I'm completely new to cats, I've sailed only Lasers and 420s prior to this. A friend was getting rid of an old P18 and P16, and I took the P16 off his hands after reading about them. It's an old boat, based on the serial number and the lack of a stepping mount on the mast, it's from 1977 or so. Hulls are in great condition, sails are too, trampoline is serviceable, and the rigging needs to be replaced.

The problem, and something I didn't notice until I started working on things, was that apparently the mast is from the original 1977 P16, but the boom I got was from the P18, which must have been a newer boat because there appears to be no way to connect the two. As near as I can tell, the riveted plate that would connect to the boom mounting is gone (the light patch at the base of the mast).

The mast:






The boom:


And never the two shall meet...

I haven't been able to find what any of the boom-to-mast connections look like for the old P16s, only P16s made in the 80's and newer, with the stepping hinge on the base of the mast, etc. The manual I found was from that time period as well.

Finding a mast online to buy has been impossible thus far, no one in Michigan has one and I can't find anything on Murray's site beyond parts. Any thoughts on how I could get that mast to work with that boom?

Thanks in advance.

scotth

I'm completely new to cats, I've sailed only Lasers and 420s prior to this. A friend was getting rid of an old P18 and P16, and I took the P16 off his hands after reading about them. It's an old boat, based on the serial number and the lack of a stepping mount on the mast, it's from 1977 or so. Hulls are in great condition, sails are too, trampoline is serviceable, and the rigging needs to be replaced.

The problem, and something I didn't notice until I started working on things, was that apparently the mast is from the original 1977 P16, but the boom I got was from the P18, which must have been a newer boat because there appears to be no way to connect the two. As near as I can tell, the riveted plate that would connect to the boom mounting is gone (the light patch at the base of the mast).

First, Welcome to TheBeachcats.com! and welcome to cat sailing.

With boats this old, stuff happens. It looks to me like several modifications have been done to the mast, extra cleats etc.

I'd suggest starting from the assembly manual, compare all of your pieces and set things up as the manual shows to get a baseline. At least you will know what you are dealing with.

Hopefull one of our Prindle sailors will tell how to identify a P16 and P18 boom.

You can download the classic Prindle assembly manual here. (click on Download Document)
https://www.thebeachcats.…891&g2_imageViewsIndex=1

The rudder system can be a mystery on Prindles, here's a good photo explanation.

https://www.thebeachcats.…pictures?g2_itemId=89541

What part of Michigan are you located? We might be able to find you some local help.

--
Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN

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Welcome..

I'm willing to say that neither, mast or boom, are really for the P-16. On the mast, you will need a fixed gooseneck. This will be a plate that rivets to the mast in place, on the back side of the mast, with two horizontal plates for the toggle on the boom to fit into. Pretty much the adjacent piece that is connected to the boom. I didn't think the 16 had round booms.. I could be wrong. I know the 18-2 and 19 have rectangular booms. I have gotten a lot of parts from Dwyer Masts: https://www.dwyermast.com/items.asp?cat1ID=40&cat1Name=Hardware&familyID=17&familyName=Goosenecks The DH415 looks close, without checking the mast.

--
Scott

Prindle Fleet 2
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A very easy explanation. In the mid 70s to early 80s (not sure of the year they changed) Prindle used the same system as the past and current Hobie 16s. The jib halyard was used to tighten the rig. The early mast and boom were also the same type of system. The boom had the gooseneck attached to the boom as the Hobie does. There was no attachment on the lower part of the mast. The boom and sail were down hauled together as is the Hobie 16. I am sure the parts are available to convert to the newer system. I have the part that is riveted to the mast and the part that is needed for the boom.

Sorry I forgot to also mention that the P16 jib was like the H16 jib with a wire forestay in the luff. When Prindle made the changes above they also went to a zipper luff jib. If you look at the picture of the mast you will notice a check block on one side and a cleat on the other to accommodate that system.

You can call me at 5613051349 and I can explain everything. I was a Prindle dealer in the 80s.

scotth

I'm completely new to cats, I've sailed only Lasers and 420s prior to this. A friend was getting rid of an old P18 and P16, and I took the P16 off his hands after reading about them. It's an old boat, based on the serial number and the lack of a stepping mount on the mast, it's from 1977 or so. Hulls are in great condition, sails are too, trampoline is serviceable, and the rigging needs to be replaced.

The problem, and something I didn't notice until I started working on things, was that apparently the mast is from the original 1977 P16, but the boom I got was from the P18, which must have been a newer boat because there appears to be no way to connect the two. As near as I can tell, the riveted plate that would connect to the boom mounting is gone (the light patch at the base of the mast).

The mast:






The boom:


And never the two shall meet...

I haven't been able to find what any of the boom-to-mast connections look like for the old P16s, only P16s made in the 80's and newer, with the stepping hinge on the base of the mast, etc. The manual I found was from that time period as well.

Finding a mast online to buy has been impossible thus far, no one in Michigan has one and I can't find anything on Murray's site beyond parts. Any thoughts on how I could get that mast to work with that boom?

Thanks in advance.

Wow, this is great feedback, I appreciate everyone's replies thus far. What's been described, especially about the gooseneck sliding into the mast, makes sense. Hullflyer, I might take you up on the call, let me go through everything here and see where that leaves me. Thanks for the offer, I have some self-education to do so I know what I'm talking about.