New User--Introduction

Hey Gang,

My name is Brendan, I purchased a barely used, garage kept late 80s Hobie 17 (Bikini) last summer & had a blast sailing after work and on weekends on a local lake. Well, this past winter I left her outside and a neighbor dumped 3+ft of plow snow on her and the forward trailer roller/cradle are now inside the starboard hull--it's looking like she's gonna need a new hull (but I guess we'll see once the snow melts how bad it is).

I've been reading Phil Bermans Catamaran Racing Start to Finish and am super stoked for this upcoming season. I don't know what the future holds for Bikini and me, or if she'll ever sail again, but either way I'm hooked and will be a cat sailor for life.

Bummer to hear about that.

A new hull would be out of the question since they haven’t been made for about 15 years. But the hull is very likely repairable. You will probably need to cut a hole for an access port in the deck in order to reach inside the hull and glass it from the inside. I would also recommend getting a set of hull cradles for the front crossbar of your trailer. Even without the snow load, resting the hull on a single roller can cause problems over time.

sm

Inspiration Ministries in Walworth, WI takes a lot of boat donations and does auctions to fund their programs. I bought a Snark there a couple of years ago. Last fall they had gotten a Hobie 17 as a donation. You can look up the contact info on the web and ask about it - looked pretty solid.

Edit: my beachcats forum post on the boat:
https://www.thebeachcats.com/forums/viewtopic/topic/18684

_________________
Bryan
Poplar Grove, IL
1977 Hobie 16 (died a spectacular death https://youtu.be/Y7O22bp2MVA)
1978 Hobie 16

I'll give them a call, thanks for the tip.

I don't think it's gonna be repairable. Here is a link to some photos of the damage: https://www.reddit.com/r/hobiecat/comme ... rough_the/