Old hobie 16 serial number

I've acquired an old Hobie 16 from a friend and am starting to look at what I should do to get it in the water.

My first questions is how old is this boat. I looked at the serial number decoders on the net and the numbers do not match anything I could find. Before I start spending money, I'd like an idea of what I have and what will need work.

The serial numbers are CCM665500473. Any suggestions?

_________________
Philip

Looks like a '73 too me. See this in the FAQ section. http://www.hobiecat.com/community/viewtopic.php?t=1155

_________________
Jim

2007 Hobie Wave

What confuses me is that FAQ has letters for things like month and there are no letters in my serial number.

What do you do with a 73 Hobie?

Thanks!

Philip

_________________
Philip

Yeah, you are right, I should have looked at it closer. Perhaps they did not use the letter codes in early boats? I think in general the last two digits of a HIN indicates the model year. This rule works for virtually any manufacturer. This applied to my dads old 1969 Grumman fishing boat, my 1996 Starcraft , my father-in-law's 1974 Rinker, my old 1979 Alcort Force 5, my old 1985 Alcort Zuma, my 2006 Old Town kayaks, my old 1985 H14T, you get the point.

_________________
Jim

2007 Hobie Wave

Americans didn't use the term months until 1974. Your serial number isn't going to mean much as to what your boat needs. If your boat may very well be in better condition than Hobies much younger. Before you spend a nickel I would make sure the hulls are not soft, there is plenty of that information on this site.

What you will have to do depends on a lot of factors, including how the boat was cared for, and how original it is.

I renovated a '73 earlier this year. Started by fixing the spots on the bottm where it was worn through, then prepped and painted with Interlux Perfection (epoxy paint). We rolled and tipped the hulls, and rolled nonskid on the decks. Came out really good - granted, not as perfect as spraying, but a million times better than it looked when I started. It looks good enough that I've received any number of compliments at the lake.

Then I replaced much of the standing rigging, including the shrouds, trap wires, the jib block and jib halyard (original jib system, not an Aussie style), and all the running rigging. Upgraded to an adjustable jib traveler system, then added the requisite righting lines, a righting bag, etc. My tramp was OK, but I had to put in replacement hiking straps, did that by doubling the grommets, and laced new straps onto the tramp. Worked out fine.

My boat was very solid on the decks, although pretty loose when it comes to the corner castings - I plan to remove the tramp and tighten up the castings this winter. Otherwise, I had no major mechanical issues. I had to change out rudder cams, re-adjust rudder rake, and do a few other odds and ends, but got a very workable boat for a total investment of roughly $1,200.

It won't ever be a winner in races (plus, I have an aluminum mast, so can't race it anyhow), but for recreational purposes, I have had just a ton of fun with it this summer! If I get serious about going fast, I may eventually buy a new one, but for now, this suits my needs.

If you have the original mast and base, you will find that replacement rigging will cause more rake than your configuration can handle. I ended up replacing the 7-hole adjusters on the shrouds with 10 hole adjusters, so I could have a little less rake. The replacement forestay I bought just would not work, so I am still trying to figure that one out, may have to get a custom one made. In the mean time, since the forestay only keeps the mast up until the jib is up, I am using the original.

To be sure, you can spend a fair amount of money a few bucks at a time re-rigging an old boat. With no major problems or missing parts, I spent an easy $600-$700 on parts. But I started with a $500 boat.

Perhaps the most important thing to be realistic about the fact that you have a very old boat, and you need to draw a line for how far you want to renovate and upgrade it. If you want to have all the newest features, you are probably better off just buying a much newer boat, because of the extent of the retrofitting you need to do.

On the other hand, if you want a basic boat that you can sail and have fun, no reason why you can't do that with your '73.