Good Hobie, bad sails, Bad Prindle, good sails - let's mix!

My 82 Prindle 16, which I loved, finally cannot be saved. Or at least without major hull restoration. And coming off a two year long ground up complete restoration of my Columbia 26, the smell of epoxy makes me puke now - so that's out of the question. Then someone at work said - you want a free Hobie 16? Of course I said, knowing that nothing is free. However, I talked another guy into going in with me on it - in theory - so he can learn to sail. I spent about a month drilling and doing epoxy and fiberglas work on just the forward top of one hull, and then painted all of it. Looks great. My son and I took it out for a spin last week. sails nicer than I (and old Prindle sailor) actually expected. lol. So now I'm thinking I'll put some more time into it and replace bad cheek blocks, lines, and replace those crap rings with quick pins and things like that. Already replaced the halyards and trapeze shock cords. So here's the thing - the Hobies main sail batten pockets are pretty ripped out. I'm not much of a seamstress, actually a zero in that department and I hate to use, well, duct tape or something equally crappy. what kind of repair job and cost is something like this? I've sent my big boats sails up to the east coast for cleaning and repairs, wasn't too bad. My other thought was - well - I've got these great Prindle sails - maybe I could use them? The jibs are nearly identical in size - the main sail booms are different style AND size so I'll have to use the Prindle boom also - and drill off the front cap and replace the mast connection piece so that it will connect to the Hobies mast slide thingy. (hows that for nautical terminology?). I was surprised to see that the Hobies main sail was actually a little bigger than the Prindles. Has anyone considered this? I'm a little tight for cash, I've seen the $300 to $400 sails on eBay etc. but I need to buy some other gear for the big boat right now also - and homeowners insurance, lol. Thoughts (other than the expected - oh horrors - one would never put Prindle sails on a Hobie! lol) thanks.

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'80 Columbia 26 - the "Rag & Tag"
'82 Prindle 16 - sadly no more
'83 Hobie 16 - not yet named

If the main sail is evaporating like old worn out underwear, let it go and try to find a replacement H16 sail. If the damage is limited to the batten pockets and bolt rope, repair it. Sail repair is easy enough to learn, I recommend watching the videos from sailrite.com.

I have a heavy duty singer (cost about $170 new) sewing machine. On sails it works best with a 80/12 or 90/14 sized ball point needle. With this setup I can sew 4 layers of sailcloth together. In the heavily reinforced areas of 6+ layers the machine does tend to break needles. In these areas I manually drive the machine (there is a wheel you can turn) and slowly work through it.

Heavy duty needles (size 100/16+) have a hard time fitting through the tight weave of sail cloth and break more often than standard needles. I am not certain the heavy duty machine is needed for most sail repair as the needle breaks before the motor stalls. If I was buying new I wouldn't take the risk, but any sewing machine at a garage sale is probably good enough.

While you are repairing the batten pockets replace any worn out sections of the bolt rope cover.

Thanks! I kind of reached the same conclusion. I think I'll drill our those old batten pocket end caps and replace them with bolt and nuts. I have access to a heavy duty upholstery machine also, but still might send this to my favorite sail place to get fixed. Looks like a new or quality used sail would still cost more than getting it professionally repaired.

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'80 Columbia 26 - the "Rag & Tag"
'82 Prindle 16 - sadly no more
'83 Hobie 16 - not yet named

For ~$5 each (plus shipping) you can get replacement batten protectors with screws and nuts that sit flush. Or you can reuse the old protectors with $1 worth of hardware. I have tried both. I prefer the look of the $5 option. The $1 option can leave you with protruding screws that damage the sail when it is rolled up, so be mindful of the screws and nuts you select.

https://sailsportmarine.com/collections ... tector-kit

Awesome - that's exactly what I want. I think the other owner used a couple already, but I thought they were a home made workaround. Thanks for the link!

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'80 Columbia 26 - the "Rag & Tag"
'82 Prindle 16 - sadly no more
'83 Hobie 16 - not yet named