I just got my new to me 1986 hobie 16 and while out working on/cleaning it today i noticed that my starboard hull bottom is pretty worn down. my port side is just barely showing the brown fiberglass so it should be fine. I took a picture of it while holding a penny next to it to help see the scale. I cant feel any fiberglass strands but i can see them through the brown resin.

My original plans were to replace all the rigging and running lines and upgrade all the mechanical stuff on the boat this summer while sailing 4 days a week minimum then pull the boat off the beach again in the late fall and fiberglass and reshape the bottom to hobie standards(hope to do some minor racing when i get better) then have it professionally gelcoated. so that by next summer ill have a 1986 boat in near perfect shape. Does this sound like a good plan to everyone?

So my main question. does anyone have an opinion on if my hull will make it through the summer? i have no idea how thick that bottom section of the hull is and im hoping it can just last until the fall. thanks again guys!

PS: i bought cat trax with the boat so this problem will be minimized in the future now that i own the boat.

oh yea i forgot the picture!

I think you could probably make it for a summer if you were carefull about dragging the boat around as the keel is pretty thick, but you will definately want to get that fixed before long. The bottom of the hull should have a realatively "sharp" edge. The best advice I can give you is to post this on the hobie forum and try to find someone in your area that is experienced with the 16. You should get a whole lot of responses from a more "hobie" specific crowd. There are also a lot of great articles there about spraying gel.

http://www.hobiecat.com/community/index.php?c=N

You should be fine. Just keep an occational eye on it. If you start to see the woven glass textile showing, its time for that bottom job. Be sure though, that your hulls don't have soft spots. No sense spending money on questionable hulls. -My Hobie 16 has multiple repaired soft spots, so I'm not concerned about my worn hull bottoms. I just skim a little resin on the bottoms to keep them from getting worse. That's good enough for a recreational boat. I'm willing to sacrifice some efficiency for a cheap repair, and to keep my beer barge floating for a few more years. The end is coming, but I don't believe in mercy killing. -Let nature take its course. And when the end comes, I'll donate the organs for transplant.

well i decided to go ahead and take the hulls off and do the repair. it looked a lot worse upside down than what it really was. i printed out the hull dimensions for the hobie 16 and really the only thing that was worn off was the gelcoat. so i sanded it down and re-gelcoated the hull bottoms. the shape matches the hull template perfectly now.

now im in the process of removing the black racing stripes from the sides, then ill start buffing and polishing and in a week my hobie will be all back together!

As you have a 1986 boat you may wish to check to see if you have a "Red Foam Boat". Look up at the gunwale a see if there is a thin red stripe in the middle of the lip.

The "red foam" boats were some of the lightest H16's produced. Only recently have they been building boats that are equally as light or slightly lighter. If the boat is stiff and tight ... great. If you have Black EPO rudder blades also ... great. If you have what I suspect you have, you have a good boat to start racing with. Please note that the "cut" of the sailplan was modified slightly several years ago, mostly in the jib I think, so at some point you will want to invest in new sails (from Hobie) to keep up with the Fleet Leaders w/ newer light-wieght boats and sails.

Of course I race a boat w/ 1986 hulls ...... a TheMightyHobie18

Good luck w/ your H16

Harry

Hey harry. i think i see a slight reddish color in the middle of the lip, but it may just be my eye wanting to see red there. On my racing stripes along the sides it says hobie 16 and then has the coleman company logo. so im assuming its when coleman was making the hulls. does that mean anything to you? is there another way to tell if i have the red foam boat?

It's highly likely you have a "Red Foam" boat as they were produced by Coleman. Take care if it ... it will not be as industructable as some of the old tanks .... but it will perform better in races.

What condition are your sails in??? When you purchase new rigging be sure to check the lengths against your old rigging as they changed the lengths slightly.

Have you been to the HobieCat.com/community Forum??? Check out the H16 Forum there. Lots of info specific to the H16

I believe it's here on Cat Sailor ... maybe in the "Open" or "H16" forum where there is a thread about the changes that have been done to the H16 over recent years. Or its over on the Hobie Forum.

Oh Matt Miller is "the Man" ... factory rep w/ answers to most questions. And Mr Matt Bounds is also a very good source for info. The "Hobie Hotline" has been running a series on "Hull Repairs" .... excellent!!!! Add Jeremy at Surf City Catamarans to that list of H16 Experts also.

I started on a H16 and have repaired many friend's H16 ... but I was too heavy to race a H16 and have raced a TheMightyHobie18 for the last +20yrs. So while I know alot about a H16, I do not consider myself an "expert" like Matt M, Matt B, and Jeremy. (I just do not want to give you a false impression, Ok?)

Do you know any local Hobie Racers in your area??? Let me know if you need help in contacting local Hobie sailors in your area as I can provide contact info.

If you only have a Open/Handicap Racing near you (vs One-Design) go give it a try ... "Time on the Water" is always good!!!!!

Harry

Oh yes i am most definetly on that forum and have gotten much advice from those guys(and parts from Jeremy). ive also read through numerous old threads over there looking for info. my user name there is Tmock12. I jump between that forum and here

My sails are in Ok condition, no rips, tears or repairs, but one of the battens has worn through a part of the sleeve. Ive read that new sails are the most noticeable upgrade you can get though regarding speed, so i think ill get some new ones for racing later on this summer.

My hulls are in great condition, especially now that i regelcoated the bottoms. no soft spots, it was kept in a garage and sailed on a freshwater lake. I plan on keeping it on the beach throughout the summer months and keeping it garaged during the winter.

I would LOVE to get into racing once i become a better sailor. I'm 5'10 and 150 LBS so i dont think im a bad size for it. If you know of any Hobie sailors in the Hilton Head or tybee island (6 miles by water away) area please please help me get in contact with them! that would be a huge help as i would love to tag along and get some practical lessons. I cant find any sailors here in the area. There are about 4 hobie 16's on the beach here that ive seen but ive never seen them sailing or the owners. and they arent in very good condition . so if you know of someone in the area needing crew or wanting to take my boat out with me as crew, please let me know!