Yes Damon,
youre right here, store my p18-2 60 feet from the waterside,
mast up.
7 weeks ago it took me over 70 min. to get out on the water, now its less then 30 min. including neoprene.
Learned a lot from the guys at the club and on this site.
Thank you for that.
i have replied to the thread on the dart/stampede 20 that's for sale, but haven't heard anything back from the seller. i have a business trip to orlando next month so i was thinking of checking it out. maybe it's sold. i see the getaway that's for sale as well. just a little too far out of the budget right now. otherwise i'd probably just buy it.
Nacra 6.0 ? Blast from the past, but a big cat. Simplify the
the tweak lines, make a clean trampoline and it will be fun to sail . A lot of cat!! And a challenge to sail solo.
Must be available in your regions. Downside; daggerboards and maybe a little to much weight to get in / out of the water solo.
i just thought i'd update this thread with a caveat. i was very interested in the dart 20 of steve's, but he was able to sell it before i had a chance to see it. good for steve, bad for me. so in my continued searching i stumbled upon a late 80's hobie 18 that is local. i haven't seen the sails, but it has the magnum wings and is at a location where i can leave it rigged without having to hassle with trailering it back and forth. from a quick look it appears to be in good condition albeit pretty dirty. the gudgeons have no cracks, the daggerboard wells have no cracks, i didn't notice any soft spots on the deck, and the hulls appear sound with no signs of repairs. it also has the epo rudders. the tramps are faded, but undamaged. it's on a trailer and seems that with a little elbow grease it would clean up nicely. the guy is asking 2k for it. is that a fair price? where can i get a cover for it as it will be stored outside? thanks again for everyone's help. i'd love to have gotten the dart 20, but the 18 seems like an ok trade-off. at least i get the wings on this set-up.
the 18 is a great cat.. not a bad first boat at all, just learn how to depower it in heavy air
if the tramp is faded, it may be shot. is it mesh or stock (pleather)? if mesh, i would take a VERY close look at it... use your fingernail and see if you can break a thread .. if you can it needs replacing (you dont want to fall through it ever, esp while stepping a mast) a tramp can cost you a good chunk.. but if everything else is good on the boat i wouldn't let that stop you.
Yes 2k sounds about right for a h18 with wings, but all things are relative..
i personally wouldn't worry about covering a 20 year old cat that is already weathered. if you really want to, you can simply put a couple walmart tarps on it.. but remove them in hurricane winds (they can beat up your cat floggin like heck)
there are several products available that will help clean up old faded gel-coat, and depending on its condition you can even wet sand it back to glory..
just to clarify, it has the "pleather" tramp. the tramps on both wings and the main tramp are all the yellow color. they are all faded, but still felt pliable. i didn't jump up on the tramp since the owner wasn't around. i'll check more closely when the owner shows me the boat. thanks again for all of the good info on this site. i really wish i could have bought stevefisherkeller's dart 20. she looked like a very nice boat at a great price. but, like they say, "snooze ya lose."
I recently bought an 84 18 with origingal yellow (faded) vinyl tramp. It is almost faded white but is still very strong, I weigh 270, and have had 3 crew on with me.
So if structurally the tramp looks sound I would not worry too much about the fade. The Hobie OE tramps are very strong.
I recently bought an 84 18 with origingal yellow (faded) vinyl tramp. It is almost faded white but is still very strong, I weigh 270, and have had 3 crew on with me.
So if structurally the tramp looks sound I would not worry too much about the fade. The Hobie OE tramps are very strong.
Have a great time.
Yeah, those tramp's are VERY VERY VERY sturdy....and they are hard to break, on the Prindle 18-2 i first started sailing on, they still have not replaced the tramp...and i think it's a modded hobie tramp.
yes, not as big a deal... it's the mesh Polypropylene and Polyester stitching that are the ones you MUST be very careful with... the pleather ones seem to be more robust and hold up pretty well to years of UV. the mesh ones have about a 5 year lifespan in the sun (at least around here in africa/florida)
I bought my cat from a very mean angry guy (still reading these threads Dave?) and he bought it from a guy who had stored the boat for years and didn't inspect it at all before he brought his family out sailing... after he couldn't get the center boards down.. he found out why.. a family of wasps had taken up in the board wells... in his (and family's) dancing around on the boat (while being attacked by wasps) he then learned the tramp was shot (as he and his family fell through it....he then hit shallows, and was so worked up and angry about the day.. he sold the cat on the spot to the mean, ugly, angry, opportunist that owned it prior to me...
(just kidding dave, your not really an angry guy... well not till you read this at least) :)