Hobie Restoration

I’ve broken my 87 Hobie 16 down into pieces and I’m planning a restoration this fall and winter. My sails were shipped out to SailCare for a complete refresh!

In looking at my hulls I need to do some cosmetic patching and fix a rounded out bridle hole. The hulls are really solid and I already have (previous owner) ports. The hulls are pretty oxidized and have no shine. The keels appear to have been repaired at some point and are relatively shaped correctly. The keels do have the gel coat worn away.

How would re-gelcoating the hulls work out? I’ve never worked with the stuff. I’ve painted vehicles and can wet sand / buff well. I have the capability to spray... can I roll it and get same results?

Any upgrades worth doing at this point? I have old style gudeons for my rudders... is it worth upgrading to the one piece gudeons?

Would it be uncouth to put newer style graphics on an 80’s boat? I have a fabrication shop and capability to make my own sail color matched hull decals.

Lastly, since I’m working from the ground up, my rudders are original EPOs. I have some epoxy work to repair the faded top layer with exposed fibers.. are there any tiller upgrades other than hardware that I should be looking into?

Thanks

Did something similar with my 86 Nationals boat this year, just modernised everything. A friend of mine sailed it with me this week and thought it was a 2000s boat...Not a crime, a service.

_________________
Youngone

86' Nationals H16 "Loki"
86' Laser "UH OH"
97' JY15 "8 Lives" (For Sale)

Gel Coat:
For most of the hull you may have a lot of success just sanding down and polishing the existing gel coat. Try this first. If it is working, just recoat the worn out bottoms and then finish sanding the boat. Coating the bottoms is not necessary, it does make the boat look nicer.

Rudders:
I wouldn't bother with upgraded gudeons. You already have the two most important upgrades, EPO rudders and adjustable rake. If there is slop in the current gudeons shim them. As far as other upgrades the new style adjustable tiller connectors (H-20 style) are tight and easy to use, but $$$...
On my H18 I painted over the exposed glass on my EPO's to protect them from the sun and such. My EPO's are black and I used red paint to match the boat. My sails are red rocket (white with a single red band) and it looks very cool.

Hull graphics look sweet, go for it.

I can’t wait to dive into this. Had the boat for 2 years and sailed it quite a bit in the beginning. Found out it needs a little work. Now the time is right to go over the whole thing!

Been researching like crazy the past month. When I bough the boat I was a complete noob! I knew to at least check for solid hulls. The EPO, comptip, and cat trax wasn’t even thought about.

Can’t wait to see my sails after they get back from SailCare. I had a mice chew and the window was really bad. The sail color is a “double plum” from 1981.

Cliiff Notes: Pro Detailer for 15+ years See below for intimate details
Wet sanding is tedious at best to produce a good finish, 1000, 1500, 2000 UGH!!!
Clay the hulls to clean up contaminants. You can get a Clay Bar at your local Auto Parts store. Youtube has a pantload of video's on using a Claybar
But if you want to do wet sanding, then 1000 gets rubbed in a horizontal direction, the 1500 gets rubbed in a vertical direction until the 1000 horizontal lines are gone. Then you follow up with 2000 going back to horizontal until all the vertical lines are gone. I use a Ryobi Xenon light to shine on the sanding scratches to determine if I have completely eliminated them. In reality you can stop at 1000 grit, I am just going the extra mile to improve the overall finish
Wipe the hulls with a paint cleaner to remove any oils left behind
Coat the Hulls with the below mentioned Ceramic Coating

Excruciating Details:
So here we go and this may sound like a lot but trust me it is faster than wet sanding and produces spectacular results, especially if you race.
If you do not have it, buy a Porter Cable 7424 at Home Depot ($100)
Buy a Hook and Loop Pad - https://www.amazon.com/PORTER-CABLE-16000-Standard-Random-Sander/dp/B00004Y76X/ref=pd_lpo_469_t_0/143-2684667-9064247?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00004Y76X&pd_rd_r=cfa74e46-c422-488e-9612-b1804a8f3334&pd_rd_w=LvK90&pd_rd_wg=VVWSQ&pf_rd_p=7b36d496-f366-4631-94d3-61b87b52511b&pf_rd_r=G3NB5V2NADBCZ25AWCZS&psc=1&refRID=G3NB5V2NADBCZ25AWCZS
Then buy these pads - https://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-Microfiber-Cutting-Disc-Correction/dp/B005JPJNO0/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=meguiars+microfiber+buffing+pads&qid=1602921119&s=hi&sr=1-3.
i recommend 2 packages as you will want to change pads, they get gooped up with product and become ineffective as you progress, so changing pads helps improve the finish.
Use this compound -https://www.amazon.com/Jescar-Correcting-Compound/dp/B0742L1VWH/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=jescar+cutting+compound&qid=1602921245&sr=8-2
Use this Ceramic Coating - https://marinenanoshop.com/products/liquid-crystal-armour-diy-ceramic-coating-for-boats

Now put a Zip-loc on your hand and rub it over the finish. If you feel bumps, which you should, then get a Clay Bar kit from your local auto parts store. Claying is easy, wet the surface with soapy water or supplied lube and rub the clay bar with medium pressure over a 2'x'2 surface, wipe it dry and move to the next area. The Clay Bar will pick up dirt and pull it off the surface. If the bar shows dirt knead it to a clean surface. Do the hulls and the "decks" Claying removes dirt that can cause scratches if you wet sand or buff that can get pretty deep.
Then setup the Porter Cable, prime the pad(put a fair amount of product on the pad and rub it in. Then follow the Jescar instruction on the bottle.
Run the PC on speed 4 and do a 2'x2' area with some pressure until almost dry, ease up on the pressure and let the product disappear.
Do this for both sides and the tops.
Wipe the hulls down with the paint cleaner
Then coat the hulls with the Ceramic Coating
Ceramics are the only way to go now. CARNUBA'S are out, they only last a few weeks in the sun and create drag. Ceramics will last years.
If you are uncomfortable with a Ceramic then use Zaino's Clear Seal, Z-8 Grand Finale Spray and put on 3 coats. Very simple spray it on spread it. It should last at least one season(May - September)

By the way this also works for your car, just a different ceramic.

That’s a good breakdown! I just did my wife’s BMW similar to how you described. Ceramics are the way to go.

Let’s say I do my hulls as mentioned above. If I spot coat some areas with gelcoat, will I have a color difference?