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PostPosted: Fri Oct 24, 2014 10:47 am 
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Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2014 3:02 pm
Posts: 37
Good morning everyone! We just picked up our 1981 18 in Spokane and dragged it home for 8 hours at night with the trailer lights going out after about an hour :-). Luckily the state patrol didn't see us and we tried to make sure we stayed away from the pockets of cars on the road. Still... nail-biting... Love the boat but have yet to get it on the water - had to fix a couple of things and have fully rigged it in the backyard and ordered the odd lines and the furler rebuild kit... hoping for some drier weather this weekend (in Oregon... yeah right).

Had a couple of quick questions:
- one post in this forum mentioned a set of recommended upgrades - is there a list somewhere? I'll do some more digging but if someone has a pointer it would be great. i have the old style rudders but I've heard those should be upgraded (they're pretty clunky and I've heard of people having issues).
- i bought the boat as I was unable to find any soft spots (yay!). However, looking through the ports I can see lighter places in the bottoms and further inspection on the outside shows what looks like some grey fiberglass showing through so I think i have a bottom job to do. I'll look in the repair forum as it seems like a lot of people have done the same thing. for the 16's it looks like they lay up the fiberglass on the side of the bottom - I'm guessing for the 18 you just center the tape (2"? 3"?) down the hull? Seems straight forward. Other posters have recommended marine poly over attempting gelcoat so unless there's violent opposition, I'll try that
- anyone have *any* idea what pin goes in the offset aussie halyard ring? the pins gone and I have a second shackle on the ring. Trying to avoid replacing the whole thing but none of the spare pins seem to fit (the shank seems to large and both tangs on the ring seem to be threaded).
- planning on building the Solo-right apparatus. We sail out in the gorge and have been blown over in the Hobie Wave more times that I can count in heavy wind but I'm guessing the 18 will be a bit harder to get back upright. probably will get a Bob too - may look silly but there can be those days in the gorge...
- places to sail around Portland? We've been in the gorge, will try around the airport. A friend says Fern Ridge Resv. is good and I've heard the Smith Reservoir is good too. Anyone tried out at Pacific City in the ocean in the summer?

*Love* the fact that mmiller represents Hobie in the forums. Don't see that kind of commitment from a company nowadays!

Mike


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PostPosted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 8:34 am 
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Joined: Sat Jul 23, 2005 10:04 am
Posts: 236
Location: Bowie, MD
Lots of good sailors up in your neck of the woods. Check out www.hobiediv4.org for some points of contact.

Jim Doty


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PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 10:12 am 
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Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2009 2:20 pm
Posts: 49
There is a great group of guys who sail out of Fern Ridge - Eugene Yacht club. Look on the yacht club web page and head down for their "Live on the Edge" regatta. You don't have to race, but they have a great beach to launch from and you can always learn a lot from these guys. Everything from Hobie Cats to Prindles, to A-Cats, Tornados...you get the idea.

They also head up to Waldo in late summer/early fall for some great sailing.

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91 H18SX
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 10:35 am 
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Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2011 9:22 pm
Posts: 263
mespig wrote:
i have the old style rudders but I've heard those should be upgraded (they're pretty clunky and I've heard of people having issues).


I like the older rudder housings better than the new ones. I HATE the cam in the new ones and when I have to use them I cut the cam and go hookless (Another long story). If you are talking about the rudders themselves, yes, replace the while plastic rudders when you can with EPOs. Much better performance out of the boat when the rudders don't flex with weather helm.

mespig wrote:
looking through the ports I can see lighter places in the bottoms and further inspection on the outside shows what looks like some grey fiberglass showing through so I think i have a bottom job to do


The Glass (Poly) is much thicker than you think. The gel is thin and it is common to see the gel worn off. If excessive then yes, get the bottom job, but if not....sail the boat.

mespig wrote:
We sail out in the gorge and have been blown over in the Hobie Wave more times that I can count in heavy wind but I'm guessing the 18 will be a bit harder to get back upright.


mespig wrote:
planning on building the Solo-right apparatus.


The Gorge? Crazy ass place to sail but some of best sailing I have ever done. We were there for the 2014 NAC for the Hobie 18s. The 18 is a good boat for the Gorge but not for single handing. DO NOT, REPEAT, DO NOT take your new crew out there and expect them to ever sail again!!!! You will freak them out! The 18 is not hard to get back up but make sure your mast doesn't leak. It is an older boat and probably hasn't been maintained very well. If the mast leaks after you flip..............well, yeah, good luck with that.

Good Luck and Make sure to contact Div 4 as others have mentioned. They have one of the best 18 fleets in the States. (Other than CA) :D

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H18 '89 "Knotty Passion"
H20 '96 "20/20 Vision"
Fleet 259 Central Coast California


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PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 8:05 pm 
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Joined: Wed May 25, 2011 3:15 pm
Posts: 610
Location: Buffalo, NY
I was gonna throw in my two cents, but wscotterwin already covered most of it.

The old rudder system works fine, not worth $600 to upgrade imo.

If you can see through, it is bottom job time, though if it's minimal, it's not a huge deal. If you do it, you'll need enough glass to re-build the original bottom shape (there's a hull template in the support section). Still, if you don't get to the bottom job in the first year or two, no harm done. Just don't keep beaching the boat.

Solo righting apparatus is mandatory if you're sailing solo and/or combined crew weight under 295 lbs. With the right weight, however, the H18 is a breeze to right. Just check the mast for leaks. If it's solid aluminum without any cracks and the rivets are still good, It's probably fine.

Other suggested upgrades:

Critical:
All Standing Rigging - shrouds, forstay, bridle wires should be replaced every 3-5 years.
Shroud Anchor Pins - Replace if they're over ~6-10 years old. (Have a tendency to fail from fatigue & cause a dismasting)
Mast Base - if yours only has 2 rivets, replace it with the new 4 rivet step. The old ones put more stress on the crossbar and have a potential for dismasting. If your mast base is loose, re-rivet it.
Mast Rotator Bar - If your rotator bar is 2 pieces with a pulley on it, replace it with the new single piece (the 2-piece bends)

Convenience/Performance:
Hull Anchor Plates - these plates reinforce the hulls at the forward crossbar, for added strength/longevity.
Screw in access ports - if yours are pop-in, do yourself a favor and upgrade to the screw in.
Downhaul - Upgrade from the stock 3:1 system to at least a 5:1 system (custom build or kit)
Low profile/triple block mainsheet blocks - Just simpler than the 3 separate sheaves on the boom
EPO Rudders - Improved helm, steering and upwind performance
Hobie Miracle 20 style tiller connectors - removes slop in steering system

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Mike
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'79 H18 standard 'Rocketman II' sail #14921 RIP
'78 H18 (unnamed) sail #14921
'08 H16 sail #114312
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 6:24 pm 
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Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2014 3:02 pm
Posts: 37
Thanks for the replies and advice! One of the guys I work with sails at Fern Ridge and does the Waldo camping trip each year so I will definitely be down there. If I haven't repainted the boat, look for the one with the C'est La Vie racing stickers on the side.


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