ncmbm wrote:
I'm sorry but if the hulls will be exact replicates of what I can find used for less than 1k I just cant justify the price. What advantage is there to the new ones, shiny gel coat? It will be 2010 when these will be delivered and they will offer the technology of 1994? What do Tiger hulls cost?
If you can find QUALITY Hobie 18 hulls for 1K, I'll take two sets.
I have three complete boats (with the exception of hulls) in my garage.
I'll be saving the best of what I do have for one of those sets of New Hulls.
GOOD, SOLID, LIGHT, QUALITY Hulls are getting harder and harder to find.
If you are happy sailing your 1K hulls, I am happy for you.
That having been said, there are people that cannot tell or do not care about the difference.
I understand that.
I cannot tell the difference between a $500 dollar laptop and a $2500 laptop, there are those that can tell the difference and are willing to spend the money for the performance
I cannot hear the difference between a $50 speaker and a $500 speaker .. but I know there are those that can hear the difference and do appreciate it.
Quite honestly, I can barely taste the difference between 2 buck chuck and a $25 bottle of wine, but there are those that really DO appreciate the difference.
There IS a difference between tired old hulls and New Hulls, and I can and do appreciate it, so I am delighted to have the choice of spending the money I save on computers, speakers and wine, and use that money to have a really nice Hobie 18. There are several others out there that feel the same way about the Hobie 18. Hopefully they will take advantage of this offer and show Hobie Cat that there is still a market out there for the Original Hobie 18.
You can buy one of the F-18 Platforms, brand new for a mere 20K, but for how many years will that boat be competetive at national levels ? You can buy a 3 year old F-18 Platform for less than half that. What will they be worth in 20 years with no fleet to race in ?
A couple of years ago Performance Catamaran came out with their FOURTH incarnation of the F-18. They call it the Infusion, the sailors call it the Confusion.
Just THIS year Hobie came out with the WIldcat which makes the Tiger essentially yesterdays news.
APHC is coming out with a new incarnation of the Capricorn soon, and the original Capricorn design just hit the US maybe what, 3 years ago?
Sometimes it is not so much a matter of How MUCH you spend as how LONG you will be able to play with the toys you have spent your money on.
I'll let Mr Miller answer the question as to the cost of a set of Tiger Hulls.
You bring up an excellent point Stephen, I have had my SX-18 since 1993 (hulls laid in 1992). It sits on a stand in the beach of my lakehouse. It always has a universal silver cover on it, however the deck temperature does get hot regardless because the sun hits it all day. Because we have tropical weather year round, I sail during the whole year just about every other weekend. I imagine those of you that trailer and shade store your 18´s have even better condition boats. Anyway, my hulls are rock solid everywhere. Which brings me to think that at 16 years old going on 17, these hulls are pretty darn well built. My 1979 H16 hulls caved in in 1984 with soft spots in the top deck ahead of the pylon, they were also showing grooves and uneven surface in the inside of the hull before the port hull failed in the middle of the lake.
So, excactly what is the life expectancy of the H18 modern built hulls ? I dare say years and years with reasonable care. I would not want my new hulls built any other way than the last ones built in 2003. What a great design boat....
Login
Register
FAQ
