I'm trying to figure out the age of my H16 - ser# CCMP8281M81G-A1, etched into both transoms. According to Hobie site the second M is month (January?), and after that the year produced is 8 (1978?) and then model year 1G (huh?), and A1 is a steak sauce. Maybe its an '81? Sail# is 63105, probably original? It seems to match the flamer color scheme, but I don't know. Any insight?

Jason

Hello,
My 1976 H16 had a sail number of 18731 (Also flamer sails). If they were making 10,000 boats a year, that would put your 63,105 in the 1981 range, but that's just a guess.

Jack

It's definitely a 1981 H-16

For serial number clarification:
Hobie Support Pages - Serial Numbers

The Serial number you have has some additional information that we no longer use. Hobie used to make "Seconds" or acceptable, but less than perfect hulls made available at a reduced cost. We also used a different format at that time.

The Serial number "CCMP8281M81G-A1"

Built in "M" Model Year
"81" 1981
"G" Production Month (A=August, B=September...)February 1981
"A-1" Second Quality.

Interesting info. Thanks guys. I would've guessed that A1 meant, like, top of the line. But that's ok, I wanted to paint the hulls this spring and this confirms for me that there's nothing too precious about this boat that i might wreck by doing so. I spoke to a bodyshop and they recommended Endura 2 part paint. Could be expensive, though. But nice. He has to see the boat to give a better quote.

Jason

What does "second quality" mean?

Second Quality? Blem (blemish). This means that the boat had a cosmetic issue, repair or discoloration. Possibly a bubble or blister in the gelcoat. Ripple in the glass that is visable. Something like that. This was back in the days when they were building thousands of boats a month. Typically discounted to the dealer / customer.

I was working in the "back room" of a Hobie dealer in the summers of 79 and 80 and we saw / built several of the "A-1" boats. Usually, you had a tough time finding the blem. They were expertly repaired at the factory. Good deal for the customer - they got a perfectly good "new" boat at a discounted price.

Pretty good of Hobie Cat to offer the discount on what appeared to be a perfect boat.

Car dealers do the same for cars damaged in transit from the manufacturer. Although they may not tell you about the repairs (or give you a discount) unless prohibited by state consumer protection laws.