I have a 1976 Hobie 16 that I bought I few years ago, finally made some repairs and recently had her out on a local lake. Had the opportunity to sail on a friend's Hobie 16 yesterday, his was made in 1983. One notable difference is that he has at least 36 inches of space between the trampoline and the boom. Mine has much less, making the boat somewhat uncomfortable to sail. The mainsail is pulled to the top of the mast when hoisted. I measured the mast height, it is 26.5 feet which is what I looked up. The sail is not original to the boat, it is the 'Blue Hawaii' type which from what I found was made about 1983, and it has the '16' on it so it appears it is correct. Any ideas on why this difference? H16 sail dimensions didn't change over the years, did they? My friend wonders if my sail has stretched, but it is hard to believe it has stretched this much. Thanks in advance for any help.

If you're friend's boom is 36" above the tramp, then his boat is the one that's wrong. There shouldn't be anywhere near three feet of space between the boom and the tramp. Take a look at some pictures of Hobie 16's. You will see that when the boat is sheeted in for upwind sailing, the back of the boom is about 6 to 10" from the rear crossbar. The front of the boom is about 18" or so from the front crossbar. You want the mast raked back so the boat goes upwind better and is less likely to pitchpole.

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