The original (1970) class minimum was 340. Maybe when the boats were new they weighed 340 - 350, but try finding one that old that weighs less than 350 today. Ain't gonna happen.

As described above, in 1983, the boat was lightened 20 lbs and the class rules were changed so that the min weight was 320 lbs. These boats are easily identified by the red glue seam (redlines). I owned an 1984 model (bought new) that weighed 315 (after I took the lead out of the rear pylons).

After two years of production, and a lot of warranty claims for structural problems, HC began beefing up the structure and the weights crept up. (My '84 broke two pylons loose before I sold it in '97. I repaired both myself.)

Boats from '86 - early '90's weighed anywhere from 330 - 350. I owned an '89 Nationals boat that was a cow. It weighed 345. I ended up replacing the hulls with the ones from my '84.

Hobie Cat supplied boats for the Nationals until 1989, so there were no weigh-ins prior to 1990.

In 1989, the H-16 became an ISAF International Class, and the class rules became subject to ISAF control.

European boats were consistently weighing in lighter than the US boats during this time. In 1990, ISAF applied pressure to HC USA to make the boats conform to the class rule of 320 lbs.

Since the early '90's, US boats have weighed between 315 and 330 lbs. Some of that variation is in the aluminum (extrusion wall thickness). Having a tighter spec on the extrusions would make the boats prohibitively expensive. (Don't forget that these boats are made primarily for the recreational market.) The hulls are etched with their weight behind the rudder pin. Each hull weighs between 68 and 70 lbs.

My '98 weighed 317 when it was new ('98 Continentals, Rehoboth) and most recently weighed 320 ('04 North Americans, Syracuse).


(That's not my boat, but the rig used to weigh boats in Syracuse. Digital load cell = very accurate.)
There is no issue with the class rules in regards to weight.