Hi folks,

I've brought what I think is a 1983 boat that had been sitting outside for a while. It seems ok, no soft spots on the hulls and all the bits are there.

Ever since first realising what a cool sailing location the Hauraki Gulf is (about 5 years ago when I first came to NZ) I've been hatching a plan to get a Hobie cat to explore as much as possible. I'm really inspired by the idea of tramp camping my way around all the nooks and crannies of the area.

A Hobie cat seems like the perfect vehicle for it, hulls robust enough to sail straight up the (sandy) beaches, simple and fast.

I'm an outdoor instructor by trade so I'm easily able to travel light enough to make this work sensibly.

I have some sailing experience and plenty of sea kayaking experience but I'm very aware the 16 will be a handful but that's also part of the plan. I don't want an easy cruisy boat, I want to get to grips with something challenging if I can.

I'm currently figuring out how all the and working out what needs fixing or replacing.

So far I've

Installed the tramp
identifies all the shrouds and put together the rigging so the mast is ready to be lifted when I'm ready.
Replaced all the rope sheets and halyards, most felt very dusty due to UV damage
Worked out how to rig everything I think

Today I've spent the afternoon sanding down the EPOv1 rudders ready for Pre-Kote and Top Lac. I'm going to turn them white because the black seems to get super hot in the strong Auckland, NZ sun.

On my todo list once I've done the rudder blades is

Get a tiller extension (its the only part that's missing)
Get the trailer through its WOF, it just needs new tyres.
Service the rudder castings

Sail lots


Here is some more info cut and pasted from my post over on the Hobie forums

Quote

So I've done the thing thats not recommended and brought a boat sight unseen. I pick it up next week.

I'm a Hobie newbie and I'm super kid before xmas excited

I can't play with the boat but I'm making loads of plans.

The history of the sale is a bit interesting. The boat is on a naval base here in Auckland and has been sold by someone who doesn't know anything about it or sailing (despite being in the Navy!!)

All I've got is the information in the auction advert.

So I'm playing a game of spot the parts, fancy playing along?

Here are a load of images

Image 1


Image 2


Image 3


Image 4


Image 5


Image 6


Image 7


Image 8


Image 9


The boat is in Auckland NZ. I don't have the number as yet.

What year do you think the boat is?



Hot flash colours are 1983. I can't find the pink blue colours anywhere yet

https://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/2015/10/19/the-power-of-color/

What rudders do you think they are? I'm hoping they are black early EPO's 8)

Can I see a Harken H194 block in image 3? How likely is it to have a 6:1 mainsheet?

I've obviously been reading the whole internet but I'm aware how little I know

This guessing game is going to last all week. I pick the boat up on saturday

What I've found "nice" is to take my lines and through them in the washing machine with some towels or something so it softens the cycle. Cleans all the sand and salt out of the lines, softening them back up again making them as fresh as you're going to get. Looks like it's in decent shape for it's age. Nice place to sail, that's for sure. I'm just happy to see my feet on certain days here on the Texas coast

--
Chuck C
NACRA 500 Mk2
--

Land of the Long White Cloud.
Auckland, great City, in fact the entire Country. Spent an entire Canadian winter on the North island, drove all around...Lake of Bays, Lake Taupo, Cape Rienga, the 90 mile beach, Rotorua. Got lost on a back road around Whangerei. Local stopped to help, (pre GPS days), shook his head, said he’d never heard of it when I asked how to get to WANG GARY. After he looked at where I was pointing in the map...ahhh you mean PHONG GA REE!
This might help with sail colours, but it’s possible none of them are original, you need the hull # engraved into the fibreglass.
https://media.hobie.com/w…_Sail_Pattern_Guide2.pdf

Personally, I wouldn’t worry about the paint color on your rudders. Auckland is not that far North. You are roughly the same relative latitude,(from the equator) as the middle of the USA, & those people don’t worry about it
Another thing you can do, make an album on your boat. Upload high res photos, then use those in your posts. Readers can then enlarge them to see fine detail. Instructions are in the top menu- FAQ



Edited by Edchris177 on Mar 02, 2021 - 10:06 AM.

--
Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
--

Thanks for the replies folks

charlescarlis

What I've found "nice" is to take my lines and through them in the washing machine with some towels or something so it softens the cycle. Cleans all the sand and salt out of the lines, softening them back up again making them as fresh as you're going to get. Looks like it's in decent shape for it's age. Nice place to sail, that's for sure. I'm just happy to see my feet on certain days here on the Texas coast

Putting ropes through the machine everynow and then is a good idea, these were past that though, cant wash out UV damage!

Edchris177

Land of the Long White Cloud.
Auckland, great City, in fact the entire Country. Spent an entire Canadian winter on the North island, drove all around...Lake of Bays, Lake Taupo, Cape Rienga, the 90 mile beach, Rotorua. Got lost on a back road around Whangerei. Local stopped to help, (pre GPS days), shook his head, said he’d never heard of it when I asked how to get to WANG GARY. After he looked at where I was pointing in the map...ahhh you mean PHONG GA REE!
This might help with sail colours, but it’s possible none of them are original, you need the hull # engraved into the fibreglass.
https://media.hobie.com/w…_Sail_Pattern_Guide2.pdf

Personally, I wouldn’t worry about the paint color on your rudders. Auckland is not that far North. You are roughly the same relative latitude,(from the equator) as the middle of the USA, & those people don’t worry about it
Another thing you can do, make an album on your boat. Upload high res photos, then use those in your posts. Readers can then enlarge them to see fine detail. Instructions are in the top menu- FAQ

Its a pretty good place to live for sure, great adventures to be had. I haven't been very far up north yet. Sailing up might be the go.

The different phonetics are taking me a bit of getting used to too!! I mean who could have worked out that "Whangerei" is said PHONG GA REE!!!

The hull numbers have been painted over I think. I can see part of the port hulls number but nothing on the starboard. I cant find the blue pink orange sail colours on any of the info available

The photos above are taken from the advert, I haven't taken any photos of the boat yet, I'll go and have a look at the image posting info now

Quote

The different phonetics are taking me a bit of getting used to too!! I mean who could have worked out that "Whangerei" is said PHONG GA REE!!

And just when you get used to that, one does a road trip down south, only to find they pronounce everything twice. As in, les go look at those hot springs, then head to Whakarewarewa for lunch!



Edited by Edchris177 on Mar 05, 2021 - 12:12 AM.

--
Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
--

Edchris177

And just when you get used to that, one does a road trip down south, only to find they pronounce everything twice. As in, les go look at those hot springs, then head to Whakarewarewa for lunch!

ha ha, madness!!!