Recently picked up my brand new Hobie 16 last saturday. I had my one hour set-up demonstration by the dealer that turned into a three hour setup as no one has bought a new hobie 16 from them since 2007 and it took a while for the demonstrator to figure out the rigging. Especially the Spinnaker as he had never seen one himself until he rigged it to my cat.
The next day we took the cat to lake texana and I managed to set the whole thing up with relative ease. Put it in the water and pushed off, only to realize that there wasn't a breath of wind and I left my colapsable paddle in the garage at home. I beat feet (literally... on the water) to get back to the launch ramp and pulled the boat up on the grass. We waited about an hour and a half for the wind to finally pick up to a couple of puffs. While I was waiting, I McGivered a paddle by lashing two small fenders to the lower half of a beach umbrella. I managed to paddle the boat out from behind the wind shadow of the landing and into open water where we had about an hour and a half of light wind. Just enough to get us out for our cruise and back to the boat launch. It was a good first day, nice and mellow and the boat performed well. My first mate (wife) got the hang of operating the jib. I'm getting to my question but I just wanted to share my joy of the first day on my new Hobie.

I let down the sails and loaded the boat onto the trailer and pulled it half way up the ramp, then stopped and removed the drain plugs to check for water. I was a little supprised when the starboard hull puffed some air out of the hull. It had a strong odor of fiberglass, which I would expect being brand new and the resin takes time to cure, but should I be concerned about the pressure? I thought that they had an equalizer tube for air to move from the hull to the atmosphere through one of the posts. Should I return to the dealer to have him check the tube? I have left the plugs loose in the meantime.
One other thing I was surprised about was that when we tacked and changed position on the tramp the frame made a creaking noise. Is this normal for Hobie 16's?
Thanks for having a place to post questions to more knolegeable sailors.

Regards,
Flip57

Congradulations on your new 16,it is a great boat.I would not be overly concerned with the hull pressure,just take out the plugs when not in use.As far as creaking,it is the nature of the beast.I had the same concern with my new boat and was told it is a sign that it is stiff.That is a good thing.Tightening the tramp quiets some creaking from the side bars.

i get that hiss of pressure change when i pop the hatches on my old nacra. i like it, proves to me that the hulls are still watertight. when i develop a hole somewhere i'll know when 1 side hisses but the other side is always silent

i guess it's due to the hull either expanding or contracting during sailing. presumably sitting on the beach the hulls are hot and fat, then sailing for an hour causes them to cool and contract, so when i pop the caps the air rushes in

I would of thought Matt would have answered this question by now. Since he hasn't, I'll throw in my humble opinion. -The vent tube is clogged and should be cleared. You do not want pressure building up, especially if large temperature changes are involved. Whether there could be enough pressure to damage your new hulls, I'm not sure, but I wouldn't want to take the chance. The vent tubes are narrow, You will need a thin wire to run down the tubes. Unless they have changed the position, they are in the forward posts.

Of course, Matt just might say my overly cautious advice is un-necessary puttering.

Jeff, I remove the plugs and put them in my tramp bag when the boat is not in the water to prevent any chance of the pressure changes affecting the hulls. I guess my main question is whether this is serious enough that I should return the boat to the dealer for him to repair the breathing tubes?

I would bring it back. It should work, it doesn't. The concern is the hull being warm in the sun, then getting put into the cool water, and rapidly cooling. Or after the pressure has neutralized its self while on the water, you pull it up onto the warm sand, and the air in the hulls expand.

The pressure build up in the hull is no problem. Dont worry about it. It means your boat isn't leaking.

You can glue the boat together to stop the creaking and to make it go slightly faster. But that means you cant pull it fully apart if you have to.

Congrats on the new boat.

Nope... good advise. The vent is there for a reason and should work. Perhaps some excess grease or someone used silicone around the posts.

Whatever Mat. Both the hulls on my boat have done it from new. It is now 2 years old and lives in the hot queensland sun. It has not caused any problems yet.

Are you seriously suggesting that the posts should not be siliconed? Come on dude!

I think what he is referring to is that sometimes people put silicone where the pylons enter the castings. It's a futile attempt to stop leaks, but people still do it.

Maybe more than your boat has seen it's share of the hot Queensland sun.
Matt might not be suggesting that, but I am. The breathers should be clear, which requires that the post to casting seam not be sealed.

J