Future of the H16

I am curious about the future of the H16.

Is there a roadmap for updates and changes planned for the boat? Last major change was the EPO3 rudders so I am curious if anything else if being planned or thought about.

I can't imagine there are many other things that could change that wouldn't violate class rules. I wouldn't expect anything revolutionary as anything significant would make the hundreds of thousands of existing boats obsolete from a racing perspective. If you really want something new you have to go with a different boat which for something from Hobie means a wave, getaway, or something from Hobie Europe.

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Catamaran Racing Association of Michigan - Marketing Officer
USF18 - Social Media Manager

2010 NACRA Infusion
2004 F18 Hobie Tiger - SOLD
Hobie 16 - BREAKPOINT - SOLD

By design the Hobie class follows a very conservative strategy when considering boat modifications. The rules committee carefully considers any changes before they are implemented.

Changes to production you may see in the near future are part of Hobie Cat Company's plan to standardize production of the Hobie 16 worldwide. This has been in process for a while now and there are a few more details to go. Whether you see an actual change or not depends on where you live. Currently the North American and Australian Hobie 16's are identical with the exception of the comptip. The European boats have some minor differences mostly in hardware.

Have there been any software changes?

Not expecting any game changing design changes but there are a few things that should be improved like the default gudgeon bolts being too weak and the rubbish block supplied for the Aussie Jib Halyard.

I would recommend that something other than plywood be used in the the transoms. The plywood eventually gets wet and swells, etc. it also lets the aluminum plate be exposed to water and corrode. I had to rebuild both of my transoms by removing the plywood and filling it instead with multiple layers of fiberglass cloth and resin and then thru bolting the gudgeons (using 5" aft access hatches).

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Tim
84 H16
82 H16
87 H14T
Tortola Sails: 115222
Blue Prism Sails: 88863
Clearwater, FL

While we are making suggestions, I've got a couple recommendations as well.

1) Some form of a clip on flap (we had this on our college FJ's) for the rudders instead of the current bolt. Would make it easier to take rudders on/off. With rudders off, it makes backing in/out of tight spaces while on trailer easier (weather attached to car or not).

2) Switching the shroud tension to an F18 style, where the shroud tension is adjusted by a threaded connection instead of the pins which are currently used. Would make adjustments on the water easier. (I know they already can be done, but would be easier so you don't lose one of your pins out there).

3) Some form of built in washer for the mast base. I know it's a small thing but purchasing the little white nylon washer or placing something else in there does get annoying. Especially since they slip out of place and get lost frequently.

4) A sail batten tension update. I saw on the 18' skiffs that they adjust the sail batten tension with a screw driver threaded system. I only saw it once but it was freaking cool. Easy adjustment without fooling around with small ropes which your hands/fingers are too big to fuss with.

Would love to see these updates go into the class. I'd buy a new boat really fast.

I don’t think you you will ever see Sta-Master type shroud adjusters legal on the H16. You can adjust rake and rig tension by adjusting the jib halyard and that system has been improved substantially over the years.

The mast step design was updated years ago to add little dimples to help hold the mast chip in place and you can mod older mast bases by just drilling small holes in the base. There was a proposal several years ago to update the mast base to a captive ball and socket system like the Hobie 17 and the proposal was shot down, so any other changes are probably pretty unlikely.

Screw tension batten adjusters have been around for decades on windurfing sails as well as on other more modern catamaran sails. The difference is that windsurfing sails are more or less set and forget. They don’t get loosened at the end of the day. For (Dacron) Hobie sails, it’s actually much easier and faster to use the existing rope and cleat arrangement. It would be a PITA to have to screw in and out the battens everytime you wanted to sail.

sm