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PostPosted: Sat Dec 31, 2016 3:02 pm 
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Joined: Sat Dec 31, 2016 11:04 am
Posts: 3
Hello to all,
I am new to catamarans and Hobie Cats and of course this forum . I bought a Sol Cat 18 not long ago with the idea of making it into a micro cruiser for coastal cruising around the Florida coastline. Then just the other day, I think, I had the good fortune of buying a 21 sc and trailer for 100.00. I know, long story. Picking it up tomorrow. Missing the boom, tiller extension and mainsail. Everything else seems serviceable. Hasn't been moved in 6 years. The gin pole, as shown in the Hobie 21sc set up video, is missing too. Hulls seem sound. Rudder blades and assemblies seem good also. Don't know if the centerboards are working.
1. Does anyone have a source for used Hobie parts.
2.Even though the roller furling won't work I assume any boom could be fitted. I have a almost new main and jib from the Sol Cat as well as a boom. Guessing these would work on the Hobie 21 as the sail area's are almost identical.
3. Has any one fabricated a gin pole like the one in the video for mast raising and lowering. I'm 64 and the upper body strength isn't what it used to be.
4. Do the centerboards require any sort of annual service?
5. Is there a reason why there are no access ports for storage and inspection in the forward portion of the hulls. Structurally is it ok to start cutting holes in the forward portion of the hulls to install access ports. I hate not to be able to look in there and seems like great areas for storage.
6. Are there any areas of weakness I should be looking at with a boat this old? This is probably one of the first ones built circa 1993
7. This is the one thing that might get me kicked off the forum. I'm sure there are a lot of purists that are on this forum and rightfully so, but! I purchased the 21 sc for a fairly specific use. I will be sailing around Florida 2 to 4 days at a time hopefully for whatever time I have left to do this sort of thing physically. Mostly exploring the west coast of Florida down to the keys. I will be sleeping/living on board. I'm thinking of removing the tramps and making a hard deck. Then building a small cuddy cabin just big enough to slide into giving me knee room to lie on my back with my knees up or stretch out and sleep with a canvas pop up if I need to get out of the weather with sitting head room. Making the cabin height around 24 to30 inches before the pop up. Most of my time will be spent outside so the 21 gives a lot of deck space for living, the cabin will mostly be used for storage of camera equipment and other sensitive electronics and for sleeping or just getting away from the mosquitoes or no seeums or bad weather. Has anyone out there done this sort of thing. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

I hope to be a giver of information as time goes on to other newbees and I know I've posted a lot of questions on my first time out. Thank you all for your time, consideration and knowledge. I've already learned a lot just from reading the other posts.
Thank you for any help.


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PostPosted: Fri Jan 13, 2017 8:58 am 
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Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2008 5:01 am
Posts: 11
Location: CT
Some parts are still available from Hobie, but limited. Center boards do not like sand and gravel it tends to wedge the boards in different positions. The raising of the mast can be a horror show. The stock stepping system is inadequate. I am 62 and a lot of the time I need to be able to work the setup and take down by myself. To this end I have installed a 12 volt winch w/brake on the trailer. I use a remote control so that I can move around and tend to all the lines and cables as well as staying out of danger. The gin pole was modified so that it cradles around the mast. I also added a cleat to the pole so that I can secure it to the mast. The procedure outlined by Hobie is what I use. What I added was a bridle that goes from the forward U sections on both wings to the shackle on the main halyard. This was huge in stabilizing the mast. Instead of swaying in either direction some six or more feet, it is now dead on! I also added a tripod to support the top of the mast.
I need a new set of sails and am currently looking at my options. Hobie will make you a set for $3700. I've seen options for half that. I'm told that the SC21 is critical in that it is furled on the boom. I had to fabricate my own furling shaft and crank for the boom as it is no longer available (stainless steel & TIG
Weld).
I need to install a hatch in both forward pontoons so that I can inspect and have access to those areas.
Installing solid surfaces instead of the existing net like tramps is like adding sail area when I sail I constantly see the wind against the under sides of the tramps looking to flip the boat over. I struggle with switching over to a solid main tramp to have a dryer ride but I would never want a solid forward tramp. Rolling out a solid surface when not under sail would be safer. Hobie did make a tent that a lot of people probably haven't used so there should be used ones available.
The dry sections of both hulls are not dry. The culprit I believe is the screw that tensions down covers. The water pools in the indentation to keep the T handle flush. That's it for now, good luck, Charlie


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PostPosted: Fri Jan 13, 2017 5:26 pm 
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Joined: Mon May 09, 2005 10:25 am
Posts: 4176
Location: Jersey Shore
I can only speak to #5. In general, cutting holes for access ports in front of the front crossbar is something that is avoided. There is a lot of load on the bows of catamarans, particularly from the forestay and bridle tension which wants to bend the bows inward and upward. I'm not saying that adding ports in the bows can't be done, but it is uncommon. The 21SC is a little different from most catamarans because it has a bow spreader that resists the inward bending loads, so this is probably less of an issue than on other boats.

