(Hoo boy here comes probably my dumbest question yet! )
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<br>I never really thought about this until last weekend, but it seems the numbers have long since disappeared off my sails. Looking at the sail I can kind of make out some of the digits, but not all. Is there a way to find out what it should be if I know the serial number that is etched into the hull on the (I think it's the port hull) transom? Do you think Hobie Cat will take an email with that sort of question?<br><br>

Yes Hobie USA will take your emails. Write attention "Matt Miller" in the subject area of the email. I do believe you can get the sail numbers based on hull number, please let us know what happens and if you get the sail numbers.
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<br>Hobie's web site: www.hobiecat.com<br><br>

Finally got word back from Hobie Cat .... they take the view that a sail number is just a sail number (mainly just for racing identification), and they never kept track of them. So there's no way to tell for sure what the sail numbers should read.
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<br>(Is a sail number just the number of the sail in the H16 world? Ie., if I bought a new sail, would it come with its own number?)
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<br>So ... I dunno ... if I wanted to go racing, should I just make an educated guess at the numbers and order replacement stickers? I can make out four of the five digits, it's the first digit I'm not so sure of... it's round, so I think it's likely a "6" or a "9". The other digits are 0110. The boat was built in 1980.
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<br>In the end, it's probably a non-issue for me, as I don't really see any serious racing in the forseeable future.<br><br>

Yeah, a sail number is just a sail number. Nothing special about it but they do run sequentialy (mostly). I believe you can order a specific number on a new sail if you wish.
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<br>A 1980 boat probably came with a 5xxxx or 6xxxx sail number. My 1977 was 25xxx and my 1982 was 70xxx. 9xxxx would be early 1990s. They are up to at least 105xxx now.
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<br>You can use any number you want. The only snafu would be if two H16s with the same sail number show up at a race. With over 100,000 numbers it ain't too likely. (But better odds than Powerball!)
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You can use any # you want. A number is just a number, is just a number. The sail #’s identify the boat only for racing. You don’t need to try to identify the original #, unless you want to for sentimental reasons. Many racers have more than one sail and use different sails at different races. Yes the original #’s did run sequentially, and that would help identify the approximate age of the vessel, but it just doesn’t matter (again, except for sentimental reasons). So save money and go with a number that means something to you. The shorter the #, the less stickers you need to buy. The less stickers you need to buy, the cheaper. Have fun, and try racing, you’ll like it. I’d go with #123, people will remember you (of course, that may not beneficial either).<br><br>

I recently bought a new Hobie sail for my 18, and it came with numbers already on it, presumably whatever count they were up to at the point the sail was made. If you're not racing, I wouldn't bother. If you are going to try racing, I'd go ahead and get a new sail - if yours had the numbers fall off it's probably a little tired - you'll get a boost and have your new numbers too!<br><br>Keith Chapman, Annapolis, Md.
<br>H-18
<br>Northstar 500 (monoslug)
<br>WRCRA - www.wrcra.org

Last year I was trying to figure out the total boats sold (H16's)by sail numbers as this is how they keep track of total number of boats sold. Each Hobie Company gets a set of number each year to put on their sails. Currently there are just about 110,000 H16's sold, so I really think so with that many numbers I really do not think you will not have to worry to much about a duplicating number. I had a new flat top main made and am putting the same number I have on my current stock H16 sail.<br><br>

Thanks for all the great advice, guys!
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<br>I'll try to think of a number. I was thinking along the lines of 314159 or something like that but I have to admit something with less digits sure has some appeal. Maybe 123, what the heck. My wife suggested 2500 (since that's what I paid for the rig back in June!) Being a programmer, maybe something like 10101 or some combination of 0's and 1's might be appropo too.
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<br>Took the H16 out to our club's Wednesday night races last night ... OK, I will semi-seriously think about more racing in the future after all! What a blast! Unfortunately there are not a lot of multihulls in my club so I was the only multihull out there last night, so it was a bit like, um, shooting fish in a barrel. I've never looked BACK 500m at the fleet before! The open class start was really only a contest between three boats, my H16, a 29er, and (really surprising) a really well sailed Wayfarer. The 29er being a new technical boat was the only serious competition for the H16 and it overtook the H16 on the downwind leg with its spin up, but what surprised me was that I pointed that H16 way better on the upwind legs and actually crossed the finish line first. First time ever I've done this (in the Fireball fleet I was usually happy not to finish last -- my Fireball is 30 years old and so are its sails). But the whole sad point of this happy H16 racing tale is that the race committee didn't log my finish because they thought I was not part of the club, not having recognized me since there were no sail numbers to identify the boat. So, must get some numbers up there and that darn RC logging these finishes properly!<br><br>

Good story, Tony!
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<br>As a final (?) suggestion: electrical tape or duct tape (beware of the goo, though) can be used for emergency or temporary sail numbers. 11 is pretty easy.
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