Hi guys,

I'm making my first foray into the world of multihull sailing - or at least I'm trying! I'm in search of a Hobie 16 to purchase but need to know what I'm talking about when I find one. My question is this: How can I tell (without asking and therefore looking like an easy mark) whether my (prospective) boat has a comptip mast?

I would really appreciate any advice y'all can give.

It is really quite easy to detect a comptip vs. an older full metal mast. If you look above the mast tang, you will see a seperate fiberglass section on the comptip mast. Also, the masthead for the comptip is rectangular; whereas, the masthead for the full metal mast is round. See the below pictures, and hopefully that will help.

COMPTIP:


FULL METAL:


All the best...

JAH

Cool. Thanks! (And thanks even more for the illustrated answer).

can you put the newly redesigned mast tip on an older style all aluminium mast?

That is what the CompTip was designed to do... retrofit older boats.

Hmm... the comptip is not really a new design... Some people might not see it as an improvement. It will add weight to your mast in the wrong spot (up top) it ages - especially in the TX sun it modifies the bending curve of the mast abruptly. You might need one if you race - on the other hand if you buy a competitive boat (less than 10 years old) - it will come with a comptip. If you get something older and start racing the boat probably no one cares if you have a comptip.

Patrick

Actually much older boats all had CompTips. Since 1985 these have been standard... 20 years ago.

You're right about aging in the TX sun, the one I looked at last week didn't look so good, the fiber structure was showing pretty good as well as there were small holes developing either from wear or breakdown of thinner parts.

I've got a 76 with a loose top and was thinking the new pullies on top would make pulling the sail up easier but I didn't realize I had to take off 4 ft or so of the mast to get the new pullies. I think I'll just seal it up and re-rivet the top back on.

Matt,

My '85 does not have a comptip mast. I bought the boat new and was offered the retrofit but opted against it. I believe it was introduced during or after the '85 model year.

Howard

Howard / Matt... same here my 85 has no comptip... I have a spare mast that might be comptiped some day. Patrick

The Comptip was introduced late in the '85 model year.

The '85 Nationals boats had them - they were probably produced in June or July of '85 (model year started in September back then). They would have had a a hull number ending in M85J or M85K (the last letter is the production month). A production month letter less than that probably doesn't have a Comptip.

Also, when the boats are shipped to dealers, the masts are separate from the boxes the hulls and everything else comes in. When I worked at a dealer, the masts were kept in one big pile. It's very possible an older mast got matched up with a newer boat when it was assembled and delivered.

The "Formal Announcement" article was in the Jan/Feb '86 Hotline - "This Tip Could Save Your Life"

I bought my boat in May of '85 so it was shortly before it was introduced. I don't race so I am not concerned with being "class legal" and am happy to have the older mast. Another sign that the older mast was supplied with my boat is the fact that the sail had a reef point. When the comptip mast came out they shortened the wire on the halyard, did a way with the second "slug" on the wire and eliminated the reef point on the sail. I imagine the shortening of the wire was to insure that there was no continuous metal from the top of the mast to the aluminum portion of mast.

Howard

In 85' H-16's were made by two different companies. My 85 was made by Coleman, and has a comp-tip. I've been told that the Coleman was the better of the two, (could be heresy don't know), but I don't remember who the other manufacturer was/is.

I didn't know there were two different manufacturers in '85 so I had to go look at my boat. It was manufactured by Coleman and though I can't speak about the other make, my boat has been great. I bought it in May of 85 so it did not have the comptip mast which came out after that.

Howard

There has only ever been one manufacturer of Hobie 16's in the US.

Coleman Company (the "Outdoor Products People") owned Hobie Cat from the late 70's through 1988.

Unless one boat was brought over from France, Brazil, South Africa or Australia, they were BOTH built by Coleman (technically). Coleman starting putting their name on the boats when they changed the hull graphics in mid-85.