TAMUmpower wrote:
Gotta love those original knurled diamond turnbuckle lock nuts. You gotta have a real old 18 to ever see those still. Super convenient to adjust without a wrench.
Agreed! Super easy to adjust the diamond wire tension on the water, I do it whenever conditions change suddenly.
Hummingbird, I believe the last two numbers of the hull VIN should be production year. My boat is a '79, and it has the same turnbuckles as shown in the picture, and it originally had the same mast rotator. Unfortunately, that mast rotator is poorly designed and bent on me the very first day out. The new design is far better, and it's what I have on there now. I believe the sail number my boat was sold with was 1409, an all white mainsail. I still have the sail, but it's got an ugly oil stain that goes all the way up.
Glad you enjoyed your first few sails on your Hobie 18! The H18 is a fantastic boat, hard to beat as a mid-range beach cat! It's a clear step up from the Wave/Bravo/T2/Getaway/H14/H16's in terms of performance, but not quite to the step of an F18/Wildcat/Tiger/Nacra/A-cat in terms of high-end complexity or price. Shame Hobie discontinued it, I really think it has a lot more to offer than their other offerings on the market today. If Hobie can't come up with a comparable boat before mine finally gives out, I'll probably move to a Nacra.