I just bought my 3rd used hobie 16 and it has 2 side stays per side whereas most others I see have one per side. I am wondering if Hobie did this or it was added by an owner. Can anyone clue me in?

I'm not aware of any Hobie 16 with more than one stay per side. It is a relatively flexible rig. I don't know of a reason to add a second set of stays. Any apparent damage?

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Tom
NACRA 5.7 (1984 Sail 181)
Pennsylvania
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Never seen such a thing. Sounds loopy.

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Southern Alberta and all over the damn place.
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1981 SuperCat 20 "Roberts' Rockets"
1983 SuperCat 19
TriFoiler #23 "Unfair Advantage"
Mystere 17
Unicorn A-Class (probably made by Trowbridge) that I couldn't resist rescuing at auction.
H18 & Zygal (classic) Tornado - stolen and destroyed - very unpleasant story.
Invitation and Mistral and Sunflower and windsurfers w/ Harken hydrofoils and god knows what else...
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Definitely not something that would have come from the Hobie factory that way.

Did they add a second tang to the mast and a second anchor point to each hull, or is it just two wires per side connected to the existing mast and hull locations?

Maybe the previous owner did some distance sailing and wanted some added security against dismasting. Either way, I would go ahead and remove the second set of stays.

If you want to prevent dismasting, upgrade the standing rigging to 5/32” diameter (stock is 1/8”), replace your shroud anchor bolts and bow tangs, and check the condition of the rigging frequently (no broken strands, pins and clevis rings in good shape).

sm

do they keep the rig in proper alignment? if so, remove the hobie set, sail with the retrofit and see what happnes... if everything is still good... put the real hobies back on and keep the others as spare? what you pay for free advice... all options on the table