The other reason not to have storage in the bow area is because putting too much stuff forward on the boat will make the boat more prone to pitchpoling. Again, probably not a huge issue on a 21SC, but this is another reason why you typically don't see people using the front of the hulls for storage.

sm


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PostPosted: Fri Jan 13, 2017 7:58 pm 
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Joined: Sun Jun 21, 2009 7:32 am
Posts: 424
Location: Lake Gaston, NC
I have a 21 SE with a taller mast than the SC. My trailer has an A-frame with the pivot points attached to the front crossbar. On the front mast stand is a winch for raising and lowering the mast. The winch is the smallest size used on boat trailers for pulling the boat onto the trailer.

I use a couple of trapeze wires to attach to the peak of the A-frame to raise and lower the mast. An 8 year old child could raise the mast. Lowering requires a bit more control since there is no ratchet to hold it in place -free wheeling- but it's not hard at all to ease the mast down.

It works a lot easier than any gin pole. The winch stays attached to the peak of the A-frame, and a leader with a shackle the right length stays attached to the peak of the A frame.

I don't remember the length of the A-frame, but it will pass down behind the bridle wires.

I usually stand on the tramp to guide the mast up and down, while my crew (Wife) does the wenching-yeah, Wench on the winch.

My rear mast carrier has a urethane bow roller on the top that allows me to roll the mast into place either way. The rear mast carrier has a horizontal storage position built into the trailer to keep it safely out of the way when the boat goes on or off the trailer.

I built this in 1988. Everything, including the custom trailer I had hot dipped galvanized, and it still looks like the day I put all the parts back together.

You won't want a solid "tramp". Get, or make, a boom tent.

Have fun.


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PostPosted: Tue Jan 24, 2017 6:34 am 
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Joined: Sat Dec 31, 2016 11:04 am
Posts: 3
Thank you all. Great input. I agree about the hard deck on the bow turning into a sail. I will probably extend the cabin a foot or two past the forward cross beam leaving the balance forward with a tramp. Based on all of your input I will be leaving a air space between the hard deck and the hulls, probably 4 inches around allowing wind pressure to be released on the sides and rear. Seeing the rear tramp is tarp like anyway, in that the air pressure is only relieved around the sides due to the density of the fabric I'm hoping this will work. I think I will put small access ports forward of the cross beam.
The A-frame on the trailer sounds interesting. I would still be drawn to a system that uses the boat itself for the raising and lowering of the mast. I don't want to be stopped by low bridges restricting access to waterways. Having the system on board will all me to beach the boat drop the mast and motor under smaller bridges. Or on extended passages on rivers with multiple low bridges just leave the mast down as necessary and just motor. A lot of my excursions will be photography based with sailing as a added benefit so motoring will be a necessary evil at times.
If anyone is interested in the progress let me know and I'll continue to post as things progress.
Any further suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again


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PostPosted: Tue Jan 24, 2017 5:11 pm 
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Joined: Sat Oct 04, 2014 1:30 pm
Posts: 984
Location: Benicia, CA
It is a relatively straightforward task to create a mast raising/lowering crane for use on the water, but you have to have a few things...side stabilizers only work if there are pivot points at mast base height on both amas. Once you have those you can use a slug on your mainhalyard and two equal length lines and hoist the slug to tighten so mast stays amidships (of course, if your mast must remain sideways, one will be shorter than the other). You'll need your jib halyard (spin halyard is even better) attached to the bow chainplate by way of the mainsheet and A frame. Now you need leverage-simplest is to build an A frame that pivots at those same pivot points at mast base height. Here's a link to how a monohull did the same thing, same principles...http://www.watkinsowners.com/howto/mastcrane.pdf

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 30, 2017 10:54 am 
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Joined: Wed May 18, 2016 3:16 pm
Posts: 13
How's your progress? Any pictures? Successes or frustrations?


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PostPosted: Thu Mar 30, 2017 12:54 pm 
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Joined: Sat Dec 31, 2016 11:04 am
Posts: 3
All the successes are still on paper and in my head. I'll be starting on the deck next week. I've setteled on a basic method of attachment of the deck frame. The cabin shell is pretty much designed and Ive decided on a basic gin pole system to raise and lower the mast, much like what was originally set up by Hobie. Thanks for your interest. I'll post some photographs as I go. Once again, any commentary is greatly appreciated.


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