend *WILL* be wet. There are lots of little things to do still (replace mast bearing, re-attach deadeye, add bunks, repack trailer bearings, rewire lights, replace tie-downs, add non-skid, etc.) but I feel good about this boat.

Weekend progress: Boom rebuilt with new outhaul line and shock cord, everything else inspected. Main traveler car rebuilt. AWOL sail feeder holes filled. Ratty, fatty, and frayed main halyard replaced. Hulls mostly rubbed out and waxed. Chased rudder release threads, installed Kisme Kleets, and generally softened up the rudder kick-up feature while adding bungee hold-downs.

I’m impressed with how few ‘soft parts’ bushings, sheeves, bearings, etc. need replaced. This boat is well overbuilt compared to others I’ve worked on that are delicate at best, under-engineered at worst.

Continued thanks for the aggregate experience and knowledge documented in this forum,

Randii

Replaced/inspected the shroud anchor bolts? They are one of the only "marginally designed" fittings on a H18. The new ones are stronger than the ones manufactured in 1983 (according to Hobie).

sm

A little background to srm's comment... the shroud anchor bolts are frequently cited as something that should be replaced probably with every change in standing rigging (or every other). Some say annually. It's up to you based on how much risk you see there. It seems that they can fail with little or no warning and few physical signs of fatigue. A number of people on here have noted or experience dismastings as a result of a broken anchor bolt, either under sail or as a result of someone trying to pull the boat onto the beach by its shrouds.

Along those lines, the nut for the shroud anchor bolt is not a standard nylock nut, but is instead an extra deep nut. The original part is no longer available, so Hobie now uses a "shroud anchor bar" drilled & tapped with the appropriate amount of depth & thread engagement. I just recently picked up a pair of these, and wow, they're pretty hefty! Standard nylock nuts have lasted me a number of years (at least I believe they're standard), but I figure why tempt fate? Besides, the anchor bars seem much more secure and probably distribute the stress a bit better than a hex nut. Though I imagine that, without a locknut on the shroud anchor bar, these will loosen up over time and need to be checked & re-tightened on occasion.

_________________
Mike

'79 H18 standard 'Rocketman II' sail #14921 RIP
'78 H18 (unnamed) sail #14921
'08 H16 sail #114312
'97 H21SC sail #238

Or you can have a machine shop build you a set of heavy duty pins with a 3/8" threaded section rather than the stock 5/16" bolts....





sm

Replaced. Kinda pricey, but cheaper than a crushed noggin.

I'll look into the 'shroud anchor bar' for next winter. I have access to a small machine shop at work, as well. It wouldn't be the first time I've come in on weekends to support a hobby.

Randii (houseguest says there's a heavy package on my doorstep!)

Wow! That's one way to do it!

In your picture, are those just 5/16" standard nuts or the original deep nuts that mmiller is always talking about? Any idea what the difference in depth was between the deep nuts and a standard 5/16" nut? Also, did you make your own anchor bar as well, or are you just using a standard 3/8" hex nut with those?

Nothing special about the nuts. If you go to McMaster Carr, you can see that for 5/16 hex nuts, you can get anything ranging from 1/4" to 7/16" high nyloc nuts. Personally, I don't think there's any need for a special nut or anchor bar. Every failure I've seen (and I've personally had an anchor bolt fail on my boat), it is the threaded section of the anchor bolt which fails, not the nut.

The anchor pins I had made were machined from a piece of 316 SS bar stock, 5/8" diameter. You need to open up the hole in the deck slightly, but the anchor plates themselves can handle the 3/8" threaded section no problem since that's the same size as the crossbar anchor bolts.

sm

Meaning the shank of the anchor bolt failed in tension? I had been under the impression that the more common failure mode for the anchor bolts was right through the eye hole, or, if they are side loaded, to bend and snap at the base.

The SaltyDog.com bridles, forestay, and shrouds arrived Monday... I installed them Tuesday after work, and went sailing on Wednesday. Nice quality gear!

With steady breezes at 8mph and gusts to 12, it was a GREAT day, even though I forgot my centerboards at home! I was stoked enough to leave the beach that I forgot to tension the rig, then I found out my mast rotation control line was too short, and learned that the jib furler line was miswrapped... still, I had a GREAT time.

I've lofted the mast solo and now with help, and it sure is easier with assistance. All dreams of multi-stage telescoping mast props from the back of the trailer aside, I'm on the water and having fun... this weekend, I'll be on the lake again with centerboards, working rotation control, functional jib furler, and a tight rig. Seems like the best way to speed up boat set-up and take-down is practice, which maps pretty well with getting familiar with all the sail shape control systems. Jib sheet, main sheet, and tiller only get me so far... I'm looking forward to learning/practicing more.

FWIW, when I installed my new standing rigging, I installed the anchor bolts with the axis of their holes in line with the hull, and not across it... it just made sense to me. Shimming/tilting the anchor bolts in relation to the anchor plates would be the next step, if you wanted to keep more of the forces pulling inline with the axis of the fastener, with less bending.

Randii

No shimming necessary, and in fact, I wouldn't really want to do that, as you wouldn't have a clean transfer of force/stress into the anchor plate. The only thing you might want to do regarding the orientation of the anchor bolts is to "point" them towards the mast base, so the long axis of the anchor bolt head is in line with the force. That way it doesn't bend over to the side. But honestly, that's more of splitting hairs. I try to keep mine oriented that way, but they always seem to rotate around a little bit. I haven't seen any problems, but I've heard others talk about bending their anchor pins over if they weren't "lined up right."

The picture I included in my earlier post shows the anchor pin rotated the way Sabres describes - pointing at the mast. I agree, it's probably splitting hairs. I think it would help ensure even loading on the clevis pin more so than the anchor pin.

sm

Winds were 8mph to dead calm... not what the weatherman expected but an ok day nonetheless.

The boat sails and turns SO much better when I remember centerboards and rig the jib/furler correctly! *chuckle* a tight rig helped, too... good thing, too since we spent a few hours bobbing and floating in the waves before deciding to paddle in. Long paddle, then down-rig in the dark... still, a good day on the water.

Randii